Expressive and passionate playing of French repertoire from Miriam Davis & Michael Bulychev-Okser in 'Ode to Lost Time'

Violinist Miriam Davis and pianist Michael Bulychev-Okser have recorded a beautiful selection of French music under the title Ode to Lost Time, a reference of course to Marcel Proust’s À la recherche du temps perdu, and its fictional composer, Vinteuil, and perhaps the musical influences on Proust. They open with Eugène Ysaÿe’s (1858-1931) Poème Élégiaque in D minor, Op. 12. This is a highly Romantic and expressive piece, written in 1892-3, and its scordatura (the G string is tuned down to F) adds an additional rich depth to the sound. Davis’ tone is immediately open and forward, matched well by expressive playing from Bulychev-Okser, and they capture the turbulent lyricism and unrest well here. 

 

César Franck (1822-1890) was a favourite of Proust, and the story goes that he turned up at violinist Gaston Poulet’s house at midnight, demanding to hear Franck’s String Quartet. They gathered the rest of the quartet in a taxi, and they performed the Franck for Proust in his bedroom, when Proust then immediately asked to hear it all again. Franck’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in A major was a wedding present for Ysaÿe, and moves from a sunny opening Allegretto ben moderato into a highly turbulent Allegro molto second movement. Here the piano opens with rapidly virtuosic forward propulsion, played here with exemplary drive by Bulychev-Okser, and Davis responds with equal energy. In contrast, the Recitativo-Fantasia third movement has frequent sections for unaccompanied violin, full of sadness and nostalgia. Sunlight returns with the Finale, however, with its canonic lines ringing out. Here Davis and Bulychev-Okser achieve just the right balance to make their echoing lines sing equally, making this a strong performance of Franck’s evergreen masterpiece. 

 

Claude Debussy’s (1862-1918) Violin Sonata in G minor, L140 dates from 1917, the year before he died, and was his last work, the third of an unfinished proposed cycle of sonatas for different instruments, the other two completed ones being for cello and piano (L135), and flute, viola and harp (L137). The Violin Sonata was premiered by Gaston Poulet and Debussy himself. Davis gives the opening Allegro vivo a particular sultriness here, and the central Intermède, with its frequent changes of pace, has a playful spirit. Bulychev-Okser opens the Finale with bright energy, and Davis immediately responds with Debussy’s virtuosic flourishes dashed off effortlessly. Again, there is a sultriness in the central louche waltz, before virtuosic energy from both drive to a blazing finish. 

 

They end their disc with Ernest Chausson’s (1855-1899) rhapsodic Poème, Op. 25, full of sadness and longing, and written for Ysaÿe, who was involved at the composition stage, no doubt influencing its double-stopping passages and virtuosic display. Davis again demonstrates strong control of the virtuosic demands here, and she and Bulychev-Okser give a fine performance, bringing their programme to a more introspective, sombre conclusion. The pair bring out well the contrasts between these works here in highly expressive and passionate readings, making this release worthy of strong recommendation. 

Various. 2024. Ode to Lost Time. Miriam Davis, Michael Bulychev-Okser. Compact Disc. Convivium Records CR091.

Järvi and the Philharmonia hammer home the terrors of war in Prokofiev 6

James Ehnes
© Benjamin Ealovega

James Ehnes (violin)

The Philharmonia

Paavo Järvi (conductor) 

3pm, Sunday 26 November 2023

Royal Festival Hall, London

★★★★

Claude Debussy (1862-1918): Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35

Encore:

Eugene Ysaÿe (1858-1931): Sonata for Solo Violin in D minor 'Ballade', Op 27 No. 3

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953): Symphony No. 6 in E flat minor, Op. 111

Paavo Järvi
© Kaupo Kikkas

Debussy:

Järvi’s take on Faune was languorous and warm, yet with a kind of mystical reverence.

Tchaikovsky:

'Ehnes’ unquestionable virtuosity is such that this performance felt almost understated, in a good way. Nothing appeared to be any effort at all, so even in the craziest runs every note was clearly articulated'.

'Järvi et al had great fun with the finale’s rustic drones, and Ehnes’ gunshot spiccato got faster and faster, with a frankly crazy but exhilarating race to the end'.

Prokofiev:

'Järvi put the Philharmonia through their paces, with some particularly unforgiving tempo, especially in the finale, but they were up to the challenge'.

'This was surely Prokofiev’s anger at the horrors of war, and Järvi and the Philharmonia duly delivered the required sense of terror'. 

Read my full review on Bachtrack here.

CD Review - The Stradgrass Sessions - Tessa Lark

Kentucky born violinist Tessa Lark’s debut CD Fantasy in 2019 (my review here) combined her classical and folk roots admirably, but she has taken this further into American folk styles with her latest disc, The Stradgrass Sessions. She coined the term ‘Stradgrass’ back in 2015, when she was lucky enough to have a Stradivarius on loan for a few years, and was experimenting with playing bluegrass on the instrument. Moving on some years, on this disc, she combines some of her own compositions with those of other contemporary American composers, and she adds Eugène Ysaÿe’s (1858-1931) Sonata for Solo Violin No. 5 into the mix, along with three of Béla Bartók’s (1881-1945) 44 Duets for Two Violins, here recast for violin and mandolin, played by Sierra Hull (b.1991). But proceedings begin with Lark’s own Jig and Pop, a wild, moto perpetuo piece, with driving, obsessive minimalist rhythms. Incredibly fast, it has a quieter central section which dies away to a thrum, and finally halts. Hints of the motif then get things going again. This clearly sets Lark’s stall out in terms of energy and virtuosity, and it is followed by Sierra Hull’s Chasin’ Skies, a funky, jazz-infused joyful piece, originally written by Hull just for the mandolin, but clearly a great collaboration for both here, with wild virtuosity from both players. Lark follows with two more of her own fiddle tunes, Le Soka and Cheese in the Wine. The former takes inspiration from the opening line of Ravel’s Violin Sonata No. 2, with Lark swinging a melodic line with panache, whereas the latter has more of connection to Irish fiddle style. She then joins with Edgar Meyer (b.1960) for Meyer’s Concert Duo for Violin and Bass. Its gently lilting opening contrasts with the initial darkness of the bass, before the pace picks up. There are shiny, ethereal harmonise, echo effects and use of canon between the instruments. Copland-esque chords contrast with the wilder, virtuosic displays from both instruments. The second movement dives straight into rapid, shifting rhythms in unison melodies. The violin then takes up a two bar ostinato, while the bass gives wild flourishes, then the process is reversed, the violin taking over the virtuosity. Towards the end there is a fascinatingly unexpected polytonal section, almost like the instruments are unravelling, before they rejoin for the driving finish. Ysaÿe’s Sonata also has two movements, opening with L’Aurore (Dawn), where wispy signs of life move into sliding double stops, then increasingly widely spread rippling arpeggios lead to the energy and brightness of a blazing sunrise. The Danse rustique that follows begins with spread chlorides bringing out a melody, highly technically challenging, and it is a while before the dance really gets going, via lots of rhapsodic, fleeting gestures, but when it does, crazy virtuosic wildness takes hold and drives to the finish. Lark’s Hysedelje calms things down with a distinctly Nordic feel (despite the fact that she made up the title, with no apparent meaning), and its swinging rhythm is playful, right to Lark’s final ‘whoop’ to finish. Another collaboration follows, this time with fiddler Michael Cleveland (b.1980), in Lazy Katie, a gloriously energetic ‘twin fiddling’ display, with tight harmonies and fast rhythmic lines, exuding joy from beginning to end. John Corigliano’s (b.1938) STOMP follows, a competition test piece written for the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition. Complete with an opening theatrical train horn, non standard tuning and bluesy slides, it has moments of sad lament, before the horn returns and leads into wild stomping and scratching. The blues slows, still with added stomping, before a fast, crazy finish. In the Bartók, we have thrumming rhythms from the mandolin and a twisting violin melody in No. 35, with ethereal glassy effects on the violin before the finish. No. 39 has pizzicato on the violin matching the plucked mandolin, although the two instruments’ different timbres add an extra dimension to the gently lilting and nagging repetitions. No. 45 is a rapid swirling dance, with incredibly nimble playing from Hull on the mandolin, despite being less prominent in the texture. The disc closes with something much more contemplative and actually very touching. Lark collaborates again, this time with pianist Jon Batiste (b.1986), with their rhapsodic arrangement of Stephen Foster’s (1826-1864) My Old Kentucky Home. After a bright, high piano opening and violin harmonics, the melody emerges almost spontaneously, and the resulting exploration is conversational, with rich, evocative chords on the piano, and fragments of melody creating the sense of distant memories. Batiste gives a luxurious jazzy solo, before Lark joins again with nostalgic melodic lines. After a disc so full of energy and show, this is a bravely intimate conclusion to a fabulous showcase of Lark’s diverse talents.

Various. 2023. The Stradgrass Sessions. Tessa Lark, Sierra Hull, Edgar Meyer, Michael Cleveland, Jon Batiste. Compact Disc. First Hand Records FHR100.