1917, Works for Violin and Piano

1917 — Works for Violin & Piano
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Artist: Tamsin Waley-Cohen, Huw Watkins, Claude Debussy, Ottorino Respighi, Jean Sibelius, Edward Elgar
Genre: Classical
Label: Signum Classics

This collection doesn't directly reflect the conflict that was ravaging Europe in 1917, though Debussy did call his sensual Violin Sonata "an example of what may be produced by a sick man in time of war". Respighi's unashamedly romantic B minor Sonata is given stature by the way Tamsin Waley-Cohen and pianist Huw Watkins partner each other as full equals. Heifetz's famously mesmerising account seems one-dimensional by comparison. But while the playing of Sibelius's Five Pieces, Op 81, and Elgar's noble Sonata in E minor is always musicianly, the pieces are less strongly characterised: the Sibelius misses out on some of the salonish flavour, the Elgar sounds a little too plain and sturdy. It's the Respighi that's the real revelation. url.ie/gb48

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan

Michael Dervan is a music critic and Irish Times contributor