Violin Sonata in G minor 'Sonatina', D408 (Schubert) - from CDA67911/2 - Hyperion Records

Reviews

‘Beautiful and touching … the performances of the virtuoso Rondo brillant and Fantasie are exhilarating; the Rondo combining lively momentum with a sense of poise and the Fantasie beautifully characterised in all its varied aspects. Especially fine are the episodes in Hungarian style, full of energy and grace, and the barnstorming finale, rivalling the famous 1931 recording of Busch and Serkin’ (Gramophone)

‘Performances which it is hard to imagine ever being bettered’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Most bewitching of all, and performed with a lightness and poise by this established duo, is the Fantasy in C major, breaking convention at every turn, written in 1827’ (The Observer)

‘Ibragimova and Tiberghien encompass the music with exhilarating flair … and with a keen stylistic ear’ (The Daily Telegraph)

‘The three Schubert Sonatinas are each rendered beautifully to scale by both partners … the felicities are of course manifold … Ibragimova and Tiberghien rise admirably to Schubert's late musical and technical challenges. In the aforesaid finale, they really let their hair down and the result is truly exhilarating. The Fantasy is as much a challenge to the pianist as to the violinist: Tiberghien emphatically holds his own!’ (International Record Review)

‘When Schubert’s melodies send Ibragimova soaring into the skies or when she tosses off filigree decorations she stays at her electrifying best. Try her wonderful high-wire pianissimos during the leisurely C major Fantasy of 1827, the most Schubertian of all the pieces, sweetly dominated by variations on his soulful song setting of the Rückert poem Sei mir gegrüsst!. As for vigour, nothing sets the pulse racing as much as his B minor Rondo, the most assertively rhetorical work here, given a performance powerful enough to stand in for the National Grid. Much to enjoy here’ (The Times)

‘Ibragimova and Tiberghien play with flair and taste’ (The Sunday Times)

‘Given the fine track record of violin-piano duo Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien, it’s not surprising to find them completely at home—lyrically poised and intimately dynamic—in Schubert’s four sonatas. But this disc is about the composer’s complete works for violin and piano, and how refreshing it is to have the fiery, often whimsical Rondo in B minor reeled off with such élan; to hear the multi-coloured expansiveness of the four-movement Fantasy in C minor, with all its playful pianism to boot; and Schubert’s delightful miniature transcription of his own song Sei mir gegrüsst!, itself the subject of variations in the Fantasy’ (The Scotsman)

The Sonata in G minor—a key with inevitable Mozartian associations—shares many traits with the A minor: a first movement whose exposition embraces three rather than two key centres (here G minor, B flat and E flat); a shapely, songful Andante that pays overt homage to Mozart (the main theme virtually quotes the Romanze of the Third Horn Concerto), a fast Menuetto with a relaxed Ländler trio, and a contredanse finale.

In the Allegro giusto Schubert progressively transforms the brusque unison opening, first into a pensive cantabile for piano alone, and then into a suave rococo minuet. The delightful trio of the Menuetto seems like a (doubtless subconscious) recollection of the bucolic trio from Mozart’s Symphony No 39, with the melody underscored by a gurgling accompaniment from the piano-as-clarinet. The finale opens in wistful mood but quickly brightens for a popular-style tune with more than a whiff of comic opera.

La Sonate en sol mineur—une tonalité immanquablement associée à Mozart—a beaucoup en commun avec celle en la mineur: un premier mouvement dont l’exposition embrasse trois et non deux centres tonals (ici, sol mineur, si bémol et mi bémol); un Andante bien tourné, mélodieux, qui rend ouvertement hommage à Mozart (le thème principal cite presque la Romanze du Concerto pour cor nº 3); un Menuetto rapide avec un trio de Ländler détendu, et une contredanse-finale.

Dans l’Allegro giusto inaugural, Schubert transforme peu à peu la brusque ouverture à l’unisson d’abord en un méditatif cantabile pour piano seul, puis en un suave menuet rococo. Le charmant trio du Menuetto s’apparente à un souvenir (sûrement subconscient) du bucolique trio de la Symphonie nº 39 de Mozart, avec la mélodie soulignée par un gazouillis pianistique, en remplacement de la clarinette. Le finale commence dans la nostalgie mais s’éclaircit vite pour accueillir un air en style populaire qui fait plus que sentir l’opéra-comique.

Die Sonate in g-Moll—eine Tonart, die sozusagen zwangsläufig mit Mozart assoziiert wird—hat mit der a-Moll-Sonate vieles gemeinsam: einen ersten Satz, in dessen Exposition wiederum drei tonale Zentren verarbeitet sind (in diesem Falle g-Moll, B-Dur und Es-Dur), ein wohlgeformtes, liedhaftes Andante, das ganz offensichtlich Mozart Tribut zollt (im Hauptthema wird die Romanze aus dem Dritten Hornkonzert mehr oder minder zitiert), ein schnelles Menuetto mit einem entspannten Ländler-Trio sowie ein Kontretanz-Finale.

In dem Allegro giusto zu Beginn transformiert Schubert nach und nach den brüsken Unisono-Anfang, zunächst in ein nachdenkliches Cantabile für Klavier allein und dann in ein gewandtes, rokokohaftes Menuett. Das reizvolle Trio des Menuettos scheint eine (zweifellos unterbewusste) Erinnerung an das bukolische Trio aus Mozarts Symphonie Nr. 39 zu sein, wobei die Melodie mit einer gurgelnden, klarinettenhaften Begleitung des Klaviers unterlegt ist. Das Finale beginnt in einer wehmütigen Stimmung, heitert allerdings bald mit einer volkstümlichen Melodie auf, die mehrere Elemente der komischen Oper in sich birgt.

Recording details: August 2012
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Andrew Keener
Engineered by Simon Eadon
Release date: August 2013
Total duration: 19 minutes 14 seconds

Cover artwork: Dovedale by Moonlight (c1784/5) by Joseph Wright (1734-1797)
Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Ohio / RT Miller Jr Fund / Bridgeman Images

Violin Sonata in G minor 'Sonatina', D408

Alina Ibragimova (violin), Cédric Tiberghien (piano)

Reviews

Introduction