Debussy/ Ravel/Franck: Violin Sonatas

Violin Sonatas by Franck, Debussy, and Ravel – Jennifer Pike (violin), Martin Roscoe (piano)

Jennifer Pike, an exclusive Chandos artist and one of the brightest up-and-coming stars on the musical scene today, named BBC Young Musician of the Year in 2002, performs some of the greatest music for the violin in the repertoire. On her first recital recording for Chandos, she partners the distinguished pianist Martin Roscoe, and together they superbly capture the Gaelic qualities of the violin sonatas by Franck, Debussy, and Ravel.

The Violin Sonata in A by César Franck was written in 1886 as a wedding present for the great violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. Sensuous, yet spiritual and serene, this is a triumphant example of cyclic form in four movements: a languid Allegretto, a fiery Allegro, a Recitativo-Fantasia recalling earlier themes, and a gentle finale which is one of the finest examples of a canon written after Bach. The 1886 premiere took place in an art gallery in Brussels, in a room so dark that Ysaÿe was forced to play the sonata largely from memory.

The Violin Sonata was the third and last completed of a projected set of six sonatas for various instruments, on which Debussy embarked in 1915, three years before his death. Compared to the sonatas by Franck and Ravel, this work is very different in terms of the freedom and fantasy expressed in its ideas and structure. It may have been inspired in part by a gypsy fiddler whom Debussy heard on a visit to Budapest; indeed the violin writing in the central movement incorporates a number of ‘gypsy’ traits: trills, slides, and sudden bursts of excitement. This movement presents seventeen different tempo indications in a mere six pages, which highlights Debussy’s strong desire to write music that ‘sounds as if it’s not written down’.

Combining the influence of blues with an austere beauty, the Violin Sonata was Ravel’s final chamber work. In the late 1890s, the young Ravel had written one movement of a violin sonata, but it was not until the 1920s that he completed the work. He worked on the basic premise that the two instruments, violin and piano, being incompatible, should be made as independent from each other as possible, without risking the collapse of the structure. The deliberate lack of relationship between the instruments tested the ears of the critics, and when Ravel took the sonata on his North American tour in 1928, they did not approve – though the work was very well received by its audiences!

"...Martin Roscoe ... must take a great deal of credit for the success of these performances. He is a full-fledged partner and has no inhibitions about drawing a huge sound from his
piano... Jennifer Pike draws a full, firm sound from a Matteo Goffriller violin of 1708. Roger Nichols wrote the excellent notes. Excellent sound as usual from Chandos."

Magil - American Record Guide - November/December 2011

"...Strongly recommended ..."

Robert Maxham - Fanfare - September/October 2011

"...From the first notes of Franck, her tone is gorgeously thick and rich - and, in the piece’s frantic challenging second movement, almost itchy and prickly with heat. Her handling of the middle of the Debussy is a pleasure..." ****

Laura Sylvester - Muso - August/September 2011

Repertoire *** Sound ***** Interpretation *****

Detlev Bork - Ensemble magazine - August/September 2011

“A young violinist comes of age with three of the great works of the sonata repertoire.”

David Denton – The Strad – July 2011

“…Production values are all one could desire, with Stephen Rinker’s glowingly realistic, richly upholstered sound complementing the consistently polished and affectionate music-making. Recommended …”

Andrew Achenbach – Gramophone – July 2011

“Jennifer Pike, in equal partnership with Martin Roscoe, gives thoroughly idiomatic, glistening performances of three core French violin sonatas. This is playing that brims with character…”

Geoffrey Norris – The Telegraph – 14 May 2011

“… this is a recital that’s full of interest. Jennifer Pike and Martin Roscoe’s account of the Debussy is particularly fine; in a work where character and style are so important, they never disappoint …”

Duncan Druce – Gramophone Magazine – June 2011

Performance **** Recording ****
“…These three sonatas sit extremely well together, providing a stimulating blend of stylistic resonances and contrasts from composers at the height of their powers. Pike finds much to relish in them, not only in her beautiful singing tone, but also in moments of hushed mystery, all captured in an admirably clear recording…”

Christopher Dingle – BBC Music Magazine – May 2011

“…This is a mature artist making her statement, nothing flash but warmly satisfying.” ****

Norman Lebrecht – 3 April 2011

“…this is a most impressive debut recital disc, presenting a fully fledged artist who has much to communicate through her expressive playing. I hope it is the first of many.”

Mark Pullinger - International Record Review - April 2011

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S Murdock

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A Satou

Debussy/ Ravel/Franck: Violin Sonatas

Martin Roscoe

Jennifer Pike

Britten Studio, Hoffmann Building, Snape Maltings, Suffolk

Rachel Smith

Jonathan Cooper

Violin

CLAUDE DEBUSSY

Violin Sonata

MAURICE RAVEL

Violin Sonata

CESAR FRANCK

Violin Sonata, M 8