Carl NIELSEN (1865-1931)
Violin Sonata in A major, Op 9 (1895) [22:30]
Violin Sonata, Op 35 (1912) [21:30]
George ENESCU (1881-1955)
Violin Sonata No 3 in A minor, Op 25 “Dans le caractère populaire roumain” (1926) [26:25]
Mihaela Oprea (violin)
Jakob Alsgaard Bahr (piano)
rec. 2-4 July and 12-13 October 2020, Alsion, Sønderborg, Denmark
DANACORD DACOCD879 [70:42]
Carl Nielsen completed his Violin Sonata in A major,
Op 9 in 1895, a year after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1. Strangely, the Sonata was not well received. Charles Kjerulf deemed it “strange and dislocated… [and] beyond criticism”, and Robert Henriques wrote: “Fear of not being sufficiently interesting diverts Mr. Nielsen from natural paths”. Despite conventional wisdom regarding the first Sonata as inferior to the second, I liked it better. The music is characterised by lyricism, explosion of power and freeish tonality, and is full of unexpected twists and turns. It is approachable and ultimately enjoyable, Whatever problems the contemporary reviewers had with this work seem to have evaporated over the past 126 years.
The Sonata No 2 in G minor, Op 35 was composed shortly after Nielsen’s Symphony No. 3 “Espansiva”. Yet, as the liner notes explain, it reflects none of the confidence of that work. The mood of this Sonata is of “doubt and controversy”. That may reflect the composer’s personal life and his problematic marriage to Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen. Despite several lyrical moments, this work is fraught in atmosphere. The texture is convoluted, sinewy and spartan. Progress is marked by conflict and foreboding rather than optimism. The tonality of the music is ambiguous. Certainly not atonal, it seems to drift around, never quite arriving where it wants to go. Nielsen himself wrote: “We must abandon tonality and yet sound diatonically convincing.” I think that he has achieved that aim in this somewhat ambiguous composition.
My big discovery on this CD is George Enescu’s Sonata No 3 for Violin and Piano in A minor,
Op 25 “Dans le caractère populaire roumain” from 1926. There is a numinous feel about this magical work that is hard to pin down. Perhaps it has something to do with where it was composed. The composer had recently arrived at his beautiful Luminiş Villa, located in the Transylvanian Alps north of Bucharest. This Sonata, the first piece he composed at the new address, is a wonderful fusion of styles: the sophisticated composition technique he had learnt from French composers including Fauré, and the vibrant Romanian folk music, an important living tradition in Romania.
Like several composers inspired by folk music, Enescu does not quote any found tune. As the liner notes say, he created “music that expresses the quintessence of the Romanian folk music sensed through his own personal prism. The result is an original, new musical language, that is in deep harmony with the past”. The violin part is fiendishly difficult. The general impression of this Sonata is one of free improvisation, yet this is hardly the case. Enescu has littered the score with details of how to play and realise this music. Various techniques are called for, such as “flute-like, fast” and “parlando rubato.” Great use is made of harmonics and even quarter tones. This deeply felt work is often elegiac, sometimes savage, and occasionally avant-garde in effect. The soloists are sometimes required to create moods of anger and joy, often just a few beats apart. I have not earlier heard Enescu’s Sonata No. 3: it was a pleasure and a revelation rolled into one.
Esben Tange’s liner notes give all the essential information needed to appreciate this disc. As expected from the Danacord label, the recording is ideal. Mihaela Oprea (violin) and Jacob Alsgaard Bahr (piano) play superbly. I do not really know these three works, so I have nothing to compare performances with, but this recital makes a considerable effect.
It is altogether an interesting album of music. Both Nielsen and Enescu are composers whom I rarely listen to; one cannot explore everything. Yet all three works must be essential listening to those who enjoy and appreciate violin music. For me, the big discovery is the splendidly played Enescu Violin Sonata No. 3: it is full of magic and enchantment from the first bar to the last.
John France
