Our Summer BAL 3: Cezar Franck's Sonata for Violin and Piano

[verismissimo]

A perennial favourite of mine. Time for a new version.

But which?

[makropulos]

Danzowska/Zimerman or Repin/Lugansky (both DG) are the two I listen to most often at the moment - both wonderful, I think, though there are plenty of others.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Available versions:
Jennifer Pike (violin) & Martin Roscoe (piano)
Ray Chen (violin) & Noreen Polera (piano)
Yossif Ivanov (violin) & Daniel Blumenthal (piano)
Dora Schwarzberg (violin) & Martha Argerich (piano)
David Oistrakh (violin) & Vladimir Yampolsky (piano)
Mischa Elman (violin), Joseph Seiger (piano)
David Oistrakh (Violin) Sviatoslav Richter (Piano)
Jeno Jando (piano), Takako Nishizaki (violin)
Ida Haendel (violin) & Ronald Turini (piano)
Aaron Rosand (violin), Robert Koenig (piano)
Ittai Shapira (violin) & Jeremy Denk (piano)
Vladislav Igolinsky (violin), Margarita Kravchenko (piano)
Leonid Kogan (violin), Nina Kogan (piano)
Jascha Heifetz (violin) & Arthur Rubinstein (piano)
Kai Gleusteen (violin) & Catherine Ordronneau (piano)
Anne-Sophie Mutter (violin) & Lambert Orkis (piano
Lola Bobescu (violin), Jacques Genty (piano)
Joshua Bell (violin), Jeans-Yves Thibaudet (piano)
Yehudi Menuhin (violin), Hephzibah Menuhin (piano)
Rudens Turku (violin) & Milana Chernyavska (piano)
Kaja Danczowska (violin) & Krystian Zimerman (piano)
Thomas Albertus Irnberger (violin) & Jörg Demus (piano)
Alejandro Bustamante (violin) & José Enrique Bagaría (piano)
Jacques Thibaud (violin) & Alfred Cortot (piano)
Itzhak Perlman (violin) & Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano)
Vadim Repin (violin) & Nikolai Lugansky (piano)
Maxim Rysanov (viola) & Evelyn Chang (piano)
Quatuor Ysaÿe & Pascal Rogé (piano)
Sergey Khachatryan (violin) & Lusine Khachatryan (piano)
Christian Ferras (violin) & Pierre Barbizet (piano)
Amanda Favier (violin) & Jean Dubé (piano)
Simon Blendis (violin) & William Howard (piano)
Sclomo Mintz (violin) & Yefim Bronfman (piano)
Catherine Manoukian (violin) & Xiayin Wang (piano)
David Lefèvre (violin) & Alain Lefèvre (piano)
David Oistrakh (violin) & Vladimir Yampolsky (piano)
Sarah Chang (violin) & Lars Vogt (piano)
Arthur Grumiaux (violin) & Gyorgy Sebok (piano)
Kyung-Wha Chung (violin) & Radu-Lapu (piano)

Nobuko Imai (viola), Roger Vignoles (piano)
Bernard Zaslav (viola), Naomi Zaslav (piano)
Lars Anders Tomter (viola) & Havard Gimse (piano)

Robert Langevin (flute) & Jonathan Feldman (piano)
Emmanuel Pahud (flute), Eric le Sage (piano)
Marina Piccinini (flute) & Andreas Haefliger (piano)
Julius Baker (flute), Lisa Logan (piano)

Yukie Nagai (piano)

Pierre Fournier (cello) & ? (piano)

Bartosz Sikorski (double bass), Marcin Sikorski (piano)

[Don Petter]

So many good performances.

Some favourites that come to mind:
Francescatti/Casadesus
Ferras/Barbizet
Grumiaux/Sebok
Heifetz/Rubinstein
Stern/Zakin

But I think my choice would be Oistrakh/Richter, either Paris, 1968, as on Chant du Monde CD (LDC 278 885), or, as I got to know their interpretation, in Moscow later the same year on LP (ASD 2618).

[gurnemanz]

For many years the only version I owned was the Oistrakh/Richter live Moscow performance on LP. It was a Soviet-pressed Melodiya edition which as time went on sorely needed upgrading. It was not until 2003 that a CD actually appeared as Vol 4 of a marvellous five disc set. It is my absolute favourite version of this work and one of my favourite recordings full stop. It is still available, but, I think, only just.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oistrakh-Vol-4-Richter/dp/B0001LGF0C/ref=sr_1_8?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1312044204&sr=1-8

[vinteuil]

Schubert Ensemble (?)

This would, I assume, be the Simon Blendis (violin) William Howard (piano) on the ASV disc which has the Schubert Ensemble in the quintet for piano and strings. I have it, and like it a lot.

Also have the Olivier Charlier/Jean Hubeau, and the Bell/Thibaudet, and the Chung/Lupu - but prefer the Blendis/Howard...

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

This would, I assume, be the Simon Blendis (violin) William Howard (piano) on the ASV disc which has the Schubert Ensemble in the quintet for piano and strings. I have it, and like it a lot.

Thank you for that, Vinteuil. I've amended the list

[verismissimo]

Since, as before, we are relaxing the availability rule, I've two ancient recordings on LP to add:

Franco Gulli and Enrica Cavalli
Alan Loveday and Leonard Cassini

I originally learned the work with the former, which was on one of those Great Musicians/Fabbri partworks that were so well presented, full of useful and well-written info, together with their ten inch LP. And it still sounds fine.

Hard to get past Oistrakh/Richter though, I guess. But who shines out from the younger players?

[verismissimo]

Franck's sonata was one of the inspirations for the "little phrase", the emblem of the love between Swann and Odette in Proust.

Details from vinteuil!

[umslopogaas]

One of my favourites is the version on CBS by Isaac Stern and Alexander Zhakin, which is presumably unavailable on CD, since it isnt on the list. The LP (SBRG 72454) is dated 1966 and I must have had it almost from new.

[Don Petter]

One of my favourites is the version on CBS by Isaac Stern and Alexander Zhakin, which is presumably unavailable on CD, since it isnt on the list. The LP (SBRG 72454) is dated 1966 and I must have had it almost from new.

Maybe not currently. It has been available on Sony CD (SMK 64532), c/w Debussy Sonata and Enescu Third Sonata.

Correction. On looking at Amazon, it is still listed, at £13.86 from them, but as low as £4.19 from associated vendors.

[verismissimo]

Just invested in Oistrakh. In Brilliant's Oistrakh centenary box. 20 CDs for under 20 quid. Sigh.

[Barbirollians]

Chung/Lupu for me .

[Pianorak]

I still cherish a BBC off-air live recording of the work with Yan Pascal Tortelier (violin) and his sister, the pianist Maria de la Pau. Quite an electrifying performance.

[Adam Worth]

Is it really unavailable? I would very much like to get a hold of it. I would probably buy even if not on cd if it's of good quality.
Please let me know.