Customer Reviews

Fauré/Franck: Violin Sonatas

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I can not but echo the previous reviewer's words: beauty and mystery truly come in spades in this Philips Musica da Camera issue of the Fauré and Franck sonatas, recorded beautifully in 1977 and 1978 respectively. In both the Fauré sonatas, Arthur Grumiaux is backed by Paul Crossley; in the Franck sonata the accompanist is Gyorgy Sebok (this not being specified in the product details). That said, it would be best to let the music speak for itself; however, as yet there are no audio snippets available so maybe a few words on the music are in order here.

First of all, the two Fauré sonatas. Grumiaux had an impeccable sense of line and astonishing tonal control, and they are demonstrated at their best in these Fauré interpretations. The same can be said of Crossley's piano playing - from the gossamer intro of the first sonata and the quietly pulsating melodic curves of the second sonata's Andante to the glittering quicksilver textures of the second sonata's finale, he manages to find just the right amount of expressiveness and tonal shading to complement Grumiaux's masterly violin playing. The second sonata in particular, one of Fauré's late works, comes across as a seamless flow of musical bliss in the hands of these performers; at times almost meditatively peaceful and contemplative, at times mercurial and ecstatic (particularly so in the second sonata's finale), they remain a treasure to be cherished.

As for the Franck sonata, Sebok may at first sound a bit less flexible than Crossley, but then again, this is just a minor quibble as the Franck sonata (at least to my tastes) seems to require a different approach than Fauré - a bit more violent if that's the appropriate word. And indeed, this suits the music rather well as Grumiaux too sounds as if he's putting a bit more edge and anger to his playing. This is not to say that the Franck sonata is given a coarse treatment here, on the contrary. Compared with Fauré, however, Franck's sonata is inherently a shade coarser but none the less beautiful and appealing for that; the work has a tendency to grow on you with each listen.

Taken together, these Fauré and Franck sonatas make an interesting and generous coupling - and what's more, it is very hard to imagine this music presented more beautifully than on this disc. It runs up to almost 73 minutes of sheer luxury, and can be warmly recommended to anyone hooked on Grumiaux or Fauré -or French chamber music in general, for that matter. This is an absolute gem.

Gabriel Faure's first sonata is my third favorite violin sonata ever written, a likely candidate for the most under-rated violin sonata of all time.

The piece starts with a melody so pure, lyrical and full of beauty that the music is simply impossible not to completely fall in love with. I find the piano and violin parts equally interesting, the piano accompaniment uses alot of accidentals, alerted scales, and high amounts of chromaticism and augmented intervals giving the music a floating, dream-like quality with a sense of mystery.

Fuare was himself a pupil of Camille Saint-Saens and his pupils included Enescu and Ravel. For me, those composers were the core of the French impressionists. In a way, they invented their own style of music much the same way Monet and Renior had their own style of painting.

Arthur Grumiaux is an incredible violinist who gets such a unique tone from his Guadagnini and he plays with such beauty and warmth that it will astound you. Yet again Mr. Grumiaux shows his ability to speak with every note and draw you in as a listener from his fully-inspired playing. His timing is impeccable and phrasing is emotional.

If you like the music of Saint-Saens, Franck. Ravel, Debussy, Chausson, Satie, and Poulenc then you have to get this CD.

This recording of the Franck Sonata with Grumiaux and Crosley is definitely better than the one with Hadju, released on Philips DUO classics. Crossley's fine piano touch creates amazing atmospheres especially in the poetic Faure Sonata No. 1. I have this in an LP and has always been one of my favorites. Grumiaux's warm tone and honest and thoughtful playing will always make him one of the greatest of all times.

An old style performance, with dashing Gallic flair and elan. More recent performances, most impressively from Gil Shahan, have not replaced the authority and understanding that these great old French stars bring to this beautiful music.
Paul Chihara
Professor of Music, UCLA

The chamber music of Gabriel Faure seems to have faded into oblivion. As a matter of fact just a few violinists have dared his works; it's absolutely regretful because of the fact Faure is a musician who has so much to say, despite all the prejudices around. This is an utter shame

Faure must be listened and considered far beyond the well known triviality spirit lived in France during the last quarter of the Century, where the Belle Époque literally flooded all the imaginable spaces and seriously permeated an entire generation. Somehow he was born in the middle of a transition signed by two visible opposite tendencies; the beauty fragrances of the last thuds of a dying Romanticism and the emerging Impressionism movement; he was stranded and even trapped between these two artistic currents.

These two Violin Sonatas represent to my mind, two profuse evidences about the originality and talent of Gabriel Faure, whose time has not come for him yet. Nevertheless it's time for you to get close around this notable and sensitive composer.

It's useless to state these performances could not be in better hands. Grumiaux enriches and improves still more this emblematic lyrical pages with his musical partner, Paul Crossley, who was in the seventies and eighties an untiring herald of Michael Tippet `s piano music.

Highly recommended.

I stumbled on this CD a while back and bought it not knowing really what to expect. What I found was unbelievably great music that ended up having a real effect on me. My wife and I even decided to use it at our wedding.

After hearing this recording, the first Fauré sonata became my favorite piece of music. I cannot imagine why it isn't performed all the time. Arthur Grumiaux and Paul Crossley do an absolutely fabulous job on both Fauré sonatas, which are interesting for being "bookends" of sorts on Fauré's career. The first sonata was numbered Op. 13 (out of what would become a total of 121). It was written in about 1875, at the start of his career, and is full of almost reckless Romanticism and optimism, especially in the first movement.

Fauré's second violin sonata, Op. 108, is a darker work, but still beautiful. It was written in about 1918, just two years before his he would be forced to resign as director of the Paris Conservatory due to his increasing deafness. Given that, his increased maturity, the fact that World War I was raging, and the fact that modernity was taking music in a new direction since the Paris premiere a few years earlier of Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring", it is not surprising that the unbridled optimism and Romanticism of the first sonata was lost. There may not be searing melodies, but there is a wistful sadness, as if looking back on life and wondering what it was all about. The answer Fauré offers in the music is still hopeful.

The disc closes with the much better-known Violin Sonata of Cesar Franck. Here we are back in 1886, before the world had started going mad (indeed, the start of the second Fauré seems to me to quote themes from the first movement of the Franck, in a topsy-turvy way -- but this may be my imagination). The Franck is more mature than the Fauré first, and the Romanticism is more in check, but it is still a really lyrical sonata with great themes throughout. The terrific last movement somehow manages to be stately and sprightly at the same time.

This beautifully played and recorded disc opens and closes with two of the greatest movements in all the violin sonata literature, as far as I'm concerned -- the first movement of Fauré's first and the last movement of the Franck. And what's between the two is pretty great as well. Most highly recommended!