ASV Gold has been around
for the last couple of years as a subset
within Sanctuary Classics. Here they
present two of César Franck’s
best loved scores in impressive performances
from the British-based Schubert Ensemble.
In 1879, the Belgian-born
Franck returned to chamber music after
an absence of thirty years to produce
a masterwork in the shape of the Piano
Quintet in F Minor. Described
by Charles Tournemire as, "the
king of Piano Quintets." the
classically-structured score foreshadowed
Debussy’s musical innovations through
its use of the ‘cyclical form’: the
recurrence of a single theme, in various
places, through all of the work’s three
movements. Biographer Léon Vallas
is of the opinion that some of the passionate
moods of the music reflect Franck’s
feelings at the time for Augusta Holmès
who was one of his pupils. At the première
the Saint-Saëns played the piano
part.
The Schubert Ensemble
traverse with considerable proficiency
and vigour the work’s broad emotional
range. They offer impressive rhythmic
momentum in the outer movements with
especially vibrant and exciting playing
in the furious extended coda
of the ‘con fuoco’ finale.
I particularly enjoyed the flowing and
expressive playing of the central movement.
This is a score with an abundance of
passion and a significant emotional
impact with which the players demonstrate
a convincing affinity. This is a really
excellent interpretation that deserves
attention.
The recording of the
Piano Quintet that I would not
wish to be without is from Quatuor Ludwig
with pianist Michaël Levinas on
Naxos 8.553645. The impressive mono
account from the Hollywood Quartet with
Victor Aller on Testament SBT 1077 is
also highly rewarding.
Franck’s Violin
Sonata in A major, composed
in 1886, is a warhorse of the chamber
music repertoire and remains a hard
nut to crack for performers. Composed
as a wedding present for his friend
and fellow-countryman, the violin virtuoso
Eugène Ysaÿe, the four movement
sonata is an epic work regarded
by many as the finest violin sonata
in all French music. Personally, I would
go so far as to say that the score,
which is so fresh and packed with original
character, has worthy claims to be one
of the finest violin sonatas ever written.
The Franck sonata runs
the range of emotions from unbridled
passion to sublime serenity and successfully
employs cyclical themes. The violin
soars over the piano part with the most
uplifting of melodies. The complex and
delightful finale, with the violin
and piano parts playing off each other,
is justly famous. In the dreamy first
movement allegretto ben moderato
I was impressed by the way Blendis
and Howard blend the contemplative mood
with the underlying element of tension.
The turbulent second movement allegro
is perceptive and incisive. The noble
recitative-fantasia is affectionately
played and the youthful gaiety of the
final movement allegretto poco mosso
is convincingly put across. A most enjoyable
account.
Franck’s Violin Sonata
is a frequently recorded work and the
catalogues contain numerous excellent
versions. The celebrated evergreen from
Kyung Wha Chung and Radu Lupu remains
a confident recommendation on analogue
Decca 460 006-2. I am also extremely
fond of the recent digital accounts
from Sarah Chang and Lars Vogt on EMI
Classics 5 57679 2 and Rudens Turku
and Milana Chernyavska on Avie AV2080.
The booklet notes from
Ates Orga are highly informative, yet
come across as rather technical. I noticed
that the composition date for the sonata
is given twice as 1866, which is
incorrect. The sound quality is up to
the usual high standards of the ASV
label.
A fine recording that
will appeal to many especially for the
excellent performance of the Piano Quintet.
Michael Cookson
The Schubert Ensemble: Simon Blendis, violin*;
Jan Peter Schmolk, violin; Douglas Paterson, viola;
Jane Salmon, cello; William Howard, piano* 
