Hyperion Records

The Suite No 3, Op 23, entitled Quatre Tableaux fantastiques, was completed in 1907 and represents a further step towards modernist impressionism. It opens with a fluid and highly chromatic Andantino espressivo, the violin’s broad melody unfolding plangently over the piano’s dactylic chords. The theme of the second movement, as its marking Allegretto con grazia ma un pochino malinconico suggests, is sprightly though nostalgic, and envelops a central lyrical interlude. The expressive heart of the Suite No 3 is the Largo e fantastico, the searing melody poised over a relentless pedal-point, the piano’s offbeat harmonies intensifying to a sonorous climax. A lengthy piano introduction launches the rondo finale, in which a graceful, suave theme placed high in the violin’s range is contrasted by two chordal episodes, and crowned by a virtuosic coda.

from notes by Malcolm Miller © 2012