Béla BARTÓK (1881-1945)
Works for Violin and Piano - Volume 2
Sonata for solo violin (1944) [25:43]
Sonata for Violin and Piano (1903) [30:05]
Hungarian Folksongs (1931) [9:14]
Hungarian Folk Tunes (1927) [7:41]
Romanian Folk Dances (1926) [5:23]
James Ehnes (violin), Andrew Armstrong (piano)
rec. Potton Hall, Suffolk, 2-4 June 2012
CHANDOS CHAN 10752 [78:08]
James Ehnes is one of the leading violinists of our time, and he and the pianist
Andrew Armstrong follow their first
volume of Bartók with a second. The repertoire ranges across both
extremes of the composer’s career, from the early duo sonata of 1903
to the late solo Sonata of 1944 written for Yehudi Menuhin. In between come
various folk-inspired compositions.
The early Sonata in E minor is a substantial composition, more than thirty
minutes in duration. The excellent accompanying notes by the leading Bartók
scholar Paul Griffiths outline the background and nature of the music, providing
a very useful guide for the listener coming to the work for the first time.
He rightly points out that the composer’s style was not fully developed
at this time, but his technique was confident. Perhaps the finale is the strongest
movement, its structure enhancing the virtuoso line for both players, and
moving through to an emphatic and stirring conclusion which is emphasised
by the splendidly realistic Chandos recording.
However, it is the Sonata for solo violin that is the major work here. Alongside
the more celebrated Third Piano Concerto and Concerto for Orchestra, this
was among the fruits of Bartók’s last years. Inevitably the example
of Bach was an inspiration that lay behind this music. Facing the challenge
of composing a substantial piece using just one instrumental line, Bartók
produced a masterwork of extraordinary technical and expressive qualities.
In the first movement for example, the title Tempo di ciaccona refers
to the pace of the music rather than to its structure; in fact there is a
sonata design of the traditional 'exposition-development-recapitulation-coda'
variety. These divisions are marked by the appearances of the broad multiple-stopped
motif - multiple stings played simultaneously - which is heard at the outset.
This theme, therefore, sets the tone for the whole experience. It is a great
challenge to the performer and James Ehnes confirms his stature with a commanding
presentation, a description that serves for the whole performance too.
The remaining items are all duo arrangements or, more truthfully, rewritings
of music originally conceived as solos for Bartók’s own instrument,
the piano. Both the Hungarian Folksongs (arranged by Tividar Országh)
and the Hungarian Folk Tunes (arranged by Joseph Szigeti) originated
in the enormous collection of piano pieces entitled For Children. Better
known are the attractive Romanian Folk Dances (here in a version arranged
by Zoltán Székely). All this music proves extremely adaptable
and Ehnes and Armstrong perform it with the utmost assurance. It is at the
opposite remove from the intensity of style that is found in the Sonata for
solo violin, but it is equally typical of the composer’s art.
Terry Barfoot
Commanding in the solo Sonata and the interpretations of the duo compositions
are equally assured.
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