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In concert – Steven Isserlis and Friends – Fauré at the Wigmore Hall (3)

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Steven Isserlis (cello) – with Joshua Bell, Irène Duval (violins), Blythe Teh Engstroem (viola), Jeremy Denk, Connie Shih (pianos)

Fauré Violin Sonata no.1 in A major Op.13 (1875-6)
Saint-Saëns Piano Trio no.2 in E minor Op.92 (1892)
Ysaÿe Solo Violin Sonata in D minor Op.27/3 ‘Ballade’ (1923)
Fauré Piano Quintet no.2 in C minor Op.115 (1919-21)

Wigmore Hall, London
Sunday 3 November 2024

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse Picture (c) Joanna Bergin

This third instalment of the Wigmore Hall’s journey through Fauré’s larger chamber works, as overseen in typically understated fashion by Steven Isserlis, took in works from (almost) either end of this composer’s output alongside pieces by two very different contemporaries.

It was Joshua Bell’s recovering illness that brought a switch in programme such that tonight began with the First Violin Sonata which established Fauré’s reputation and remains among his best-known works (also the only one of these pieces in a major key). The melodic verve of its initial Allegro responded well to Bell’s tonal warmth, despite marginal loss of focus as the development ran its cumulative course, then the Andante lacked little in lyrical intimacy nor the scherzo in nimble dexterity. That the final Allegro felt less than animated (not much evidence of ‘quasi presto’) was understandable in context and, even if it meant rounding off this performance with less than ideal decisiveness, there could be no doubting the sense of epiphany as its main theme returns transformed for an apotheosis of heightened eloquence.

At a time when Fauré was grappling with the implications of what became his Second Piano Quintet, Saint-Saëns was writing his no less substantial Second Piano Trio with relative ease. Its stylistic retrenchment is not hard to discern, witness the opening movement’s prolonged and ultimately doomed struggle to break free of a main theme riven with doubt and anxiety. Tensions relax appreciably in the sequence of middle movements – a lithe and ingratiating Allegretto, an Andante of ‘song without words’ lyricism, then a Grazioso with more than its touch of quixotic humour – during which, interplay between Bell, Isserlis and Jeremy Denk was at its most felicitous. Returning to weightier issues, the finale takes in some intensively contrapuntal passages prior to a conclusion whose headlong impetus came to the fore here.

After the interval came the third of Ysaÿe’s solo sonatas – the Ballade dedicated to Enescu but, as Bell pointed out, premiered by his teacher Josef Gingold who had been the last pupil of its composer; its ‘introduction and allegro’ format incisively delineated on this occasion.

Thence to Fauré for his Second Piano Quintet. Although written relatively quickly compared to its predecessor, it is no less fastidious in content or elusive in character – witness the initial movement whose harmonic subtlety is accentuated by the flexibility of its rhythmic contours, which latter aspect comes to the fore in a scherzo whose angularity betrays more than a touch of malevolence. Is there a more consummate instance of this composer’s art than its Andante? Once characterized as a synthesis between Beethoven and Wagner, it exudes a transcendent calm entirely its own in which the eloquence of Irène Duval and Blythe Teh Engstroem added appreciably to the underlying affect. If the finale is less remarkable, it injects an impetus that propelled the work to a headily affirmative close which was conspicuous by its presence here. An impressive performance of a masterpiece that, while it will never achieve in popularity what it has in respect, could never seem other than communicative when realized with this empathy – something that should be no less evident in the remaining concerts of this series.

You can watch the concert below, thanks to the Wigmore Hall YouTube channel:

For more information on the Fauré series, visit the Wigmore Hall website – while you can also read Arcana’s interview with Steven Isserlis about the French composer

Published post no.2,353 – Tuesday 5 November 2024

In concert – Steven Isserlis and Friends – Fauré at the Wigmore Hall (2)

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Steven Isserlis (cello) – with Joshua Bell, Irène Duval (violins), Blythe Teh Engstroem (viola), Jeremy Denk, Connie Shih (pianos)

Hahn Variations chantantes (1905)
Fauré Piano Quartet No. 2 in G minor, Op. 45 (1885-6)
Fauré Piano Quintet No. 1 in D minor, Op. 89 (1887-1905)

Wigmore Hall, London
Saturday 2 November 2024

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse

If it did not get off to quite the start intended due to illness, this Wigmore series centred on Fauré’s chamber works certainly hit its stride with two such pieces from crucial junctures in their composer’s output.

Providing a degree of context was music by Reynaldo Hahn – remembered primarily for his operettas and songs, but whose chamber output is considerable. Hardly a defining statement, Variations chantantes sur un air ancien (its full title) draws on the aria ‘Beato chi può’ from Cavalli’s 1655 opera Xerses for what feels less a set of variations than a sequence of variants of unwavering restraint amply reflecting that blithe detachment of its theme. Steven Isserlis conveyed this in full measure, heard alongside some ingratiating pianism from Connie Shih.

Having achieved a successful balance between formal density and expressive eloquence in its predecessor, his Second Piano Quartet has Fauré laying even greater emphasis on the cyclical transformation of motifs which, hitherto associated with Liszt and Frank, is here imbued with a new cohesion. This is evident from an opening movement whose sonata design unfolds in a constant yet methodical state of change, Isserlis and Joshua Bell restlessly trading exchanges with Blythe Teh Engstroem a lyrical counter-balance and Jeremy Denk the deft anchor-point.

This approach served no less well the ensuing scherzo, with its engaging alternation between pizzicato and bowed playing as well as a tangible mordancy that never quite surfaces. Nor is it entirely absent from a slow movement whose vernal eloquence is informed by more than a little equivocation, and which only waylays continued motivic evolution in the finale. Here the music’s striving towards a decisive while hardly affirmative resolution seemed palpably in evidence, confirming this work to be a triumph of human resilience over existential odds.

If this work marks the culmination of Fauré’s earlier creative maturity, his First Piano Quintet effectively straddles its central phase given the near-on two decades between conception and completion. What had started out for four instruments in four movements ended up as five in three, yet there is nothing tentative about an initial movement whose pervasive introspection belies an emotional eddying no less subtle than the motivic intricacy these players uncovered, and in which the expressively effulgent playing of Irène Duval was an undoubted enrichment.

Less formally involved, the central Adagio prefigures the introspection of its composer’s last years – not least through a seamlessness of texture which, as here, never precludes variety of nuance. After this, the finale can seem less remarkable merely by fulfil its function within the overall scheme, but those thematic elements (of which one the songwriter Bart Howard was evidently aware) that evolve from the previous movements are assuredly realized on route to an apotheosis no less affecting for having delayed its resolution almost until the last moment.

Never neglected but rarely received with more than guarded admiration, Fauré’s late chamber works rely on an advocacy central to such music-making as was heard tonight. Hopefully this will prove no less evident throughout the remaining three programmes in this important series.

You can watch the concert below, thanks to the Wigmore Hall YouTube channel:

For more information on the Fauré series, visit the Wigmore Hall website – while you can also read Arcana’s interview with Steven Isserlis about the French composer

Published post no.2,352 – Monday 4 November 2024

In concert – Steven Isserlis and Friends – Fauré at the Wigmore Hall (1)

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Steven Isserlis (cello), Joshua Bell, Irène Duval (violins), Blythe Teh Engstroem (viola), Jeremy Denk, Connie Shih (pianos)

Fauré Violin Sonata no.2 in E minor Op.108 (1916-7)
Saint-Saëns Piano Trio no.1 in F major Op.18 (1863)
Nadia Boulanger 3 pièces for cello and piano (1914)
Fauré Piano Quartet no.1 in C minor Op.15 (1876-9, rev. 1883)

Wigmore Hall, London
Friday 1 November 2024

Reviewed from the online stream by Ben Hogwood Photo (c) Satoshi Aoyagi

As the saying goes, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. And so it was that this five-part festival at the Wigmore Hall, two years in the planning to mark 100 years since the death of Gabriel Fauré, was compromised by bad fortune that had violinist Joshua Bell suffering from sickness, unable to perform the first work on the programme.

Yet, as cellist and curator Steven Isserlis announced from the platform, there was a silver lining, thanks to Irène Duval – who stepped in to head the Violin Sonata no.2, programmed instead of its predecessor. Thus we heard the first chamber work of the French composer’s celebrated late period, dating from the middle of the First World War, when Fauré had lost his hearing and his son Philippe had been sent to the frontline. Not surprisingly the sonata is invested with concentrated feeling, brought straight to the surface by Duval’s searching tone and Connie Shih’s assertive piano, both fully inside the music. The first movement found brief consolation in its third principal theme, though this was a brief respite in music of passionate and occasionally fraught discourse. The second movement was initially bittersweet in these hands but more obvious serenity was achieved in the long melody of the second theme, beautifully phrased by Duval. The finale, where Fauré finds positivity in the face of his troubles, was sunlit in these hands, with a thoroughly convincing surge to the finish.

Rewinding just over 50 years, we heard music from Fauré’s teacher and long time friend Saint-Saëns – his first major chamber work. The Piano Trio no.1 is full of charm and good humour, and the trio of Shih, Duval and Isserlis enjoyed the cross rhythms of the first movement. Shih met the demands of the composer’s inevitably tricky piano part head on, with some sparkling passages in the right hand. The captivating second movement took us outside, evoking the French mountain regions with a memorable folk-derived theme, recounted by the strings in a solemn unison. Contrasting with this was the light-footed Scherzo, the players enjoying Saint-Saëns’ playful syncopations, and the confident finale, surging forward with a conviction confirming the composer would have many more such moments in his compositional career. The players’ enjoyment was abundantly clear.

After the interval came music from Fauré’s pupil Nadia Boulanger, usually renowned as a teacher but increasingly recognised as an accomplished composer. The 3 Pièces for cello and piano fully deserve their more frequent airings in concert halls today, for they are brilliantly written and full of originality. Isserlis enjoyed the singing high register of the Modéré, its melody gradually descending to ground like a butterfly. The two players enjoyed the canon of the second piece before the bold outlines of the quickstep third, a little prophetic of Debussy’s Cello Sonata a year later. Isserlis and Shih were brilliant throughout.

The Piano Quartet no.1 in C minor is one of Fauré’s (above) best-loved works, though it experienced a turbulent composition period in the wake of the dissolution of the composer’s engagement. This is however rarely evident in the music, constructed with elegance and control – though there is plenty of room for expression, as the four players found here.

The first principles of chamber music were on show from the start – for this quartet were playing as one, very much a team rather than a collection of soloists. Such a quality is of great importance in Fauré, his music often containing long and thrilling melodies such as that found at the outset, beautifully played.

Joshua Bell showed commendable energy in spite of his ill health, his sweeter violin tone complemented by Jeremy Denk’s authoritative piano playing, the burnished tone of Blythe Teh Engstroem’s viola and Isserlis’ cello, with lovingly phrased melodies as part of the all-important counterpoint. The syncopations of the second movement, one of Fauré’s calling cards, were deftly handled by the trio and brilliantly led by Denk, the players watching each other closely. Meanwhile the Adagio found time for contemplation, laden with sadness but with an enduring brightness led by Bell’s brighter tone.

The finale found renewed strength in its assertive unison themes, winning through to a thrilling and jubilant finish in spite of the occasional shadow cast in the quieter passages. The closing flourish put the seal on a wonderful first concert which bodes well for the series, providing – as Isserlis said – that the players stay in good health. Should they do so a whole series of treats await.

For more information on the Fauré series, visit the Wigmore Hall website – while you can also read Arcana’s interview with Steven Isserlis about the French composer

Published post no.2,350 – Saturday 2 November 2024

In concert – Quatuor Danel: Shostakovich & Weinberg #6 @ Wigmore Hall

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Quatuor Danel [Marc Danel & Gilles Millet (violins), Vlad Bogdanas (viola), Yovan Markovitch (cello)]

Weinberg String Quartet no.9 in F# minor Op.80 (1963)
Weinberg String Quartet no.10 in A minor Op.85 (1964)
Shostakovich String Quartet no.9 in E flat major Op.117 (1964)

Wigmore Hall, London
Wednesday 16 October 2024

by Richard Whitehouse Photo (c) Marco Borggreve

Quatuor Danel reached the effective mid-point of its Shostakovich and Weinberg cycle with this programme featuring two of the latter composer’s lesser if still absorbing string quartets alongside one from the former that has come belatedly to be held among his most revealing.

Coming soon after his Fifth Symphony (arguably the finest of this cycle), the Ninth Quartet finds Weinberg at something of a stylistic crossroads with those essentials of his subsequent phase almost within reach. It opens with an Allegro which is among his most visceral in any medium – the Danel (rightly) giving full rein to a seething energy, barely held in check, then to which the Allegretto functions as a shock absorber given its intermezzo-like speculations. The ensuing Andante ventures further towards that secretive and often confessional intimacy central to its composer’s thinking henceforth, though here its introspection is mitigated by a finale which unfolds almost as a synthesis of what went before – the Danel duly mindful of a gradual momentum that does not bring resolution as evade the issue with a nonchalant shrug.

Barely a year on, the Tenth Quartet has the same four-movement and 25-minute dimensions but is otherwise a very different proposition. Here the initial movement is an Adagio whose rhetorical fervency has turned in on itself well before the end, leaving an Allegro to provide oblique continuity with its simmering intensity that never quite risks outright confrontation. If the Adagio that follows promises such, its gestures prove too brittle and short-winded to sustain a more expansive movement – the intensity soon making way for a final Allegretto that sounds intent on avoiding closure with its succession of fugitive interactions, elegantly articulated here, whose lilting gait ultimately alights on the tardiest of cadences. As with its predecessor, any bringing of the work emotionally full circle is conspicuous by its absence.

Now that a first movement has been realized and performed, it is clear what Shostakovich had intended as his Ninth Quartet would have been very different from what emerged – the trenchant while slightly foursquare manner of that earlier effort replaced by the undulating lyricism of a Moderato as methodically sets out all those salient motifs for what follows. Its equivocation was ideally conveyed here – no less than the elegiac character of its successor, then a central movement of a liveliness increasingly waylaid by questioning and self-doubt.

From here, a second Adagio veers between inward musing and explosive pizzicato outbursts as provoked impassioned responses. The emotional ante duly upped, the final Allegro surges forth with new-found energy and purpose – taking in a truculent, folk-tinged episode before breaking off for a return to those pizzicato exchanges. Performances of this work often lose focus at this juncture, but the Danel brooked no compromise as the movement fairly hurtled to a close of manic defiance in what was a notable instance of music ‘playing’ its musicians.

Quite a performance with which to end this latest instalment of the Danel’s dual odyssey but, as has become usual, an encore was forthcoming: the Polka from the ballet The Golden Age affording a sardonic postlude with the insouciance of an earlier, not necessarily ‘golden’ age.

You can hear the music from the concert below, in recordings made by Quatuor Danel -including their most recent cycle of the Shostakovich quartets on Accentus:

For more information on the next concert in the series, visit the Wigmore Hall website. You can click on the names for more on composer Mieczysław Weinberg and Quatuor Danel themselves.

Published post no.2,236 – Saturday 19 October 2024

In Concert – Alina Ibragimova & Cédric Tiberghien @ Wigmore Hall: Janáček, Enescu, Barry & Beethoven

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Alina Ibragimova (violin), Cédric Tiberghien (piano)

Janáček Violin Sonata in G sharp minor JW VII/7 (1913-15, rev. 1916-22)
Enescu Violin Sonata no.3 in A minor Op.25 ‘Dans le caractère populaire roumain’ (1926)
Barry Triorchic Blues (1990, rev. 1992)
Beethoven Violin Sonata no.9 in A major Op.47 ‘Kreutzer’ (1802-03)

Wigmore Hall, London
Saturday 28 September 2024

Reviewed by Richard Whitehouse

The duo of Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien has offered some memorable recitals at Wigmore Hall during the past few seasons, with this evening’s typically diverse programme ranging over almost two centuries of compositions for the combination of violin and piano.

A first half of complementary opposites began with the Violin Sonata by Janáček. Ensuring cohesion across its four highly contrasted movements is no easy task, but the present artists succeeded admirably in this respect. Thus, the opening Con moto had an edgy ambivalence which was allayed in the Ballada – its relative repose and expressive warmth infused with a nostalgia as likely reflects the composer’s youth (and may indeed derive from one of those long-lost sonatas written while studying in Leipzig and Vienna 35 years earlier). Despite its marking, the Allegretto is a tensile scherzo whose frequently combative interplay was much in evidence here; the final Adagio then pivoting between stark plangency and a heightened eloquence which subsided into an ending whose muted regret was unmistakably to the fore.

Whatever the conceptual or aesthetic gulf between them, Enescu’s Third Sonata followed on with some inevitability. This was inspired by and recreates without quoting traditional music, as its subtitle duly indicates, and Ibragimova was alive to the musing inwardness of an initial Moderato whose ‘malinconico’ consistently undercuts any formal or expressive resolution up to a close where the songful and dance-like themes disperse into silence. The highlight was a central Andante of sustained though unforced intensity, its improvisatory aspect a stern test of coordination violinist and pianist met head-on. Almost as compelling, the final Allegro lacked a degree of inevitability in its unfolding – Tiberghien’s superbly articulated pianism less than implacable at the close, for all that Ibragimova conveyed its ominous ecstasy in full measure.

Beginning life as a test-piece for solo piano and adapted for numerous media, Triorchic Blues is Gerald Barry at his most uninhibited and would have made an ideal encore in this context – but its ever more scintillating opposition of instruments was not out of place after the interval.

This second half ended with the grandest of Beethoven’s violin sonatas, its ‘Kreutzer’ subtitle misleading yet indicative of this music’s inherent virtuosity. Ibragimova and Tiberghien made an impressive cycle of these works for the Wigmore’s own label, so it was surprising to find them at slightly below their best here. Not in the central Andante con variazioni, its judicious fusion of slow movement and scherzo rendered with unfailing poise and an acute sense of the profundity drawn out of so unassuming a theme. Yet, after its suitably arresting introduction, the first movement lacked drama – the duo playing down its rhetoric not least in a less than impulsive coda. The relentless tarantella-rhythm that underpins the finale felt similarly reined in with, again, too little of an emotional frisson as this music vividly reinforces the home-key.

What was never in doubt was their quality of playing individually and collectively, making one anticipate future recitals by these artists which will hopefully find them exploring more of that extraordinary corpus of music for violin and piano of the early and mid-20th century.

For more on the Autumn season visit the Wigmore Hall website. For more on the artists, click on the names Alina Ibragimova (violin), Cédric Tiberghien (piano), and click here for more on composer Gerald Barry

Published post no.2,316 – Sunday 22 September 2024