A
beautifully played and recorded recital of music old and new for
violin and piano from Australia's Tall Poppies imprint. Marina
Marsden programmes the doyen of Australian 20th century
music Peter Sculthorpe against youthful Grieg, and young Australian
Christian Heim against Carl Nielsen, before finishing with a Kreisler
encore. Both the Grieg and Nielsen pieces come from relatively
early in their careers but still show more than traces of the
composers' characteristic musical fingerprints. As far as Grieg
is concerned, this is particularly true of the central Allegretto
quasi andantino, with its incorporation of Norwegian folk
motifs - song and springar (folk dance). Nielsen continual
reinvention of Brahms into something more vital and specific to
his native Denmark, or at least Scandinavia, is evident here as
much as in the later symphonic and orchestral works. The energy
unleashed in the opening Allegro glorioso is typical as
is the rhythmic drive. Grieg went on to write two further violin
sonatas and Nielsen one but no-one interested in Scandinavian
classical music can afford to miss their first efforts in the
genre - they may not be the masterpieces of later years but they
are a great deal more than derivative juvenilia. Marsden and Chamberlain's
performance hear is pretty much ideal.
Peter
Sculthorpe named a whole series of works with the word Irkanda,
meaning "a remote and lonely place" in native Australian. This
unaccompanied piece is also a relatively early work but is entirely
idiomatic. The trademark "bird calls" are in there along with
various uses of the violin other than conventional bowing - "pizzicato,
harmonics and tremolando" add to the colours of the music which
is a typically affecting nature essay by Sculthorpe. If you enjoy
this piece, there are various discs available on the same label
which deal solely with his music, including the magnificent string
quartets.
Christian
Heim is only just in his forties and wrote Transformations
in his early thirties. It is an interesting piece, starting off
with solo violin almost like an Australian Lark Ascending
before entering a more dissonant phase. About halfway through,
a greater order sets in and there is then an obvious comparison
to be drawn with the expanded minimalism of Adams etc. as the
piece wends its melodic way back to a final return to the tranquil
opening mood. It certainly left me feeling that I would like to
hear more by this composer. Marsden and Chamberlain first met
in Vienna in 1985 and have played together ever since which may
explain the inclusion of the Kreisler item - a Viennese bonbon
cast in sharp contrast to the haunting Sculthorpe and tumbling
Nielsen in particular.
As
I have said in previous reviews of Tall Poppies material, the
disc is a tribute to the company's production values, not only
in terms of the music but the planning that goes into the programming
and the packaging, including some superb and extensive booklet
notes. Highly recommended to anyone fond of mixed composer chamber
recitals.
Neil
Horner
Marina Marsden, violin