Louise Chisson & Tamara Atschba - 20th Century Feminine (2021)

Recording an album is always an amazing adventure, this time even more so, and we are very grateful to everyone who made this album possible. But why was it so special? Firstly, because of the choice of program, of little known, exciting works, and secondly due to the fact that this project was overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Finally, there is the special significance that each of these works has attained precisely under the current circumstances. There is no doubt that the chronological sequence of the pieces tells a story documenting the development of musical styles over the course of the century in witness to contemporary events. But today, having experienced this music from the first lockdown through to the present day, the music itself and the sequencing have taken on a very significant relevance for us. From the melancholic, naïve and yet somewhat dreamy sounds of Lili Boulanger through the courage, tenderness and complexity of Grazyna Bacewicz, to Galina Ustvolskaya’s no-man’s land, where the absence of structured time reminds us of aimless days and hours without knowing what might happen the next day. And finally, Jennifer Higdon and her organized chaos that is nevertheless not hopeless, but a little rebellious, emotional, with deep insight into nature that seems to be a light and source of energy for humankind. Louise Chisson and Tamara Atschba.

"The American composer Roy Harris said of Galina Ustvolksaya’s sonata that it was kind of ugly. And the Fourth Sonata by Grazyna Bacewicz can be heard as rising impulsively into a frenzy. Jennifer Higdon’s Five Poetic Pieces, while poetic by title, are also considerably more brittle. Along with jags, machine chugging, and frantic labyrinthine, there are also mysterious mists. Before these works, which are demanding to hear, the two interpreters have placed the two miniatures by Nadia Boulanger, which in retrospect are almost relaxed, rather impressionistically shimmering, but they have also given them a good portion of expressiveness. It may perhaps be taken as the strongest impression from the overall view that the two interpreters, violinist Louise Chisson and her piano partner Tamara Atschba, present on this varied CD a strong expressive view of four works of a century of gender comrades. In doing so, they deftly highlight interpretive and creative differences, allowing each work to reflect its due character. One really cannot accuse the interpreters of having hidden their creative will and its technically intensively realized realization. Rather, they keep the listeners spellbound with their demanding playing until the very last note." (Uwe Krusch, pizzicato.lu)

Louise Chisson, violin
Tamara Atschba, piano

TRACKLIST

1. Louise Chisson - Nocturne for Violin & Piano
2. Louise Chisson - D'un matin de printemps (Version for Violin & Piano)
3. Louise Chisson - I. Moderato - Allegro non troppo
4. Louise Chisson - II. Andante ma non troppo
5. Louise Chisson - III. Scherzo. Molto vivo
6. Louise Chisson - IV. Finale. Con passione
7. Louise Chisson - Violin Sonata
8. Louise Chisson - I. Jagged Climb
9. Louise Chisson - II. Nocturne
10. Louise Chisson - III. Blue Hills of Mist
11. Louise Chisson - IV. Maze Mechanical
12. Louise Chisson - V. Climb Jagged