Composer: Johannes Brahms, Albert Dietrich, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner
Performer: Friedemann Eichhorn, Fazıl Say
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Naxos
Catalogue: 8574434
Release: 2023
Size: 996 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Schumann: Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105
01. I. Mit leidenschaftlichem Ausdruck
02. II. Allegretto
03. III. Lebhaft
Schumann: Romances, Op. 94
04. No. 1 in A Minor
05. No. 2 in A Major
06. No. 3 in A Minor
Dietrich: F.A.E. Sonata
07. I. Allegro
08. Schumann: Intermezzo from Sonata F.A.E. for Violin and Piano in A minor
09. Brahms: Sonatensatz (Scherzo from the F.A.E. sonata), WoO 2
10. Schumann: Finale from Sonata F.A.E. for Violin and Piano in A minor
Wagner: Tristan und Isolde: Prelude & Liebestod
11. Act I: Prelude
12. Act III: Mild und leise wie er lächelt “Isoldes Liebestod”
Turkish pianist and composer Fazıl Say is joined by his long-standing friend, the violinist Friedemann Eichhorn, in an album of mid-19th-century German repertoire. Influenced by Liszt, Say’s ingenious transcriptions of the Prelude and Liebestod from Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde are heard here in world premiere recordings. The composite F–A–E Sonata of Dietrich, Schumann and Brahms is seldom encountered as a whole, while Schumann’s Violin Sonata No. 1, though written at a time of unhappiness, contains moments of glorious beauty and intimacy.
After pianist Fazil Say’s Naxos debut in 2020, featuring his own complete works for violin with violinist Friedemann Eichhorn and conductor Christoph Eschenbach, Say and Eichhorn continue their fruitful collaboration here with somewhat lesser-known music for this combination from major names of the Romantic era. There are a few reasons listeners will be drawn to this release, and chief among them may be the popularity of Say himself. Beyond that is the performing relationship between Eichhorn and Say. They have a solid, supportive approach that suits the drama of this music well, and their symbiosis will be evident to listeners; this is clearly heard in the Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105, of Robert Schumann that opens the program. The complete, collaborative “F-A-E Sonata,” with movements by Schumann, Johannes Brahms, and Albert Dietrich, is a draw here as well. While the movements by Schumann and Brahms have seen plenty of light individually, the opening movement by Dietrich is less common, as are performances of the whole Sonata. Finally, inspired by his own performances of Liszt’s treatment of Wagner’s “Liebestod” from Tristan und Isolde, Say offers arrangements for violin and piano of that opera’s Prelude and “Liebestod.” It is no easy task to take these lush, dramatic works and distill them into this intimate pairing, and Say does an admirable job. Time will tell whether it enters the greater repertoire, but it is certainly worth hearing and considering.