Music for Violin & Piano
The Franco-Belgian Album
Contents listed after review
Bruno Monteiro (violin), João Paulo Santos (piano)
rec. 2024, Auditório Caixa Geral de Depósitos, ISEG Lisbon, Portugal
Et’cetera KTC1791 [76]
While the names of all the composers on this disc titled “The Franco-Belgium” are very familiar, the chosen repertoire is relatively rare. That said, I wonder how many times in recent years major orchestras or soloists have programmed in concert the concertos of Henri Vieuxtemps? A child prodigy, the Belgium Vieuxtemps was a significant performer/composer in the early/mid 19th century who quite aside from his own music was an important figure rehabilitating the relatively forgotten Beethoven Violin Concerto. These days his own concerti tend to be the preserve of conservatoire violinists and the occasional recording. Historically, many major players produced discs featuring one or more of his works; Heifitz, Menuhin, Grumiaux, Zuckerman, Chung, Kramer, Ricci, Lin, Hanslip to name just a few. But in recent years, the number of new recordings of these always enjoyable and attractive works has greatly diminished.
So, a new recording of a large-scale work by Vieuxtemps is to be welcomed. And this is most definitely a large-scale work. Written when the composer was just twenty-two, the Grande Sonata for Piano and Violin in D major, Op 12 in this performance runs to 44:52 which dwarfs the other four pieces offered here. The opening Allegro assai is an imposing 16:24 and is representative of the whole work in the sense that it oozes youthful confidence and certainty without ever quite convincing the listener that some judicious pruning would not have made the musical argument more cogent and compelling. Conversely, it should be said that Vieuxtemps succeeds in maintaining the listener’s interest more than might be expected. On disc, this sonata has suffered more neglect than the concerti – a not-that-detailed search reveals just a couple of alternatives. Both these alternatives suggest significantly swifter performances, although the substantial difference in timings might imply that some cuts have been deployed. On ASV Michael Guttman took 37:52 while Tatiana Samouil on Cypres is a fleet 27:48[!] which surely can only be achieved with substantial cuts. Dipping into Samouil on Spotify suggests a generally lighter, capricious approach than the hard-working Bruno Monteiro on this new disc. It’s worth remembering that Vieuxtemps, alongside his teacher de Bériot, was central to the founding of the 19th Century French school of violin playing, which was notable for a lighter brilliance of technique and execution.
All the remaining music and composers on this disc owe an artistic debt to Vieuxtemps and the French School of violin playing – Eugène Ysaÿe was a Vieuxtemps pupil. The Wikipedia page devoted to Ysaÿe neatly defines this school of playing thus; “he was part of the so-called Franco-Belgian school of violin playing, which dates back to the development of the modern violin bow by François Tourte. Qualities of this “École” included elegance, a full tone with a sense of drawing a “long” bow with no jerks, precise left-hand techniques, and bowing using the whole forearm while keeping both the wrist and upper arm quiet (as opposed to Joseph Joachim’s German school of wrist bowing and Leopold Auer’s Russian concept of using the whole arm.)”. Certainly, these qualities should be present in a successful performance of this type of music.
By scale and intent, the bulk of the remaining works have a salon-like quality of lyricism and gentle sentiment. Franck’s Andantino quietoso, Op 6 is a little gem, so no surprise it has appeared on various recitals. As the opus number suggests, this is an early work, which to be honest shows Franck having a greater/apt sense of scale than the verbose Vieuxtemps at a similar age. Conversely the Mélancolie, although it shares a similar expressive intent, was not published until after the composer’s death, but again it displays an expressive intensity and poignancy that is more engaging than Vieuxtemps was able to achieve. Much the same can be said of the Fauré Berceuse, Op 16 [not the famous Dolly Suite Berceuse] which again features in the catalogue as a companion to the Fauré violin sonatas and quite often in its orchestrally accompanied guise. Indeed a new recording of that version which the composer orchestrated in 1880 appeared on Naxos in late 2024. Camille Saint-Saëns’ Élégie, Op 143 is another very late work – written in 1915 it would not have sounded out of place in an 1880s Parisian salon. Again it occupies a position of gentle sentiment, attractively expressed.
Bruno Monteiro and his regular accompanist João Paulo Santos complete the programme with Ysaÿe’s Caprice d’après l’Etude en forme de Valse, Op 52 by Camille Saint-Saëns. Even by the standards of 19th century virtuosi, Ysaÿe was by all accounts an astonishing player and he wrote works to display that virtuosity. I have to say that I find Monteiro’s playing, as recorded here, overly tested by the writing with the results ultimately unappealing. There are at least two alternative versions that can be compared and contrasted on Spotify alongside this disc from Kwon Hyuk-joo (winner of the 2004 Nielsen competition), and Saténik Khourdoïan. These are two radically different approaches; Hyuk-joo playing with flamboyant ease and Khourdoïan all fire and flair. In such company, Monteiro’s technique sounds under too much frequent strain.
I should say in fairness that Monteiro’s website includes several reviews praising this very album and indeed the combination of Monteiro and Santos have released multiple recital discs on the Et’cetera label. Monteiro also acts as the disc’s producer and has supplied the liner note, so the level of engagement is clear. I would strongly suggest prospective purchasers sample this album via various streaming sites first. However, for me, significant concerns about the actual playing far outweigh the attraction and interest in the repertoire offered.
Nick Barnard
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Contents:
Henri Vieuxtemps (1820-1881)
Grande Sonata for Piano and Violin in D major, Op 12 (1843)
César Franck (1822-1890)
Andantino quietoso, Op 6 (1843)
Mélancolie, (posth. 1911)
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Berceuse, Op 16 (1878)
Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921)
Élégie, Op 143 (1915)
Eugène Ysaÿe (1858-1931) after Camille Saint-Saëns
Caprice d’après l’Etude en forme de Valse, Op 52 (ca. 1900)
