Eugène Ysaÿe, Heinz Holliger and Anton Kernjak, Carl-Henri Morisset, Jeff Beck, Tim Bogert and Carmine Appice, Devendra Banhart, Killer Mike, Bala Desejo

2023-09-22 17:18:47

Eugène Ysaÿe

Six sonatas for solo violin, op. 27.

Cover of the album “Six sonatas for solo violin”, by Eugène Ysaÿe, by Hilary Hahn. DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON

Corpus cherished by violinists, less known but just as inspired as the Sonatas and parts, of Bach, of which they are intended to be the modern counterpart, the Six sonatas for solo violin, by Eugène Ysaÿe, whose centenary of publication we are celebrating, illustrate the glorious quintessence of the Belgian violin school, of which the composer was one of the most illustrious representatives. The version offered by violinist Hilary Hahn immediately ranks at the top of the discography. It must be said that the American studied with one of Ysaÿe’s students, thus drinking from the source. Subtlety of phrasing, absolute accuracy, virtuoso mastery, beauty of sound: the musician is not content to masterfully combine the multiple technical requirements that this music requires, she reveals a visionary imagination and a strong soul. Where many of her colleagues manage with certain technical difficulties, Hahn displays a breathtaking art of polyphony, proving that she is still one of the finest bows on the violin planet. Marie-Aude Roux

1 CD German gramophone.

Heinz Holliger – Anton Kernjak

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Works by Maurice Ravel, Camille Saint-Saëns, André Jolivet, Olivier Messiaen, Darius Milhaud, Claude Debussy, Charles Koechlin and Robert Casadesus by Heinz Holliger (oboe, oboe d’amore), Anton Kernjak (piano) and Alice Belugou (harp) .

Cover of the album “Eventail”, by Heinz Holliger and Anton Kernjak. ECM NEW SERIES/UNIVERSAL

Sweeping a period that exceeds three-quarters of a century (1892-1968), this range of French music refreshes both forgotten pieces and masterpieces with the qualities specific to Heinz Holliger. The height of vision of the great composer that the 84-year-old Swiss is, and the exquisite musicality of the versatile performer that he also is. Structured around scores originally intended for the voice, the program begins with a magnificent « recreation” of the Habanera shaped piece, by Ravel. The oboe makes a cut in the crystalline material of the piano to make it iridescent without ever breaking it. The rest is to match: the smiling one Vocalise-study, by Messiaen, the caressing Vocalise-study « Air », by Milhaud, and the edifying version of the famous Syrinx, by Debussy, with an oboe d’amore which evokes the ancient reference (classrooms, the mythical instrument of Greece) better than the transverse flute. The original pages benefit from no less relevant readings. For example, Controversy, by André Jolivet, which looks like a game on the emerging fashion for “playing modes” (countless on the harp). If Tityrus’ Restlittle gem by Charles Koechlin, and the sonata “Tardive”, by Camille Saint-Saëns, have their place in this invigorating cabinet of curiosities, the sonatavery conventional, by Robert Casadesus, only seems to be there for emotional reasons, linked to the memory of Holliger’s professor. Pierre Gervasoni

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