66 GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2019 gramophone.co.ukRichardBratbyenjoysatrioof
verydi erentBeethovendiscs:JedDistlerlistenstothedebutdisc
bymulti-percussionistViviVassileva:Brahms
‘The Five SonatasforViolin& Piano,Vol1’
Violin Sonata No1, Op78.Violin(Clarinet)
Sonata No 1, Op 120 No1. ‘FAE’Sonata– Scherzo,
WoO2. An die Nachtigall,Op 46 No4.Okühler
Wald, Op 72 No 3
Ulf Wallin vn RolandPöntinenpf
BIS F Í BIS2369(65’• DDD/DSD)Let’snotget
embroiledinthe
argumentasto
whethertherereally
are five Brahmsviolinsonatas–UlfWallin
and Roland Pöntinenarehardlythefirst
artists to borrowtheclarinetsonatasfor
their own use,andtheyincludethe
F minor on thisfirstvolume.They
certainly have thismusicrunning
through their veins,havingpreviously
recorded the sonatas(yes,allfive)onArte
Nova some twodecadesago.AndPöntinen
was also the pianistonMartinFröst’s
wonderfully mellifluousreadingofthe
clarinet sonatas.
Their approachisalongtraditional
lines, Pöntinenrelishingtherichnessof
the keyboard-writing,Wallinluxuriating
in the beauty ofthestringlines.Inevitably
a switch from clarinet(orviola)toviolin
in the First ClarinetSonatacreatesan
edgier sound worldandoccasionally
I found Wallinalittleunbeautifulintone
in some of thelouderwriting(for
instance, the firstmovement,from3'19",
where Fröst hastherequisitedramabut
a more ingratiatingsound),thoughtheir
handling of thecodaisnicelydone.
They take a spaciousviewoftheslow
movement, possiblytoomuchso,butthe
more flowing passagesarewelljudged.
Their finale isaparticularhighlight,truly
vivace, with Pöntinenmakinglightof
Brahms’s challengingkeyboard-writing,
which contrastswellwiththemoments
of greater lyricism.
The FAE Scherzoscoreshighlyin
terms of dramaticimpetus,andthe
players maintainastrongsenseofnarrativethroughout,rightuptotheresoluteswitch
tothemajorattheveryend.
AttheoutsetoftheFirstViolinSonata
theyarelessinwardthanTasminLittleand
PiersLaneintheirrecentset.Butturnto
NikolajZnaiderandyou’reinadifferent
leaguealtogether–combiningintensity
ofmusicalvisionwithanold-worldwarmth
oftoneand,inYefimBronfman,oneofthe
mostoutstandingBrahmsiansaround.
WallinandPöntinenare,bycomparison,
atouchtoodeliberateatthebuild-upto
theclimaxat6'18"(track6),whereLittle
hasmoreimpetus,albeitwithasometimes
astringenttone.TheAdagioisanunhurried
affair,thepianointroductionperhapsa
littleonthestolidside,certainlycompared
toBronfman,withWallinrespondingwith
awarmRomanticism.Thepassageof
dottedwriting(from1'50",track7)hasn’t
quitethesenseofbuild-upofsome,though
therelaxationwhenwefinallyarriveinthe
major(from4'13")isaffectinglydone.The
finaleworkswell,thetwoplayersbringing
asinuousqualitytoitsnarrative,Wallin
fininghistonedownwithfinesseandboth
playersalivetoitscopiousswitchesinmood.
Theyclosewithtwotranscriptionsof
Brahmssongs,bothofwhicharegivenwith
plentyofaffectionbutareperhapsjusta
littletoolabouredtempo-wise.The
recordingisaveryfineone,whichbalances
theplayersmostnaturally.HarrietSmith
ViolinSonataNo 1 – selectedcomparisons:
Znaider,Bronfman(7/07)(RCA) 88697 06106-2
Little,Lane(4/18)(CHAN)CHAN10977
ClarinetSonataNo 1 – selectedcomparison:
Fröst,Pöntinen(4/06)(BIS)BIS-SACD1353Carbonelli.Vivaldi
CarbonelliSonatedacameraNos7 12
VivaldiConcerto,‘IlCarbonelli’,RV366
BojanČičićvnTheIllyriaConsort
DelphianFDCD34214(78’• DDD)When Bojan Cˇi∂ic ́
and his Illyria Consort
gave us the first six of
Carbonelli’s set of12 violin sonatas (8/17), it was by no means
a foregone conclusion that the second half
of the set would follow, so this sequel is
welcome indeed.
For those in need of a quick refresher,
Giovanni Stefano Carbonelli (1694-1773)
was one of the many Italian violinists
who arrived on British shores from the late
17th century onwards. Also, indeed, one
who stayed, anglicising his name after his
naturalisation in 1735 to John Stephen
Carbonell and enjoying a successful musical
career on London’s various stages before
switching career to become an equally
successful wine merchant. His 12 violin
sonatas are his only surviving music;
Nos 8, 9 and 11 are appearing here as
debut recordings, so this second instalment
means we now have the entire set on disc
for the first time.
However, it’s worth noting that this
sequel doesn’t simply serve up more
of the same. For starters, in addition to
the violin-plus-continuo sonatas, there’s
a larger-forces surprise (two violins,
viola, cello, double bass, harpsichord
and theorbo) in the form of Vivaldi’s
Il Carbonelli Concerto in B flat, whose
nickname – penned on the manuscript
by Vivaldi’s German pupil Pisendel –
presumably signifies that Carbonelli
played it for an admiring composer in
Venice around that time. Here it appears
crisp and buoyant, with the engineering
giving a bright, ear-grabbing immediacy
to the sound, without trying to smooth
off too many of the period instruments’
rough edges. Try Cˇi∂ic ́’s first solo entry
at 0'30" for size.
When we get to the sonatas, it’s clear
that Carbonelli himself has not stood still.
For instance, the second movements are
no longer fugal. Also there are interesting
stylistic originalities such as No 8’s
ditching of the slow-fast model in favour
of a central pair of allegros followed by
a slow extended reprise of the sonata’s
attractive opening ‘Pastorale’. Throughout
the six Cˇi∂ic ́ (still on his c1680 Ruggieri)
is as much a joy as last time for his
superlative virtuoso technique and‘Iwasstrucknotjustbythelucidbalance
andsenseofconversation,butbythefeeling
ofimprovisation’ REVIEWONPAGE 74‘Whatstandsoutisheridiomatichandling
ofsyncopatedsambarhythms,wherebeatsare
impliedmorethanstated’ REVIEW ON PAGE 75Chamber