Augustin Dumay, Louis Lortie - Cesar Franck & Richard Strauss: Violin Sonatas (2013)

Posted By: Designol

Date: Oct. 1, 2024

Cesar Franck's passionate and sunny Violin Sonata has long been regarded as one of the greatest in the repertoire, and is the work of a composer at the height of his powers. Richard Strauss's Violin Sonata, composed a year after Franck's in 1887, is the work of a young composer on the cusp of discovering his mature voice; lyrical and sumptuous, it has all the hallmarks of his later style. Performed here by distinguished violinist and conductor Augustin Dumay and French-Canadian pianist Louis Lortie, this recording marks the duo's recording debut. In addition to the sonatas, this album includes two Franck rarities - Melancolie and the Prelude, Fugue and Variation Op.18 for organ, heard here in an arrangement by Dumay and Lortie. The recording concludes with the wonderful Heifetz arrangement of Strauss's song Auf stillem Waldespfad.

What does a new recording of the Franck Sonata bring to the table? In the case of this new disc from Augustin Dumay and Louis Lortie, the short answer is ‘plenty’. To start, there is the juxtaposition of Franck’s mature masterpiece and the gorgeous early Sonata by Strauss. Then there are the three judiciously chosen arrangements that add perspectives on both composers. Ultimately, though, the symbiotic partnership of Dumay and Lortie is the key.

Make no mistake, this is artistry of the highest order. In their hands, Strauss’s melodic fluency somehow manages to combine rich luxuriance with deftness of gesture. The outer movements of the Franck provide object lessons in pacing, everything flowing naturally. And there’s no pause for breath after the second movement’s furious conclusion, so that the piano declamations that start the ‘Recitativo-Fantasia’ appear to be merely another episode of its predecessor. Despite slightly distant recorded sound, Dumay’s tone is exceptional and Lortie’s outstanding pianism shines through.

Review by Christopher Dingle, BBC Music Magazine

The late-Romantic pairing of Richard Strauss and César Franck isn't a common one, but that's part of the charm of this masterly release by Belgian violinist Augustin Dumay and Quebec pianist Louis Lortie: they shift gears effortlessly between two very different modes of expression. As they might have been in a recital of 100 years ago, the two major sonatas are accompanied by smaller works by each composer. The Strauss Violin Sonata in E flat major, Op. 18, was a work long championed by Jascha Heifetz, whose Apollonian style is effectively suggested by Dumay here. The work hovers right on the lip of the composer's mature style, which, once achieved, would preclude his writing much more chamber music; lengthy, irregular, and increasingly dissonant diversions erupt from the pleasant main themes. The Franck Violin Sonata in A major, of 1886, is an especially intricate exemplar of the composer's tendency toward cyclical form, which here ties together a work with a remarkable collection of shifting emotions. The stormy middle movement demands a role for Lortie far beyond that of simple accompanist, and he steps up in an intense performance. Dumay here takes on the mantle of the nobly emotive classic French-Belgian style and never flags. These works are popular enough, but this is not in any way a fashionable program. It is, however, one that takes its place in a grand tradition.

Review by James Manheim, Allmusic.com

Augustin Dumay at Allmusic
Augustin Dumay at Wiki

Louis Lortie at Allmusic
Louis Lortie at Wiki

Tracklist:

Richard Strauss (1864–1949)

Violin Sonata in E flat, Op.18
01. I. Allegro, ma non troppo (12:07)
02. II. Improvisation: Andante cantabile (08:12)
03. III. Finale: Andante - Allegro (08:54)

04. Stimmungsbilder, Op.9 - No. 1. Auf stillem Waldespfad (03:22)

César Franck (1822–1890)

Violin Sonata in A major, FWV 8
05. I. Allegretto ben moderato (06:06)
06. II. Allegro (07:52)
07. III. Recitativo-Fantasia (ben moderato) (07:04)
08. IV. Allegretto poco mosso (06:19)

09. Melancolie, FWV 10 (03:39)

10. Prelude, fugue and variation in B minor, FWV 30 (09:30)

EAC log

Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011

EAC extraction logfile from 19. July 2015, 1:34

Augustin Dumay, Louis Lortie / Franck, Strauss - Violin Sonatas

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DR log

foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-04-28 19:01:27

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Augustin Dumay, Louis Lortie / Franck, Strauss - Violin Sonatas
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR14 -0.37 dB -20.10 dB 12:07 01-Strauss: Violin Sonata in E flat, Op.18 - I. Allegro, ma non troppo
DR14 -4.09 dB -24.96 dB 8:12 02-Strauss: Violin Sonata in E flat, Op.18 - II. Improvisation: Andante cantabile
DR14 -0.96 dB -19.36 dB 8:54 03-Strauss: Violin Sonata in E flat, Op.18 - III. Finale: Andante - Allegro
DR14 -7.14 dB -27.25 dB 3:23 04-Strauss: Stimmungsbilder, Op.9 - No. 1. Auf stillem Waldespfad
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DR12 -0.64 dB -18.36 dB 6:20 08-Franck: Violin Sonata in A major, FWV 8 - IV. Allegretto poco mosso
DR12 -6.79 dB -23.90 dB 3:40 09-Franck: Melancolie, FWV 10
DR15 -1.41 dB -24.04 dB 9:31 10-Franck: Prelude, fugue and variation in B minor, FWV 30
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

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