Violin Sonatas

Played with such passion and precision!

This is a recording of Joshua Bell from the beginning of his career, in 1988. He was a pupil of Josef Gingold, who in turn was a pupil of Ysaye, so Bell's heritage in interpreting these French violin sonatas is absolutely impeccable. The weakest performance is of the Faure. In part this is because Thibaudet doesn't seem to have mastered the ebb and flow of Faure's piano writing. Thibaudet plays it like a virtuoso but without much sensitivity. This is a shame, because Bell plays the work quite well. One need only switch to the performance by Isabelle Faust and Florent Boffard to hear what is missing. Things are much better in the Debussy. Both artists have a beautiful sense of the scansion and sonority of this work, which is miles away from the romance of the Faure. It is a very French sounding performance, both in instrumental color and in pacing. As for the Franck, it is about as good as it gets. Both players summon wonderful tone and great energy. I am reminded of the great recording by David Oistrakh and Sviatoslav Richter. The recorded sound throughout the CD is excellent, just a little cavernous for the piano. If you look at the cover and think that two such handsome guys probably can't play music, think again.

フランクの新録音が、草書体の絶品だったので、旧録音のほうはどうかしらと聴いてみました。結果、まだまだ練れていない。新しい方を聴いてしまうと、物足りなさが残る演奏でした。