French & Belgian Violin Sonatas (Faure, Franck, Lekeu, Ravel, Debussy) - Arthur Grumiaux (2 CDs)

Sonatas and concert pieces by Fauré, Franck, Ravel, Debussy, Vieuxtemps, Ysäye and Lekeu. The stereo recording with Varsi, which receives its first international release on CD.

Faure-lovers have long prayed for a CD reissue of the two sonatas from Grumiaux and Paul Crossley. And they won’t be disappointed. The sound itself is pleasing—better, even, than I remember it on LP. And there is a radiance in the playing suggesting an unerring understanding of structure and style that somehow goes hand in hand with the joyous spontaneity of new discovery. The hyper-sensitive suppleness of Grumiaux’s shading and phrasing is a particular delight, as is his awareness that just as much of the musical message comes from the piano—particularly in the Second Sonata. As for Crossley, not for nothing has he come to be recognized as one of this country’s most dedicated Faure specialists. It would certainly be difficult to over-praise the subtlety of the two artists’ interplay in both works.’ Gramophone

‘Some of Grumiaux’s soft playing will take your breath away. Likewise in the Debussy and Ravel sonatas with István Hajdu, all models of sensitively negotiated chamber playing.’ Gramophone

GABRIEL FAURÉ
Violin Sonata No. 1 in A major, Op. 13
Violin Sonata No. 2 in E minor, Op. 108
CESAR FRANCK: Violin Sonata in A major*
GUILLAUME LEKEU: Violin Sonata in G major+
EUGENE YSAŸE: Rêve d’enfant, Op. 14+
HENRI VIEUXTEMPS: Ballade et Polonaise, Op. 38+
CLAUDE DEBUSSY: Violin Sonata in G minor**
MAURICE RAVEL: Violin Sonata in G major**

Arthur Grumiaux, violin
Paul Crossley, piano
Gyorgy Sebok, piano*
Dinorah Varsi, piano+
István Hajdu, piano**