What we enjoy about
the etudes from various composers - what makes them a success
regarding listening pleasure - is that one forgets that they
are written to teach; to aid in the proper execution of certain
technique. There are great successes in this genre, Chopin
being the most obvious first example. Other series of etudes
have been committed to disc and record, more due to the name
of their composer rather than great artistic merit. Some such
etudes were put to paper simply to teach and this becomes
readily apparent as one listens.
We have here is the
first integral recording of the Kreutzer studies for Violin.
Kreutzer, known by name to the widest audience due to Beethoven’s
dedicating his 9th violin sonata to him, was, as
a smaller percentage of the populace knows, the pinnacle of
violin virtuosity in his time. Little of his work appears
to be available currently — nocturnes for harp and violin,
an oboe quintet, and Koch Classics had an oboe concerto available
at one time — but his output included music for ballet and
other stage productions, and, as the liner-notes indicate,
nearly fifty operas, seventeen string quartets, and
twelve sonatas for violin and bass, to give only a very selective
list.
The present influential
studies show a craft-based and classical approach to the violin,
with the first 22 studies focusing on the basics. There are
moments here that are beautiful, such as the first track,
in A minor; a study in sostenuto and sustaining long
notes with swelling dynamic range. This piece haunts, with
the mournful melodic line coming into being seemingly from
nowhere, then dying off. Another standout is the seventeenth
study, which is part of the series from 15 to 22 dealing with
trills, which seems to forget it’s an etude and plays on with
a contagious joyfulness. Much here smacks of the practice
room — the second and third studies being primary examples
— with arpeggiations and bowing exercises that have limited
ability to hold interest for repeated listenings.
Disc two opens with
a cadenza study, which has moments of beauty, but the runs
move back to the practice room. The following studies, 24
and 25, deal with fingered octaves, the first of the two provides
the most interest, with a tense grittiness. The following
study breaks the octaves, and, though the difficulty of the
piece is apparent, the general listener sitting on the couch
isn’t likely to get much repeated enjoyment from it. Things
do get more interesting as disc two progresses. The standouts
here are study 30, which is of a cadenza-like nature, with
ornaments that occasionally call Vivaldi to mind. Number 31
also catches the attention with its arresting concerto-like
entrance. The two-voiced study 36 continues a varied staccato
melody with bowed accompaniment that as a whole moves us well
beyond conservatory exercises and into the land of what later
became the concert etude. The final study gives us the best
sense of that land, with a Bach-like fugue and the absence
of “etude-ism.”
Cihat Aşkin, who
was born in and studied in Istanbul, plays through these difficult pieces with seeming ease
The recording aesthetic is clear, if not particularly spacious,
which gives a good sense of intimacy. The sound quality varies
somewhat between the two discs, with the beginning of disc
one sounding somehow a bit more distant and drier, but not
so much as to make this distracting. Aşkin’s tone and
playing are admirable. I hope to see more recordings of his
available in the near future.
Overall, aside from
violin enthusiasts, this release, though well-performed and
recorded, holds limited potential for repeated listenings
and often gives one the impression that a conservatory has
set up next door echoing with arpeggiations and scales. Perhaps
soon we could get some of Kreutzer’s works that were originally
intended for public performance — this disc may raise interest
in such projects, if only a bit …
David Blomenberg
AVAILABILITY
Kalan
