Aside from the human
voice it is doubtful that any instrument
is more often featured in classical
music than the violin. Certainly it
is unparalleled in its expressive range.
Thus, throughout the centuries it has
been utilized by nearly every composer
of note to convey every emotion in any
style. For better or worse though, the
violin’s sweetness and lyrical qualities
became less featured, especially as
a solo instrument. By the twentieth
century the works of men such as Webern
and Crumb expounded upon the dissonant
and grating qualities that the instrument
can produce. In the meantime, as so
much had been written for lyrical violin,
many composers turned to the viola and
cello for solo instruments. As a result,
the music for solo violin written in
the past century was often distant or
relentlessly avant-garde.
Not everyone abandoned
the violin as a lyrical instrument,
however, as this collection featuring
the artistry of Maria Bachman shows.
This music is reminiscent of the music
of the Romantic era in its lyricism
and vitality. It does not revert to
Brahms or Chopin for its harmonic structure,
but it does reach back to them for its
expressivity. Clearly this was the musical
vocabulary that Bachman and her accompanist
Jon Klibonoff were seeking.
We start with the four-movement
Sonata for Violin and Piano by John
Corigliano. This is a challenging work
for both performers, and here is played
very well. It is hearkens to the more
serious works of Bernstein, with a neo-romantic
sensitivity to melody coupled with an
impressionist or post-impressionist
chord vocabulary. It is frequently a
highly energetic work, though occasionally
collapsing in an expression of exhaustion
for a quick breather before launching
itself into another rhapsodic blast.
Throughout the fourth movement the violin
even sounds as if it is laughing like
a child at play while the piano plays
the part of a happy but more concerned
and responsible parent. It feels as
if the accompaniment is trying to lead
the way, but seemingly leading from
behind. The interplay of the instruments
is quite fun, and it feels as if the
musicians are truly "in tune"
with each other emotionally in addition
to sonically.
This then leads directly
to the album’s title track, Fratres.
Interestingly, this is the only work
which the liner notes neglect to discuss
at length. In fact, the notes do not
even give a year of composition for
the eleven-minute work. The piece is,
however, probably the most intriguing
on the collection. The violin opens
with a truly virtuosic statement, running
up and down the fingerboard and across
the strings at an amazing rate. The
piano then enters with a stately, perhaps
morose mood to contrast with the violin’s
exuberance. As the piece progresses
the violin is then utilized differently
for other contrasts to the much more
simple and elegant piano part. There
are slow sections filled with double-stops
or plucked musical thoughts. As the
work concludes the violin returns to
its traditional bowed use, but extends
its range to its outer extreme. As the
violin reaches higher, the piano descends,
until finally both instruments are out
of range and energy, and the music ceases
to be. Fratres is not a commonly performed
work in the West, though it is highly
regarded in Russia and Poland. It has
been performed in a variety of arrangements
for different instruments and ensembles.
This is an exquisite arrangement that
should perhaps become more generally
familiar.
Following Fratres is
another Sonata for Violin and Piano,
this one by Paul Moravec, commissioned
specifically for Bachman and Klibonoff
by the Philadelphia Network for New
Music. The three movement sonata was
recorded first on the initial release
of this album. Each movement is intentionally
distinct from the other two: the first
soaring melodic over an intense and
active piano base, the second contemplative
and introspective, the finale an enthusiastic
and volatile combination of instruments
in a realm of shifting meters and asymmetric
progressions. Unlike their treatment
of Fratres, here the liner notes are
especially interesting. They quote the
composer directly as he describes the
movements and their relation to one
another, and his impression of the artists
for whom the piece was written.
The fourth piece was
also debuted on this recording. Albert
Glinsky’s "Toccata-Scherzo"
is a rapid-fire tour de force, with
the violin and piano both tossing off
blistering, virtuosic runs. Alternately
they will then join together for a change
in pace, almost as if they are rebuilding
their steam before another press of
the accelerator, and another utterly
impressive string of runs. The piece
is about the length of a pop song, which
is perfect for this type of circus-acrobatics.
Were it longer, it would become tiresome
as the listener became dulled to the
pace. As it stands, it is quite impressive
and very well performed.
The final work on the
disc is Olivier Messiaen’s "Praise
to the Immortality of Jesus". It
is the only piece here by a composer
who is no longer alive, and also the
only one which is part of a larger whole
not presented on this CD. The original
piece was written as a quartet in 1940
for violin, piano, cello, and clarinet
under the title Quatuor pour la fin
du temps (Quartet for the end
of time). The concluding movement
was intended to be a duet though, and
was named independently of the whole.
That is the piece presented here. It
is deeply reverential with a somber,
mechanistic piano that could easily
symbolize the heartbeat of an old man.
The violin emotes expressively, and
reaches slowly toward the highest pitches
of the instrument. By the end the violin
has reached the realm of the barely
audible, and the piano slowly fades
away, finally stopping as the violin
holds a single stratospheric note out
of time until that too dies away.
It is understandable
why this would be considered a BMG Classic.
Bachman and Klibonoff consistently display
both mechanical and artistic brilliance.
While the works are not necessarily
mainstays of popular instrumental music
today, they are consistently very good.
The album is far more than simply listenable.
It will appeal both to casual fans of
classical music and to more adventurous
ears wishing to explore the music of
the past twenty years.
Patrick Gary
Maria Bachman, violin 
