Joseph Achron was born in a part of Russia which is now Lithuania,
but moved with his family to Warsaw at an early age where his
musical talents flourished. A prodigious violinist, he studied
with Leopold Auer at the St Petersburg Academy, bringing him
into the same stable as Heifetz, who became his good friend
and champion. Achron’s solo performing career was a glittering
one, but he started composing from a very young age. Schoenberg
gave him the major compliment of describing him as ‘one of the
most underestimated of modern composers’.
Underestimated and indeed, as good as forgotten, it was Hagai
Shaham who uncovered Achron’s unpublished compositions at the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the 1990s. Since then Elmar
Oliveira and Ingolf
Turban have made Achron recordings. The first CD of this
collection aside from the klezmer-weighted Stempenyu Suite
was originally released on the Biddulph label, the results being
widely acclaimed at the time. This Hyperion collection builds
on the foundation of these shorter pieces, and brings us all
of the multi-movement Suites in consistently vibrant
sound.
Achron’s violin wizardry is clearly apparent from spectacular
passages such as the closing sections of the Hebrew Dance
Op. 35/2 and the salon splendour of Souvenir de Varsovie
Op. 14, but the far greater impression from CD 1 is of music
with great charm and at times remarkable expressive power. His
lyrical gift is apparent all over the place, with the violin
very much a singing voice which laments and laughs. Hagai Shaham’s
superb playing drips with all of the emotional directness the
best of Jewish music can deliver. Take a tune like the first
of the Zwei Stimmungen Op. 36 – simple and elegant,
with a spring in its step through the syncopations of the accompaniment,
this is typical of a set of pieces which give increasing rewards
the more you become acquainted with their little hooks and secret
corners.
The three numbered Suites from 1906-7 show Achron’s
swift stylistic development, and are representative of his diversity
of musical interests. The first, ‘en style ancien’, roughly
follows Baroque traditions in terms of key structure and, after
the passions of the first CD is quite surprising in its relatively
abstract but confident and deft exploration of a variety of
stylistic elements from Classical and Romantic repertoire. The
final Gigue is guaranteed to raise a smile. The Suite
No. 2 is a more stylistically advanced set of character
pieces, with a more playful lightness of touch in the Menuet
and Marionettes, and deeper emotional impact in the
sustained and dramatic Intermezzo. The Quatre Tableaux
fantastiques or Suite No. 3 is different again,
moving in the worlds of impressionism considered modern for
the period. The third movement, Largo e fantastico
is particularly impressive, a powerful arch with some remarkable
harmonies over a bass pedal tone which lasts the entire duration
of the piece. The Suite bizarre takes on some of the
avant-garde spirit of Stravinsky and Bartók in its rhythmic
asymmetries, while maintaining an anchor in aspects of more
familiar dance idioms in Quasi valse, and remaining
rooted in accessible tonality and lyrical melodic lines.
The Children’s Suite was originally written for piano
solo, but its distinctively melodic character lends itself well
to arrangement. Far from childish, the music is more descriptive
of themes related to childhood than intended for consumption
by the young. The violin is turned into a very agile set of
Birdies and revolves convincingly as a Top.
The variety of moods make for a set of pieces with plenty of
sophistication and magic.
This is a surprising and tremendously widely-ranging programme
of music on two generously filled CDs. Achron’s music is by
no means exclusively based on Jewish idioms, and as the later
Suites show, he was well aware of the advances made by Debussy,
Ravel and others. The brilliance of the violin writing is incidental,
with the quality of the music very much to the fore. The brilliance
of Hagai Shaham’s playing is a major draw, from folk-music derived
vocalisation to Parisian wit and savoir-faire. Arnon Erez’s
piano accompaniment reflects and supports with its own sonority
and powerful expressive palette.
Dominy Clements
Full contents list
CD 1
Hebrew Melody Op. 33 [5:48]
Two Hebrew Pieces Op. 35
Hebrew Dance [6:07]
Hebrew Lullaby [3:03]
Eli Zion [6:20]
Prelude Op. 13 [3:40]
Souvenir de Varsovie Op. 14 [3:29]
Coquetterie Op. 15 [2:22]
Serenade Op. 17 [2:50]
Les sylphides Op. 18 [3:10]
Berceuse Op. 20 [3:46]
Dance Improvisation Op. 37 [3:08]
Scher Op. 42 [2:00]
Märchen Op. 46 [3:43]
Liebeswidmung Op. 51 [2:16]
Canzonetta Op. 52 No. 2 [2:37]
Zwei Stimmungen Op. 32
No. 1 in D minor [2:04]
No. 2 in B minor [3:45]
Zwei Stimmungen Op. 36
No. 1 in G minor [3:38]
No. 2 in B major [1:47]
Two Pastels Op. 44
No. 1 in A minor [3:58]
No. 2 in E minor [2:37]
Stempenyu Suite
Stempenyu plays [2:07]
Scher [1:41]
Freilachs [2:48]
CD 2
Suite No. 1 'en style ancien' Op. 21
Prélude - Tempo giusto [2:44]
Gavotte - Allegro moderato [3:18]
Sicilienne - Andantino [3:18]
Fughetta - Non troppo allegro [1:21]
Gigue - Allegro comodo [2:46]
Suite No. 2 Op. 22
En passant - Vivo e scorrendo [1:49]
Menuet - Allegretto aperto – Trio Un poco meno mosso [4:13]
Moulin - Vivace e gajamente assai [1:25]
Intermezzo - Cantabile e molto dramatico [4:45]
Marionettes - Allegro molto e scherzando [3:19]
Quatre Tableaux fantastiques 'Suite No. 3' Op. 23
Andantino espressivo [1:39]
Allegretto con grazia ma un pochiNo. malinconico [3:34]
Largo e fantastico [4:14]
Allegro con agilità [6:04]
Suite bizarre 'Cycles des rythmes, Suite No. 4 Op. 41
Etincelles - Allegro molto [1:07]
Quasi valse - Allegro [2:33]
Grâce - Allegretto [1:46]
Terrasses du palais - Calmato [2:58]
Grimaces - Moderato [1:45]
Galanterie - Andantino [1:51]
Pastorale - Allegro vivo [1:28]
Moment dramatique - Adagio e molto espressivo [3:09]
Marche grotesque - Allegro giocoso [2:03]
Children’s Suite arr. Jascha Heifetz (1901–1987)
Jumping with tongue out (Op. 57 No. 2) [1:17]
Sleep, my puppy (Op. 57 No. 11) [0:54]
Birdies (Op. 57 No. 12) [1:43]
March of Toys (Op. 57 No. 10) [1:19]
Mamma, tell a fairy tale (Op. 57 No. 4) [1:26]
The TOp. (Op. 57 No. 8) [1:02]
The Caravan (Op. 57 No. 18) [1:15]
Parade with presents (Op. 57 No. 20) [1:41]
Pensée de Leopold Auer [2:24]
La romanesca [3:38]
Hagai Shaham (violin)