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Music from Proust's Salons / Isserlis, Shih
BIS

Music from Proust's Salons / Isserlis, Shih

$21.99

Details

Composer
VARIOUS
Artist
Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
Format
SACD
Label
BIS
Released
Feb 05, 2021
Catalog #
BIS-2522
UPC
7318599925226

About

With this programme of music for cello and piano, Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih transport us to the world immortalized in Marcel Proust’s a la recherche du temps perdu – the Parisian high society and its glittering salons. For the composers of the time these provided a perfect platform for the introduction of new works, performed by the finest musicians in France for a sympathetic, educated and rich (!) audience. And for the music-loving Proust they offered countless opportunities to meet the composers that he so admired (and others that he may have admired a bit less…) The first of these to make his appearance in the programme is no one less than Proust’s one-time lover and lifelong friend, Reynaldo Hahn, with a brief set of Variations chantantes on a theme from a baroque opera. He is followed by Gabriel Faure, whose music Proust gushed about in a letter to the composer: ‘I could write a book more than 300 pages long about it.’

Proust was less expansive about Saint-Saëns’ music even if he admired him as a pianist, but the composer’s First Cello Sonata is nevertheless the centrepiece of the programme, before Henri Duparc and Augusta Holmes make their appearance. These were both students of Cesar Franck, whose iconic Violin Sonata in A major (here in the version for cello) closes this programme of ‘salon music’ – in the best possible sense of the term.

REVIEW:

The writings of Marcel Proust are suffused with music. Proust depicted the world of the Parisian salons of the late 19th century, where both music and literature flourished. This release by cellist Steven Isserlis and pianist Connie Shih does not depict a specific event, but it does plunge the listener into Proust's world. Isserlis brings the necessary heat to the Franck sonata, an arrangement of the composer's cello sonata that the composer himself sanctioned. Another draw is Shih's accompaniment work, distinctive and appropriately intense. For lovers of French music, this is a standout release.

– AllMusicGuide.com (James Manheim)

Tracklist 13 tracks

  1. 1 Variations chantantes sur un air ancien 04:54
    Track
    1
    Title
    Variations chantantes sur un air ancien
    Duration
    04:54
    Composer
    Reynaldo Hahn
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  2. 2 Romance, Op. 69 03:41
    Track
    2
    Title
    Romance, Op. 69
    Duration
    03:41
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  3. 3 Élégie, Op. 24 06:51
    Track
    3
    Title
    Élégie, Op. 24
    Duration
    06:51
    Composer
    Gabriel Fauré
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  4. 4 I. Allegro 08:58
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    08:58
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  5. 5 II. Andante tranquillo sostenuto 05:09
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. Andante tranquillo sostenuto
    Duration
    05:09
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  6. 6 III. Allegro moderato 05:36
    Track
    6
    Title
    III. Allegro moderato
    Duration
    05:36
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  7. 7 III. Allegro quasi presto (original finale) 08:49
    Track
    7
    Title
    III. Allegro quasi presto (original finale)
    Duration
    08:49
    Composer
    Camille Saint-Saëns
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  8. 8 Cello Sonata in A Minor: II. Lento 01:55
    Track
    8
    Title
    Cello Sonata in A Minor: II. Lento
    Duration
    01:55
    Composer
    Henri Duparc
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  9. 9 La Vision de la Reine: Récitatif et Chant (arr. S. Isserlis for cello and piano) 07:21
    Track
    9
    Title
    La Vision de la Reine: Récitatif et Chant (arr. S. Isserlis for cello and piano)
    Duration
    07:21
    Composer
    Augusta Holmès
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  10. 10 I. Allegretto ben moderato 06:31
    Track
    10
    Title
    I. Allegretto ben moderato
    Duration
    06:31
    Composer
    César Franck
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  11. 11 II. Allegro 07:53
    Track
    11
    Title
    II. Allegro
    Duration
    07:53
    Composer
    César Franck
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  12. 12 III. Recitativo - Fantasia: Ben moderato - molto lento 07:51
    Track
    12
    Title
    III. Recitativo - Fantasia: Ben moderato - molto lento
    Duration
    07:51
    Composer
    César Franck
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih
  13. 13 IV. Allegretto poco mosso 05:59
    Track
    13
    Title
    IV. Allegretto poco mosso
    Duration
    05:59
    Composer
    César Franck
    Performer
    Steven Isserlis, Connie Shih