Carl Maria von Weber - Sonatas for Piano and Violin; Piano Quartet (Alexander Melnikov; Isabelle Faust)

Information

Composer: Carl Maria von Weber

• (01-03) 6 Sonates progressives, for piano & violin obbligato, Op. 10 - No. 6 in C major
• (04-05) 6 Sonates progressives, for piano & violin obbligato, Op. 10 - No. 3 in D mino
• (06-07) 6 Sonates progressives, for piano & violin obbligato, Op. 10 - No. 4 in E flat major
• (08-11) Piano Quartet in B flat major, Op. 8
• (12-14) 6 Sonates progressives, for piano & violin obbligato, Op. 10 - No. 2 in G major
• (15-16) 6 Sonates progressives, for piano & violin obbligato, Op. 10 - No. 5 in A major
• (17-19) 6 Sonates progressives, for piano & violin obbligato, Op. 10 - No. 1 in F major

Alexander Melnikov, piano
Isabelle Faust, violin
Boris Faust, viola (08-11)
Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, cello (08-11)
Date: 2011
Label: Harmonia Mundi

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Review

Regular duo partners Faust and Melnikov record the sonatas

In the terminology of the time, these six Weber ‘progressive’ sonatas of 1810 are ‘for piano with violin obbligato’, but, if the piano does tend to take the upper hand, there would be some strange lacunae if the violin stopped playing. Here we are a long way from Der Freischütz and even further from Euryanthe and Oberon, all completed in the 1820s, but Weber’s originality and Romantic leanings are already in evidence. This is all the more true of the B flat Piano Quartet of 1809, harking back to Classical models in certain respects but, in the slow movement particularly, striving for a mode of expression that would come to fruition in the operas.

The piano-writing in the sonatas is already prescient of the effervescent fun that Weber would have in the F minor Konzertstück of 1821. The publisher who commissioned the sonatas rejected them because they were insufficiently dull, according to Weber; and when they eventually saw the light of day they were still described as being for amateurs. These would need to be advanced, agile amateurs, given the dazzle of some of the passagework, but – perhaps even more important – they would also need to have a developed aptitude for interpretation to bring out the music’s diverse characteristics and spirit in a way that the performers on this disc so entertainingly and perceptively do. Alexander Melnikov, with exuberance and sensitivity, plays a fortepiano of about 1815, and Isabelle Faust (on a Stradivarius) is his lithe, discerning and thoroughly engaging companion.

-- Geoffrey Norris, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2013/Feb13/Weber_Faust_HMC902108.htm
http://classicalsource.com/db_control/db_cd_review.php?id=10797
http://www.thestrad.com/cpt-reviews/weber-six-sonatas-op-10-piano-quartet-in-b-flat-major-op-81/
http://www.limelightmagazine.com.au/Review/345049,weber-violin-sonatas-piano-quartet-faust-melnikov.aspx
http://audaud.com/2012/12/weber-piano-quartet-in-b-flat-major-6-sonatas-isabelle-faust-violinboris-faust-viola-wolfgang-emanuel-schmidt-cello-alexander-melnikov-fortepiano-harmonia-mundi/
http://www.amazon.com/Weber-Violin-Sonatas-Nos-1-6-Quartet/dp/B009SCVJ6K

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Carl Maria von Weber (18 or 19 November 1786 – 5 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school. His operas greatly influenced the development of the Romantic opera in Germany. His composition for piano influenced composers such as Chopin, Liszt and Mendelssohn. His compositions for woodwind instruments occupy an important place in the musical repertoire. His orchestration has also been highly praised and emulated by later generations of composers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Maria_von_Weber

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Alexander Melnikov (born 1973) is a Russian pianist. Known for his often-unusual musical and programmatic decisions, Alexander Melnikov discovered a career-long interest in historically-informed performance practice at an early age. Melnikov’s association with the label Harmonia Mundi arose through his regular recital partner, violinist Isabelle Faust.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Melnikov_(pianist)

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Isabelle Faust (born 1972 in Esslingen) is a German violinist. She won First Prize in the 1993 Paganini Competition in Genoa, Italy. Since 1996, she has performed on the "Sleeping Beauty" Stradivarius violin of 1704, on loan from Landesbank Baden-Württemberg. Faust has won multiple awards for her recordings, mostly on Harmonia Mundi.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabelle_Faust

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