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Avie Records

Fiddler's Blues / Graffin, Désert

$9.99
$19.99 Save 50%

Details

Composer
DEBUSSY ENESCU RAVEL YSAYE
Artist
Graffin, Desert
Format
CD
Label
Avie Records
Released
Feb 01, 2019
Catalog #
AV2399
UPC
822252239928

About

Philippe Graffin’s virtuosity combined with his skills as a sleuth have led to the world-premiere recording of a “Posthumous” solo violin sonata by Eugene Ysaye, an astonishing discovery that extends the Belgian composer’s canon of his essential six sonatas for the medium. Philippe unearthed the nearly-completed manuscript in the library of the Brussels Conservatoire, and polished off the final movement in the most Ysaye-esque manner possible. Philippe’s penchant for intuitive programming I brought to bear on Fiddler’s Blues, combining two Ysaye works - including another premiere, with a pair of folksy, Bohemian-flavored works by George Enescu, another virtuoso violinist/composer who emigrated from his native Romania and like Ysaye settled in Paris.

Enescu was a classmate of Maurice Ravel, whose Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Faure is an affectionate nod to their teacher at the Paris Conservatoire, whilst his azure-tinged Violin Sonata influences the album’s title. Ravel’s slightly older contemporary Claude Debussy befriended Ysaye. Whereas Ysaye soared writing works for solo violin, Debussy wrote none. Suggesting how such a work may have sounded, Philippe contributes his own arrangement for solo violin of Debussy’s enduring piece Claire de lune.

REVIEWS:

This duo’s rapport comes across in sparky performances. Premieres of pieces by Ysaÿe are a draw, but the Enescu sonata and Hora Unirii are a real treat and leave you feeling anything but blue. ★★★★

-- BBC Music Magazine

The big story here is the first recording of a previously undiscovered seventh unaccompanied violin sonata by Eugène Ysaÿe…Played with flourishing panache and easy command, it makes an electrifying opening to this deceptively titled recital: essentially a survey of the early 20th-century Parisian scene…There’s a real feeling of dialogue.

-- Gramophone

Tracklist 13 tracks

  1. 1 I. Allegro molto moderato ma con brio 03:39
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Allegro molto moderato ma con brio
    Duration
    03:39
    Composer
    Eugène Ysaÿe
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin
  2. 2 II. Canzona: Lento e mesto 03:30
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Canzona: Lento e mesto
    Duration
    03:30
    Composer
    Eugène Ysaÿe
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin
  3. 3 Violin Sonata: III. Finale: Giocoso (from Ysaÿe's sketchbook, Brussels Conservatoire, completed by P. Graffin) 02:08
    Track
    3
    Title
    Violin Sonata: III. Finale: Giocoso (from Ysaÿe's sketchbook, Brussels Conservatoire, completed by P. Graffin)
    Duration
    02:08
    Composer
    Eugène Ysaÿe
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin
  4. 4 I. Allegretto 07:44
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. Allegretto
    Duration
    07:44
    Composer
    Maurice Ravel
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert
  5. 5 II. Blues: Moderato 05:26
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. Blues: Moderato
    Duration
    05:26
    Composer
    Maurice Ravel
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert
  6. 6 III. Perpetuum mobile: Allegro 03:58
    Track
    6
    Title
    III. Perpetuum mobile: Allegro
    Duration
    03:58
    Composer
    Maurice Ravel
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert
  7. 7 Suite bergamasque: III. Clair de lune (arr. D. Matthews and P. Graffin for violin) 05:04
    Track
    7
    Title
    Suite bergamasque: III. Clair de lune (arr. D. Matthews and P. Graffin for violin)
    Duration
    05:04
    Composer
    Claude Debussy
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin
  8. 8 Petite fantaisie romantique 04:59
    Track
    8
    Title
    Petite fantaisie romantique
    Duration
    04:59
    Composer
    Eugène Ysaÿe
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert
  9. 9 I. Moderato malinconico 09:20
    Track
    9
    Title
    I. Moderato malinconico
    Duration
    09:20
    Composer
    George Enescu
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert
  10. 10 II. Andante sostenuto e misterioso 08:25
    Track
    10
    Title
    II. Andante sostenuto e misterioso
    Duration
    08:25
    Composer
    George Enescu
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert
  11. 11 III. Allegro con brio, ma non troppo mosso 08:23
    Track
    11
    Title
    III. Allegro con brio, ma non troppo mosso
    Duration
    08:23
    Composer
    George Enescu
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert
  12. 12 Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré 02:43
    Track
    12
    Title
    Berceuse sur le nom de Gabriel Fauré
    Duration
    02:43
    Composer
    Maurice Ravel
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert
  13. 13 Hora Unirii 01:52
    Track
    13
    Title
    Hora Unirii
    Duration
    01:52
    Composer
    George Enescu
    Performer
    Philippe Graffin, Claire Désert