Joachim Raff - Violin Sonatas Nos. 1, 3 & 4 (Ariadne Daskalakis; Roglit Ishay)

Information

Composer: Joachim Raff

1. Violin Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 73: I. Bewegt, mit elegischem Pathos
2. Violin Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 73: II. Sehr rasch und fein
3. Violin Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 73: III. Nicht zu langsam
4. Violin Sonata No. 1 in E minor, Op. 73: IV. Bewegt, sehr bestimmt
5. Violin Sonata No. 4 in G minor, Op. 129: Allegro mosso assai - Andante (non troppo lento, ma largamente) - Allegro
6. Violin Sonata No. 3 in D major, Op. 128: I. Allegro
7. Violin Sonata No. 3 in D major, Op. 128: II. Allegro assai
8. Violin Sonata No. 3 in D major, Op. 128: III. Andante quasi Larghetto
9. Violin Sonata No. 3 in D major, Op. 128: IV. Allegro vivace

Ariadne Daskalakis, violin
Roglit Ishay, piano

Date: 2004
Label: Tudor
http://tudor.ch/produktinfo.php?id=232&sid=3RyixX3l3ld9kO3Rg@3Ro2a@wA

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Review

Raff was an in-between composer. Although born Swiss, he is considered a German, whereas in terms of style, he might be described as a Classical-Romantic. He was strongly influenced by the music of Mendelssohn and Liszt. The former recommended the publication of early piano pieces. Liszt also acted for Raff in a practical manner: as a musical patron he arranged posts for him first in Cologne and Stuttgart, and then summoned him to Weimar to serve as his assistant-cum-secretary for six years from 1850. From 1877 he was Director of the Hoch Conservatoire in Frankfurt, where he composed and taught, MacDowell being among his pupils. His output was considerable with over two hundred published works, among them eleven symphonies, vast amounts of piano music and a considerable number of chamber works. If any of Raff’s music gets heard, it’s generally a couple of symphonies: Im Walde and Lenore, Nos. 3 and 5 respectively. Much of the weakness in his music lies at the very heart of this schizophrenic attempt to fuse two such dissimilar styles (Mendelssohn and Liszt). It tends to fall between two stools, simply sinking into eclecticism, nevertheless it is all tuneful and skilfully crafted.

This disc is nothing short of head-to-head rivalry between Ingolf Turban and Jascha Netsov on CPO and here Ariadne Daskalakis and Roglit Ishay on Tudor. Although there is plenty of Raff’s vast output which needs to be recorded, it’s good to see a healthy competitive supply of Raff’s music from two German labels. Tudor have now produced no less than seventeen discs (including eleven symphonies recorded by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under Hans Stadlmair), string quartets, violin concertos, piano concertos and one of pieces for violin and piano. According to the box spine of the one under review, this is Volume 1 of the violin sonatas with the second due out later this year, presumably consisting of Nos. 2 and 5. Here we have three of the five all of which were written mid-way through the composer’s life, over the fifteen-year period between 1853 and 1868, and all edited by the violinist Ferdinand David of Mendelssohn’s violin concerto fame. Centrally sandwiched between two charming sonatas Opp. 73 and 128, and therefore slightly out of chronological order, lies the compactly through-composed Chromatic Sonata Op.129, written in response to the sudden death by a stroke of his father-in-law in Raff’s own home in August 1866. This turbulent music may well have been the product of turbulent times, Prussia and Denmark had fought a war in 1864, the Austro-Prussian War was about to erupt, and the composer was much affected by both as well as by the loss of his relative. There’s a loosely argued booklet note claiming that it may also have been a prototype for his first concerto for the violin, the sonata having a symphonic outline and orchestral colours filling the piano writing. It is a concentrated work, reminiscent of Spohr’s 8th concerto Gesangszene, and, with its frequent use of recitativo style, clearly influenced by the Sturm und Drang Romanticism prevalent in the mid-19th century. The earlier first sonata Op.73 was dedicated to Ferdinand Laub who, accompanied by Hans von Bülow, played it in Berlin after its premiere in Weimar. This was high quality acknowledgement by two such eminent artists, and did Raff’s reputation a power of good.

Both American violinist Ariadne Daskalakis and Israeli pianist Roglit Ishay give intensely taut performances of all three works, and are clearly totally unfazed by any technical hurdles. Ms Daskalakis responds to the music’s sense of drama and, elsewhere, its lyricism. She has a full-toned sound and phrases with warmth and subtlety, while Ms Roglit is more than a sympathetic accompanist. There is some formidable piano writing here to which she responds with admirable confidence, while sound engineer Peter Urban has struck a perfect balance between the two performers in the recording studio at Bavarian Radio. Raff’s music has been accused on occasion of succumbing to either triviality or vulgarity, at times even both. No sign of any such failings on this enjoyable disc, which impresses to the last chord.

-- Christopher Fifield, MusicWeb International

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2005/Aug05/Raff_violin1_tudor7122.htm
http://www.raff.org/records/reviews/chamber/07.htm

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Joachim Raff (May 27, 1822 – June 24 or June 25, 1882) was a German-Swiss composer, teacher and pianist. He worked as Liszt's assistant at Weimar from 1850 to 1853, helping in the orchestration of several of Liszt's works. From 1878 he was the first Director of, and a teacher at, the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, where he employed Clara Schumann and a number of other eminent musicians as teachers. His pupils there included Edward MacDowell and Alexander Ritter. Raff was very prolific, and by the end of his life was one of the best known German composers, though his work is largely forgotten today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Raff

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Ariadne Daskalakis is a Greek-American violinist. Born in Boston. An avid chamber musician, she led the Manon Quartet Berlin for 10 years, and performs regularly as recitalist or, on baroque violin, with her Ensemble Vintage Köln. Numerous recordings document the unusually broad spectrum of her repertoire and the rich depth of her musical experiences. Daskalakis also collaborates with composers, exploring new music and genres. She is now based in Cologne, and is Professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Cologne. Daskalakis plays a violin by G.B. Guadagnini.

http://www.ariadne-daskalakis.com

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