Composer: Grazyna Bacewicz, Lili Boulanger, Arvo Pärt, Sergey Prokofiev, Maurice Ravel
Performer: Johan Dalene, Christian Ihle Hadland
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BIS
Catalogue: BIS2730
Release: 2023
Size: 1.16 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Pärt: Fratres for Violin & Piano
Ravel: Violin Sonata in G major
02. I. Allegretto
03. II. Blues
04. III. Perpetuum mobile
05. Boulanger: Nocturne
Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 94a
06. I. Moderato
07. II. Scherzo
08. III. Andante
09. IV. Allegro con brio
10. Bacewicz: Humoreske, for violin & piano
11. Bacewicz: Kolysanka (Lullaby), for violin & piano
12. Bacewicz: Moravian Dance (Taniec mazowiecki) for Violin & Piano
13. Bacewicz: Witraz (Stained-Glass Window)
This recital brings together two established classics from the 20th century with lesser-known works from the repertoire for violin and piano. Alongside Ravels Sonata, a work that reveals the influence of jazz on the French composer, and Prokofievs wartime Sonata, Op. 94a, an idiomatic arrangement of its original version for flute, we find compositions by Arvo Part, Lili Boulanger and Gra?yna Bacewicz, which, at times meditative, at times lyrical, at times folk-inspired, testify to the richness of this repertoire. These works are here performed by Johan Dalene, the Swedish-Norwegian winner of the 2019 Nielsen Competition. The present disc is violinists fourth release on BIS, following a recording of the Nielsen and Sibelius Concertos named Editors Choice by Gramophone and awarded the 2023 Swedish Grammis Award for Best Classical, the Tchaikovsky Concerto described as one of the finest violin debuts of the last decade in BBC Music Magazine, and Nordic Rhapsody, a violin and-piano recital that was awarded distinctions such as Diapason dor and Gramophones Editors Choice. As with that release, Dalene is given here the expert support of Christian Ihle Hadland who has also appeared on other much-lauded recordings, most recently one dedicated to Saint-Saens violin sonatas.
Stained Glass may seem an unassuming outing by young violinist Johan Dalene and his accompanist, Christian Ihle Hadland. It takes its title from one of a group of four miniatures by Grażyna Bacewicz and most of the music, with the exception of Prokofiev’s Violin Sonata in D major, Op. 94a, is meditative in spirit. Yet listeners who immerse themselves in Dalene’s playing may find themselves fascinated. Dalene does not state any concept beyond the diffusing effect of stained glass on light, but this was an image that delighted the Impressionists, and his intent seems to be to trace the Impressionist idea and appreciate its impact on a wide range of 20th century composers. He opens with a violin-and-piano version of Arvo Pärt’s Fratres. Pärt does not usually come up in the context of Impressionism, but note how smoothly his music flows into Ravel’s Violin Sonata in G major. It works partly because the Ravel is given quite a restrained performance, with the jazziness of the Blues movement not particularly emphasized. The program proceeds into quiet but rich realms, with a little-known Nocturne by Lili Boulanger and the four Bacewicz pieces (especially the lovely title work) becoming perfect foils for Dalene’s delicate violin. In the Prokofiev, composed in 1943, the outside world intrudes, but just a bit, and Prokofiev’s indebtedness to the Impressionist school is still apparent. With BIS engineers providing a perfect low-key environment in a small recital hall at the Stockholm Konzerhuis, this is an album that will leave a lasting impression, and it is a bold, original stroke from a young violinist.