Romantic Violin Sonatas

Hakon Borresen (Composer), Louis Glass (Composer), Fini Henriques (Composer), Christina Bjørkøe (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Christina Bjørkøe
• Composer: Hakon Borresen, Louis Glass, Fini Henriques
• Audio CD (March 21, 2006)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Marco Polo
• ASIN: B000E8ZLTI
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #807,565 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Are They EVER Romantic!, May 30, 2006

By 

J Scott Morrison (Middlebury VT, USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Romantic Violin Sonatas (Audio CD)

These are three works by three Danish composers of roughly the same generation as the better-known Carl Nielsen -- indeed in Denmark they are referred to as 'The Generation in Nielsen's Shadow' -- who did not break new paths as Nielsen did. All three write in a high Romantic style. And each is more than capable of spinning melodic, formally coherent, crowd-pleasing works. Actually, although the album is entitled 'Romantic Violin Sonatas' the disc contains two sonatas plus a couple of encores (the latter the works by Henriques). Borresen (imagine a slash through that 'o' functioning rather like the German 'ö') is possibly the best known of the three. His symphonies have also been recorded by da capo and I was very pleasantly struck by the recording a couple of years ago of his delightful one-act opera 'The Royal Guest.' Borresen (1876-1954) has written just the one violin sonata (1907), in the usual three movements. It begins with a tumultuous passage that implies that this will be a dramatic, yarn-spinning work, but that manner disappears with the appearance of a rather more conventional Schumannesque principal subject. The second movement also misleads us with its misterioso opening passage giving on to a lyrical effusion whose only connection with the opening theme seems to be an etiolation of its rhythmic outline. The lively third movement is somewhat jarringly jocular in contrast to what has gone before, and it seems almost to be an encore-like violin bon-bon. Still, it is engaging. There is, in Danish music in general, a tendency to rough teasing humor and this is an example of that.

The First Violin Sonata (1888) of Louis Glass (1864-1936) is, if anything, more conservative than the Borresen; of course, it came almost thirty years earlier. It owes more to Gade than to Schumann, is generally sweeter and more extravagantly melodic. Glass was influenced harmonically by Franck and we hear extensive use of enharmonic side-slipping as well as cyclical use of thematic material. The booklet notes by Bo Marschner include music-notation examples of Glass's themes (not included for the other two composers' music) and this is helpful for understanding the cyclical interconnections of themes. Particularly beautiful is the lyrical first theme of the Andante movement -- a theme that has stayed in my ear long after I put the CD away. The fourth movement gathers up the important themes of the earlier movements and, after a portentous introduction, devolves into a lopsided waltz that eventually gives these earlier themes an entirely satisfying workout.

The two works by Fini Henriques (1867-1940), himself a violin virtuoso who had studied with Joachim, are really more in the nature of violin/piano encores, rather similar to those of Henriques' contemporary, Fritz Kreisler. The delightful 'Mazurka' makes use of double-stops, muted passages, harmonics and ponticello effects. At times it sounds more Gypsy than Polish, but no matter. 'Wiegenlied' is a sweetly crooning lullaby.

Arne Balk-Moller is a fine violinist whom I don't recall encountering before. He is a convincing exponent for these unfamiliar works. His accompanist, Christina Bjorkoe, whose disc of Riisager piano works I reviewed with some enthusiasm, is fully his equal.

Scott Morrison