Max REGER (1873-1916)
Complete Violin Sonatas, Vol. 1
Sonata No 5 in F Sharp Minor, Op. 84 (1905) [32.41]
Sonata No 1 in D Minor, Op. 1 (1890)
[27.46]
Ulf Wallin (violin)
Roland Pontinen (piano)
Recorded: Jan 1998 in DeutschlandRadio Studio 10,
Berlin.
CPO 999 452 2
[60.30]
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recommendations
As the rather earnest, proselytising liner notes make clear, compositions
for the combination of violin and piano represent a significant part of Reger's
oeuvre. CPO has launched a project to record all seven of his sonatas
for violin and piano. On the evidence of this disc it is hard to imagine
other players could be more persuasive advocates of this repertoire than
Ulf Wallin and Roland Pontinen.
The Fifth sonata is a work from Reger's maturity. It is cast in three
movements of which the second, an allegretto, lasts less than three
minutes. The opening allegro moderato is a movement of great intensity
which is performed here with all the necessary feeling and virtuosity. In
the succeeding allegretto Reger deliberately relaxes the tension and
this little movement offers a welcome and necessary interlude between the
larger, much more serious outer movements.
The finale combines two of Reger's favourite forms, an andante theme and
seven variations followed by a lively fugue. Like the rest of the music on
this disc it is delivered by the artists with the utmost commitment.
The Sonata No. 1 was written while Reger was still a student. It may
be an immature work by comparison with the Fifth Sonata but no one would
infer this from the performance which Wallin and Pontinen give. The harmonic
language and the thematic material is, understandably, more "traditional"
than that of the Fifth sonata but it is still an impressive achievement.
This time there are four movements, including a rapt adagio in which, as
the author of the notes observes, there are heavy influences of Beethoven
and Brahms: I thought the latter was more obvious and far from unwelcome.
Previously I had only been acquainted with Reger's orchestral music together
with some of his organ and vocal pieces. This disc, superbly executed by
these two Swedish musicians, was therefore a welcome discovery. For admirers
of Reger it will be an essential purchase, notwithstanding the hideous picture
on the front of the booklet.
John Quinn
