Szymanowski & Hahn: Works for Violin & Piano

Album review

Thoughtfully programmed and original in conception, Tamsin Waley-Cohen's recordings for Signum Classics are far from the usual recital fare. Following the albums 1917: Works for Violin & Piano by Debussy, Respighi, Sibelius, and Elgar, and Soli: Works for Solo Violin by Bartók, Penderecki, Benjamin, Carter, and Kurtág, Waley-Cohen explores pieces by Karol Szymanowski and Reynaldo Hahn, two composers whose styles are quite different. While Szymanowski and Hahn share some biographical similarities, the main point of their pairing here is the influence of César Franck, whose popular Violin Sonata in A major affected both composers. Hahn's refined and cheerful Violin Sonata in C major stands in contrast to the exoticism and brooding mystery of Szymanowski's Violin Sonata in D minor, but both works reflect the Franck sonata in form, development of themes, and the shifting chromaticism of the harmony and underlying tonal framework. The performances are sympathetic and true to the expressions of the respective pieces, yet while Waley-Cohen's playing of the Szymanowski sonata is sometimes gritty and harsh, she is uniformly polished in the Hahn work, and accompanist Huw Watkins follows her every shift of mood. Signum Classics provides a clean studio recording, and both artists have close-up presence in the mix.
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