The music of Amy Beach rarely if ever fails to impress, and to delight. Her expression seems so natural, so unforced, her vernacular so charmingly American, imbued with the warmth of both heart and hearth, hat it seems impossible not to like.
Such is the case with the Violin Sonata of 1896. a kind of Schumann in America with the odd glance at English Pastoralism. An odd mix? I think not, not with Beach steering it all. It was originally premiered by Fritz Kneisel, leader both of the Kneisel Quartet and of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the composer herself.
The expansive first movement needs two mature interpreters and, despite their youth (age gleaned from their photos!), Usha Kappor and Edward Leung are just two such. The performance is expressive and ye perfectly disciplined (and just listen to Kapor’s control up high of her violin in the movement’s final bars):
I mentioned Schumann above – perhaps it is more Brahms who speaks in Beach’s accent in the Scherzo (a duple metre Scherzo); the contrasting Trio is utterly magical, and in maximal contrast to the velocity of the Scherzo itself:
In terms of serious intent, the slow movement (Largo con dolore: slow, with sadness) matches the first. And again Kapoor’s upper register is so special, sweetly singing Beach’s inspired themes (they are very lovely); her stopping is magnificent, too, a clear statement of counterpoint on one instrument. Edward Leung, so strong earlier (and clearly endowed with rock solid technique) is hear tendresse personified. And again, another heavenly violin ascent at the close:
Leung’s articulation with no pedal at the opening of the finale is impressive; this is a propulsive movement This has a Brahmsian sweep and grandeur leading to a coda of much energy:
Couplings count for a lot. Tasmin Little couples it on her Chandos recording with Dame Ethel Smyth’s Sonata, and also includes what in the context of the Resonus disc becomes a cross between encore and chill-out area: the well-known Romance (1893) is well know. It develops material from a song by Beach, Sweetheart, sigh no more, Op. 14/3. (Try the song in a lovely performance by honeyed baritone Patrick Mason and Joanne Polk on Bridge records.) Here’s the song:
Beach’s violin version is wonderfully done by Kapoor and Leung, and notice how beach uses octave transposition to vary the terrain in the absence of words, and how she ups the dramatic stakes, moving into momentary flights of virtuoso recitative:
Previously on Classical Explorer, we have looked at Amy Beach’s Piano Quintet on Chandos, and her choral work, Peace I leave with you from Pembroke College, Cambridge and Anna Lapwood. We also took in Beach’s Romance, performed that time by Esther Abrami with guitar (Alexandra Whittington) at London’s Fidelio Café.
We at Classical Explorer have been less attentive to the music of John Corigliano, although his Red Violin Caprices did crop up on Francesca Dego’s Chandos disc in which she played Paganini’s violin, “Il Cannone”.
Coriliglano’s Violin Sonata is inroguiing in that there is a recording on CRI by the composer’s father (John Corigliano Senior) and Jan Votapek. We do need good modern performances, though and this one fits the bill quite nicely. If the first movement is strong, the second might seem a touch over-discursive, but it does appear to be this performance that makes it so. There are only two seconds between Kapoor/Leung and John Corigliano Snr/Voapek, and yet the piece seems to hang together so much more with the older recording. Here’s the modern recording:
… and here/s Corigliano Snr/Votapek:
(A short aside: CRI is he most wonderful label, full of discoveries).
Corigliano pits a Lento against the Andantino, but they are as chalk and cheese. The violin line is definitely “quasi recitativo” (and performed as such here). It is also stratospherically high and difficult, so all credit to Kapoor.
The finale is a lot of fun, and lisen out for some sparkling finger work from Leung just after a false ending. I am not always Corigliano’s greatest fan, but this strikes me as one of his finer pieces. Kapoor and Leung certainly persuade me of its validity, anyway:
A terrific disc, beautifully recorded and performed; superb booklet notes by Nigel Simeone seal the deal. This lovely disc may be purchased on Amazon here.
