Edward ELGAR (1857-1934)
Violin Sonata in E minor, Op.82 (1918) [27:08]
Karol SZYMANOWSKI (1882-1937)
Mythes: Trois Poèmes, Op.30 (1915) [23:10]
Ottorino RESPIGHI (1879-1936)
Violin Sonata in B minor, P110 (1917) [27:55]
Dryads Duo: Carla Santos (violin): Saul Picado (piano)
rec. August 2016, Fundação Eng. António de Almeida, Porto
KNS CLASSICAL KNSA/045 [77:20]
The Elgar-Respighi coupling is by no means unique; James Ehnes,
for instance, has recorded them for Onyx [4159] adding the Debussy Sonata
and Sibelius’ little Berceuse. The Dryads Duo, the Portuguese pairing
of violinist Carla Santos and pianist Saul Picado, has opted instead for Szymanowski,
locking their focus tightly on the compositional years 1915-18 though, perhaps
wisely, the booklet notes don’t allude to this proximity as other discs
have. It’s a long way, after all, from Respighi’s late-romanticism
to Szymanowski’s eroticism.
The performance of the Elgar Sonata reminds me very much of Tasmin Little
and Martin Roscoe’s on GMNC0113. The proportions are similar, though
there is a difference in tonal weight, of course. Carla Santos however is
not afraid here and throughout the recital, of essaying quick, period-conscious
portamenti and Saul Picado is rightly prominent in the balance, ensuring this
is a true ensemble. Some tremulous elements in the slow movement may not convince
but the wistful, definably feminine start of the finale is attractively done.
Is that an edit at 5:11? The finale’s reminiscence of the slow movement
is well established, more regretful than passionate, and architecturally excellent.
Neither the Elgar nor Respighi is especially slow, though they’re both
slower than is ideal because of the sectionality that can creep into passagework,
and this is sometimes what occasionally happens in the first movement of the
Respighi. It can sound a little over-emphatic despite the profuse finger positions
changes and slides that once again bring a stylistically self-aware sense
of colour and life to the performance. There could be greater body of tone
in the slow movement and arguably greater propulsion – Heifetz and Suk
set the agenda for speed here – in the tremendous Passacaglia finale.
Szymanowski’s Mythes are played with perception although a
greater tonal sensuousness such as Jacques Thibaud found in La Fontaine
d’Arethuse, for example – to set the bar almost impossibly
high – would have been welcome.
For the Elgar-Respighi nexus I’d go for Ehnes and Armstrong on Onyx;
for the former on its own you should have Sammons/Murdoch as your historic
reference, Kennedy/Pettinger for a concertante approach and von Keulen and
Brautigam to show how a lithe reading pays dividends. There are plenty of
others. No one has matched Heifetz in Respighi, but Suk, Ehnes and Little
– who couples it with the Strauss Sonata on Chandos – are recommendable
modern versions. It’s a crying shame that Paul Kochanski never recorded
any Szymanowski but you could do a lot worse than Ida Haendel’s Decca
and one of Wanda Wilkomirska’s recordings (if you can find any).
Jonathan Woolf
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