Serenade Op. 8 in D major (1797) [30:01]
Eugene YSAYE (1858-1931)
String Trio Le Chimay [17:00]
Rada Ovcharova (violin), Emlyn Stam (viola), Willem Stam (cello)
rec. 26-28 November 2012, Studio van Schuppen, Veenedaal.
DUTCH RECORD COMPANY DRC 131015/01 [47:01]
Beethoven’s Serenade op. 8 in D major for violin,
viola and cello was written in 1796-7 and published in 1797 by
Artaria in Vienna. It’s performed here with grace and imagination
by the Ysaye Trio and opens and closes its six movements with
a sprightly Marcia. Ovcharova’s violin is instantly
winning and full of character whilst Willem Stam’s coercively
tender cello playing at the beginning and end of the Adagio
evokes the heartfelt sincerity. A wonderfully spirited viola section
played by Emlyn Stam can be thoroughly enjoyed in the Allegretto
alla Polacca and Thema con Variazioni. All instrumentalists
sound balanced and rich in this recording for DRC.
Though apparently light-hearted, this Serenade has some
tricky passages for the violin as at the time of composition Beethoven
was acquainted with the much acclaimed violinist Schuppanzigh.
Much like Ovcharova he would have found no difficulty in some
of the more technically challenging passages. A piece which was
most likely composed to amuse and entertain audiences, this composition
is devoid of Beethoven’s later intense introspection and
by many is considered an ‘apprentice’ work. However
glimpses of Beethoven’s characteristic sorrowfulness, interspersed
with frantic scherzo sections, can be heard in the fourth movement
(Adagio). Additionally, from the Thema con Variazioni
(Andante quasi allegro), Beethoven’s later song
Sanft wie die Fruhlingsohne (Soft as the Sun in Spring)
can be found. Evoking both this youthful energy and intimately
psychological conflict; the Ysaye Trio play with attentiveness
and understanding. In contrast to Beethoven’s String
Trio in E-Flat Major, Op. 3 which is heavily indebted to
Mozart’s Divertimento K. 563, his Serenade
in D major is suggestive of greater individuality, an experimentation
with form and an interest in contrast of colour and texture.
Remembered for his six sonatas for solo violin, Eugene Ysaye’s
String Trio ‘Le Chimay’ was discovered amongst
his papers after the Second World War and premiered in 1964. Incidentally,
it was named after the Belgian town in which it was first performed.
Playing the viola and cello to a high standard and studying the
violin under Henry Vieuxtemps and Henryk Wieniawski, Ysaye’s
Le Chimay contains passages that require virtuosity and
panache. A high degree of musical understanding and craftsmanship
is needed to play a piece in which virtually no dynamic, tempo
or expression markings exist from the composer’s manuscript.
Whilst the printed edition (Ries and Erler, ed. by the Gaede
Trio) is more readable, it is also highly suggestive in its
markings, thus can be thought to stultify the desired innovativeness
of subsequent trios - or at the very least, influence their interpretation.
However, the Ysaye Trio sound distinct, fresh and skilful. Favourably
reviewed by Nick
Barnard and Jonathan
Woolf for MusicWeb International, Henning Kraggerud (violin),
Lars Anders Tomter (viola) and Ole-Eirik Ree (cello) perform Le
Chimay on a Naxos recording (8.570977). There there’s
a less direct sense of emotion and greater attention to the overall
musical phrasing and interrelatedness of each part.
It’s in a continuous movement of widely ranging and outreaching
emotions and vibrancies but Ysaye’s style is difficult to
pin down. Though Le Chimay is certainly evocative of
Debussy, Ravel and late works by Fauré, it is not as dreamy
or impressionistic. At times early works by Schonenberg (such
as Verklärte Nacht) come to mind, but Ysaye’s
musical language is rather more lyrical, containing dramatic outpouring
as well as lighter dalliance. The Ysaye Trio blend this
dizzying combination to conclude with passionate rapture.
Lucy Jeffery
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