COMPOSERS: Franck/Faure/Ravel
LABELS: Discover
WORKS: Violin Sonata in A; Violin Sonata No. 2 in E minor; Volin Sonata (posthumous)
PERFORMER: Josef Suk (violin), Josef Hala (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: DICD 920306 DDD
Eminent performances from one of the world’s most distinctive violinists. His Franck Sonata is rich-hued and impassioned; the finale is riveting. More than forty years separate the two Fauré sonatas; the second, of 1917, is harmonically bold yet economically conceived, quite the antithesis of its predecessor. Suk’s performance is radiant, as is his searching account of the first sonata by Ravel, lost after its 1897 premiere, rediscovered in 1975. Fine playing, but piano timbre and dry studio ambience disappoint. Michael Jameson
Franck/Faure/Ravel
Eminent performances from one of the world’s most distinctive violinists. His Franck Sonata is rich-hued and impassioned; the finale is riveting. More than forty years separate the two Fauré sonatas; the second, of 1917, is harmonically bold yet economically conceived, quite the antithesis of its predecessor. Suk’s performance is radiant, as is his searching account of the first sonata by Ravel, lost after its 1897 premiere, rediscovered in 1975. Fine playing, but piano timbre and dry studio ambience disappoint. Michael Jameson
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:11 pm