Philippe Graffin is the latest violinist to join ONYX, after several outstanding discs of rare French and English repertoire for labels such as Hyperion and Avie. This new recital brings together the mesmerising intensity of Gypsy violin playing with classical composers’ response to it Released to coincide with a notable novel called Hungarian Dances by writer and journalist Jessica Duchen. She explains: “When I asked Philippe Graffin, a treasured friend and colleague, to check the manuscript of Hungarian Dances for violinistic errors, I little dreamed he’d respond by making this recording: a CD inspired by the novel. Yet the novel was partly inspired by a CD – Philippe and Claire’s beautiful recital ‘In the Shade of Forests’, evoking the spirit of the archetypal wandering Gypsy violinist”. (see www.hungariandances.co.uk for more details) Philippe’s recital is loosely based around the book but is also designed to work as a programme in its own right with several pieces chosen only for the recording including rarities by such composers as Von Vecsey, Hubay, Scarlatescu and Arthur Hartmann. Claire Désert is well-known in France for several solo CDs and here plays both piano and piano luthéal, the ‘prepared piano’ that Ravel had made for Tzigane in 1919 and which imitates the sound of a Hungarian cimbalom to striking effect in many of these pieces
"Released as a companion to Jessica Duchen’s novel, Philippe Graffin and Claire Désert’s ’Hungarian Dances’ surveys the concert hall’s fascination with the gypsy violin. Graffin’s refined tone cuts through the fat of the schmaltzier numbers, aided in Monti’s "Csardas", Hubay’s "Hejre Kati" and Ioan Scarlatescu’s "Bagatelle" by the sound of Désert’s piano luthéal. Bartok’s "Romanian Folk Dances" and "Duos" add grit, while Debussy’s "La plus lente" and Hartmann’s wistful "L’amour, valse bluette" beguile."
Anna Picard
"...it’s an enthralling, exceptional recital, to be thoroughly recommended."
Duncan Druce
