French Violin Sonatas

Fr ench V i o l i n Sonatas

Natalia Lomeiko Olga SITKOVETSKY

GARETH FARR RUAUMOKO NEW ZEALAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA KENNETH YOUNG

Claude Debussy

Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor 1 Allegro vivo – Appassionata 2 Intermède: Fantasque et léger 3 Finale: Très animé

13:49 5:00 4:08 4:41

Maurice Ravel

Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major 4 Allegretto 5 Blues: Moderato 6 Perpetuum mobile: Allegro

17:34 7:50 5:32 4:12

Fr ench V i o l i n Sonatas

Natalia Lomeiko Olga SITKOVETSKY

Maurice Ravel

7 Pièce en forme de Habanera

3:07

Eugène Ysaÿe

8 Poème élégiaque, Op. 12

13:26 TRI3003

Camille Saint-Saëns / Eugène Ysaÿe

9 Valse-Caprice

Total Time

8:31 56:29

Digital Stereo Recording C 2004 Trust Records International Ltd P2004 Trust Records International Ltd

Claude Debussy (1862-1918)

and falling glissando. Beneath this, the piano

Sonata for Violin and Piano

launches into its own arpeggios. With the

in G minor

recapitulation the violin echoes these arpeggios

Allegro vivo – Appassionata

and the accompaniment recalls the opening

Intermède: Fantasque et léger

theme. Once again, violin and piano switch

Finale: Très animé

places although the piano takes a secondary

First performed in 1917, this sonata was

role as the coda begins.

Debussy’s last completed work. It was the third

The evanescent second movement

in a proposed cycle of six sonatas. A sonata for

opens with a delightful tune played by both

flute, viola and harp, and another for cello and

instruments at a distance of two octaves with

piano had preceded it in 1915. The project then

piano chords between. The piano subsequently

came to a standstill, the composer’s advancing

has the double-octave melody with both

cancer preventing its completion.

instruments filling the middle register.

Nonetheless Debussy himself premiered

Debussy’s finale has hints of a toccata. It

the G minor Sonata with violinist Gaston Poulet

opens with a brilliant piano motive embodying

in what was to be his last public performance.

the main theme of the preceding Intermède. The

The first movement has much in common with

violin harks back to the opening of the sonata

classical sonata form, but instead of developing

and the remainder of the work comprises a

existing material the central section introduces

burlesque-like figure introduced by violin alone.

two new themes, the second resembling a chant with repeated notes followed by a rising

Although the 1914-18 War sharpened Debussy’s jingoism, as early as the 1890s he

was conscious of the threat Wagner posed to

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

the development of French music, regarding

Sonata for Violin and Piano

an ‘assault’ on Wagner’s idiom as a sacred

in G major

crusade. His final work stands in total contrast

Allegretto

to the developmental attitudes that motivated

Blues: Moderato

Wagner; indeed, it progresses in a succession

Perpetuum mobile: Allegro

of flurries and agitations, like leaves in an

Written between 1923 and 1927, this sonata

autumn wind.

is, like that of Debussy, a three-movement work concluding in G major. Otherwise the two works have scarcely any similarity. There seems little doubt that Ravel was aware of – and possibly familiar with – Debussy’s three sonatas. But where the older composer had committed himself in his final work to exploring the ‘heartbeat’ of the violin in a thoroughly Romantic manner, Ravel intended nothing of the sort in his own sonata. The work’s long gestation began when Raoul Gunsbourg signed Ravel to complete L’Enfant et les Sortilèges for the Monte Carlo Opera by the end of 1924.

Ravel had previously explored more discordant

and aggressive territory in the Duo for Violin

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

and Cello (1920-22). Yet in this sonata, he

Pièce en forme de Habanera

adhered to a more balanced, Classical form,

During 1907 Ravel embarked on his ‘Spanish

although he appeared to regard the violin

phase’, beginning with the Vocalise-Étude en

primarily as the source of a sound distinct from

forme de Habanera for voice and piano. Later

that of the piano: ‘essentially incompatible

it was to become available in transcriptions for

instruments,’ he called them.

violin, cello, harp, four flutes, alto saxophone

In the first movement, violin and piano

and clarinet. The original was written as a

do share material but the first theme is

study for pupils of A.L. Hettich at the Paris

demonstrably so well suited to the violin that

Conservatoire where Ravel also studied with

it sets the two instruments somewhat at odds.

Fauré and the professor of counterpoint and

It proceeds with long 6/8-9/8 rhythms and

fugue André Gedalge. In the most popular

as many as five distinct motifs. The central

versions for violin, cello, and four flutes his

‘Blues’ was a gamble designed to incense the

piece gained widespread popularity, giving

reactionaries by introducing snatches of jazz

credence to the quip that the best Spanish

into a ‘Classical’ setting. And finally, in the fabric

music is by French composers. In any event

of semiquavers of the Perpetuum mobile, Ravel

the modest piece became a launching pad for

seems to nod slyly in the direction of Paganini –

a succession of works incorporating Spanish

evidently trying a foot in two camps long before

idioms; notably the evocative finale of his one-

the term ‘crossover’ was coined.

act opera, L’Heure espagnole and the crystalsharp Rapsodie espagnole. On more than one

occasion this interpretation of the Iberian dance

EugèneYsaÿe (1858-1931)

form was cited as Ravel’s first masterpiece. Its

Poème élégiaque, Op. 12

significance to the composer is made clear by

In this work, written in 1892/93 and dedicated

his quotation of Baudelaire in the inscription

to Gabriel Fauré, the Belgian composer,

to his first, unpublished, essay in the form, the

conductor and towering violin virtuoso seems to

Habanera for two pianos of 1895: ‘au pays

distance himself from the taxing virtuoso works

parfumé que le soleil caressé’ (to the beautiful,

of his youth which were composed primarily for

perfumed country, caressed by the sun).

display. Ysaÿe’s sole legacy from that dazzling past is the effective employment of scordatura (altered tuning): in this work, the lowest string of the violin is tuned from G to the F a tone lower, giving it a darker coloration, the instrument tending to sound like a viola. The work was initially written for violin and piano, and Ysaÿe subsequently orchestrated it. However it was the violin and piano original that made a huge impression on Ernest Chausson, serving later as the catalyst for the composition of his famous and deeply moving Poème for violin and orchestra. Ysaÿe gladly lent his assistance and advice to the composer, notably in the writing of

the solo part and its integral cadenza. The mood

Waltz, providing ammunition to detractors

and form of these two works have, therefore,

who increasingly ridiculed Saint-Saëns as

much in common, and both conclude with

a composer of frivolous nineteenth-century

ethereal trills. It is said that Chausson eventually

lollipops. It fell to the Belgian virtuoso Eugène

referred to his own inescapably sombre work as

Ysaÿe to rework the waltz into its present form,

‘Mon-ton poème’ (my-your poem).

transforming it in doing so into a yet more impressive showpiece for violin – not least for ‘barnstormer’ Ysaÿe himself. A year before, de Serres had asked César Franck, another noted Belgian, for a concertante piece; in response he penned Les Djinns, in which the orchestra represents forces of evil and the piano forces of

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) /

light. If Saint-Saëns felt any animosity over this

Eugène Ysaÿe

‘intrusion’ it did not show in the romantic and

9 Valse-Caprice

lively Valse-Caprice, whose principal melody

In 1885, the same year that Saint-Saëns

has become familiar to thousands.

composed his first violin sonata, he presented one Caroline de Serres with this waltz as a wedding gift, in its original version for piano and strings. This most delightful and lively work came to be known as the Wedding-Cake

Frances Hodgkins (1869-1947), The Miller’s House, Cerne Abbis, Dorset, 1943, gouache on paper, 535 x 425 mm. Courtesy of John Leech Gallery, Auckland.

Natalia Lomeiko Born into a family of musicians in Novosibirsk, Russia in 1979, Natalia Lomeiko has already established herself internationally as a regular performing artist. She has won prizes in the Menuhin International Violin Competition in 1993 and 1995, the Tibor Varga International Violin Competition in 1997, the Antonio Stradivari International Violin Competition in 1998 and the Tchaikovsky International Violin Competition in 1998.

She won the Gisborne Music Competition in 1999, the 2000 Young Musician of the Year Competition (New Zealand), and received the Gold Medal and the First Prize in the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition in the same year. In 2003 Lomeiko won the First Prize in the Michael Hill International Violin Competition.

Lomeiko studied at the Specialist Music School in Novosibirsk with Professor A. Gvozdev, at the Yehudi Menuhin School in England with Lord Menuhin and Professor N. Boyarskaya, at the Royal College of Music and the Royal Academy of Music with Professor Hu Kun. Since her debut with the Novosibirsk Symphony Orchestra at the age of seven, Lomeiko has performed as a soloist with many orchestras, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Lord Menuhin, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Royal Philharmonic and the Nice Philharmonic. In 2001 she recorded the three violin sonatas of Edvard Greig with pianist Olga Sitkovetsky.

Natalia Lomeiko has performed extensively as a soloist and chamber musician in such prestigious venues in London as the Wigmore Hall, the Purcell Room, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Buckingham Palace, the Barbican and the Royal Festival Hall. She has toured Great Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Finland, Russia, Poland, USA, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Japan and New Zealand.

Olga Sitkovetsky Born in Moscow, Russia, Olga Sitkovetsky studied piano and concertmaster skills at the College of Music affiliated with the Moscow Conservatory, and later at the St. Petersburg Conservatory.

Sitkovetsky has performed as an accompanist in numerous international violin competitions and has received numerous awards for her accompaniment. She has also participated in the International Musical Academies in Tours (France), Kent (England) and in summer courses in Italy and France.

In 1991, Lord Menuhin invited her as an accompanist to the Yehudi Menuhin School of Music in Surrey, England. Her work at the School from 1991-2000 has helped a number of students to win top prizes at major international competitions. Sitkovetsky now enjoys accompanying these former students, now accomplished musicians, in their tours all over the world. She participated in a compact disc recording celebrating Lord Menuhin’s 80th birthday.

In July 1998, Sitkovetsky made her official American debut at the renowned Newport Music Festival in Rhode Island.

Recently, Sitkovetsky has toured extensively in Italy, Belgium, Gilbraltar, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. 2002 and 2003 found her performing in some of the most prestigious concert venues in the world including Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw, the Salzburg ‘Mozarteum’ and the Vienna Konzerthaus. She has also recorded with various artists for Angel Records/EMI Classics, Dynamic, Naxos and ASV.

Frances Hodkins (1869-1947) Frances Mary Hodgkins is arguably the first major New Zealand artist of the twentieth century, and certainly one of its best known. Although born in Dunedin she spent a large portion of her adult life in Europe, principally in France and Britain. While in France she became interested in impressionism and this concern for light and its effects can be seen in much of her painting. At the time war broke out in September 1939 until her death in 1947, Hodgkins lived between the village of Corfe Castle in Dorset and a cottage in Somerset. Her work was largely associated at this time with the neoromantic artists. Her colours and medium changed from the strong clear palette of her watercolours of the 1920s and 30s to the muted broken tones of her gouache technique. These works largely depict exterior scenes of farmhouses and disused machinery in the idiosyncratic naturalism of her late style. Although her works became increasingly sombre during the war years, she did not lose her expressive sense of colour. Her brushstrokes, while firm, became increasingly more rhythmic adding a new level of intensity to her painting

French Violin Sontatas Natalia Lomeiko Olga Sitkovetsky TRI003 Digital Stereo Recording C 2004 Trust Records International Limited  2004 Trust Records International Limited Recorded in Wathen Hall, St Paul’s School, London, 19-21 April 2003 Producer Andrew Keener Recording Engineer Simon Eadon Digital Editing and Mastering Wayne Laird Executive Producer Ross Hendy Design Mallabar Music Photography Sasha Gusov Music Notes Howard Smith Trust Records International gratefully acknowledges the support of the following people and organisations in the making of this recording: Melanie Roger, John Leech Gallery ALL RIGHTS OF THE PRODUCER AND OF THE OWNER OF THE WORK REPRODUCED ARE RESERVED. UNAUTHORISED COPYING, HIRING, LENDING, PUBLIC PERFORMANCE AND BROADCASTING OF THIS RECORDING IS PROHIBITED.

Trust Records International PO Box 1395 Wellington New Zealand info@trustcds.com More information about other releases by Trust Records International Ltd and the HRL Morrison Music Trust can be found at the internet site:

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GARETH FARR RUAUMOKO NEW ZEALAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA KENNETH YOUNG

Claude Debussy

Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor 1 Allegro vivo – Appassionata 2 Intermède: Fantasque et léger 3 Finale: Très animé

13:49 5:00 4:08 4:41

Maurice Ravel

Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major 4 Allegretto 5 Blues: Moderato 6 Perpetuum mobile: Allegro

17:34 7:50 5:32 4:12

Fr ench V i o l i n Sonatas

Natalia Lomeiko Olga SITKOVETSKY

Maurice Ravel

7 Pièce en forme de Habanera

3:07

Eugène Ysaÿe

8 Poème élégiaque, Op. 12

13:26 TRI3003

Camille Saint-Saëns / Eugène Ysaÿe

9 Valse-Caprice

Total Time

8:31 56:29

Digital Stereo Recording © 2004 Trust Records International Ltd P2004 Trust Records International Ltd