{"product_id":"ernst-complete-music-for-violin-and-piano-vol-2","title":"Ernst: Complete Music for Violin and Piano, Vol. 2","description":"I reviewed the   first                     volume in this comprehensive, pioneering series with great                     pleasure and feel the same way about the second release. As                     before, the fully idiomatic and nerveless duo of Sherban Lupu                     and Ian Hobson take the honours — for expressive variety, technical                     excellence and ensemble assurance. \u003cbr\u003e                      \u003cbr\u003e                      Each work has some defining feature or features to compel interest,                     though maximum interest will, I think, be focused on violin                     fanciers whose range of experience will be richly enhanced by                     the three works that have never been previously recorded. The                     first of that trio is \u003ci\u003eSouvenir du Pré aux Clercs\u003c\/i\u003e, written                     with Charles Schunke (1801-39), who had been appointed pianist                     to the French queen. The two men fashioned something out of                     Ferdinand Hérold’s last work, an opera premiered in 1832. It’s                     been securely presented by Toccata which allocates a separate                     track to the introduction, theme, series of variations, cadenza,                     andante and finale. This is a work where the piano part proves                     to be every bit as formidable as that for the violin, if not                     more so. Technical difficulties begin to accumulate as the variations                     develop, and there is a droll quality to the writing too, and                     a joint cadenza in which ensemble pitfalls are manifold, and                     a finale full of élan, lightning fast left hand pizzicato and                     lashings of audacity. \u003cbr\u003e                      \u003cbr\u003e                    \u003ci\u003ePensées Fugitives\u003c\/i\u003e Part 1, written with Stephen Heller                     (1839-42), is another premier recording. The Hungarian pianist                     Heller based himself in Paris, and shunned virtuosic music after                     an early breakdown. Ernst’s philanthropy — he wanted to help                     Heller financially — was laudable and the joint work reflects                     the sense of lyricism and romanticism that Heller sought in                     composition. The six charmers are character pieces, somewhat                     reminiscent of Mendelssohn — though Mendelssohn equally knew                     of Heller and Ernst, so it’s by no means one way traffic. Songful                     and charming they are performed with impeccable attention to                     detail. \u003cbr\u003e                      \u003cbr\u003e                    The last of the previously unrecorded works is \u003ci\u003eVariations                     brillantes sur un thème de Rossini \u003c\/i\u003ewhich was probably Ernst’s                     first published work. This is a real Paganinian blockbuster                     with coruscating technical demands; the second variation is                     an especially arduous test of intonation, which Ernst himself                     must have passed heroically; and there’s bravura aplenty in                     the fourth variation as well. After the \u003ci\u003eLast Rose of Summer\u003c\/i\u003e                     variations the \u003ci\u003eFantaisie brillante sur la Marche et la Romance                     d’Otello de Rossini \u003c\/i\u003emust be Ernst’s most recorded work.                     David Oistrakh and Ruggiero Ricci recorded it. Lupu loses little                     in comparison, keeping things alive timbrally and expressively                     throughout — his sense of colour shading is exemplary, and Hobson’s                     pianism outstanding. This feast of articulation, finger position                     changes, mastery of colour, and subtlety of vibrato usage exemplifies                     all that is best in Ernst’s writing and indeed in these performances.                     Note how Lupu’s vibrato widens and intensifies for the ‘pathetic’                     sensibility summoned up in the Romance section. As if this were                     not enough, we have the luxury of the \u003ci\u003eBoléro\u003c\/i\u003e with its                     amiable warmth and the two Romances, where cantabile warmth                     and lilting lyricism are the names of the game. \u003cbr\u003e                        \u003cbr\u003e                    Top notch recording quality and an outstanding booklet note                     complete this exemplary offering. \u003cbr\u003e                      \u003cbr\u003e                    -- Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International","brand":"Toccata","offers":[{"title":"CD","offer_id":49606668189976,"sku":"5060113441386","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0687\/4346\/3192\/files\/1919953.jpg?v=1777635858","url":"https:\/\/hbdirect.com\/products\/ernst-complete-music-for-violin-and-piano-vol-2","provider":"HBDirect","version":"1.0","type":"link"}