Debussy; Janacek; Ravel: Violin Sonatas

Advantages: Excellent selection and performance of piano works by Frank Bridge
Disadvantages: A few pieces are not very interesting

...these pieces conjure up the pictures of the titles. There are a few other pieces on the CD which I find rather uninteresting, but these are a small minority. The CD ends with the Four Vignettes de Marseille. These are reminiscent of the Spanish pieces of Debussy and Ravel. Perhaps even more, they recall Iberia for piano by the Spanish composer Albeniz. They are full of Spanish melodies and Spanish atmosphere (even though Marseille is actually in France). These pieces are shorter and more varied than Iberia, and more readily appreciated than some of the Spanish pieces by Debussy. Jacobs brings these pieces to life. Overall an excellent CD providing an opportunity to enjoy a wide range of worthwhile works for which very few recordings are available. I would recommend it to any listener interested in this type of music, but probably only... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Authentic recording, a direct link to the composer of this beautiful music, very expressive and stylish.
Disadvantages: A different style with some small technical discrepences, some might prefer a more modern recording.

...The contributions of Maurice Ravel to the 20th century piano repertory are a tender and expressive gift, standing out as some of the best examples of French Impressionist solo pieces from that time along with works by his contemporaries Debussy and Fauré. Since his early death in 1930, many performers have turned to his pupils - Vlado Perlemuter, and Marguerite Long expecting that they, with all their close contact with him, would be the most direct link to the man himself. They strongly emphasise the idea of strictness, lack of any kind of exaggeration, expression or imitation of past traditions, as though the piece is like an object to be guarded. However "Masters of the Piano Roil..." is primary evidence that flatly contradicts what they say - there are over 250 recordings of Ravel playing his own work (some of the best featured... Read review

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Advantages: many
Disadvantages: none

...Very fine cd. D'Indy's String Sextet may be a bit pale as a composition, but the Violin Sonata is a wonderful work that is unjustly neglected. As far as I know this is the only recording ever made, apart from an old one by Henri Temianka and Doris Stevenson. This sonata is named "academic" or "overly intellectual", but this is simply not true. It satisfies the mind as well as the emotion, and that is surely the case in this fine and idiomatic recording by Marietta Kratz and Caroline Weichert. It dates from 1994 and I hope it to be still available. The Piano Quartet by the young D'Indy is a worthwile addition. I strongly recommend this wonderful disc for the repertoire as well as the playing.... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful