1. Tartini: Pastorale in A Major, B.A16, Op.1, No.13 [08:51]
2-5. Bach: Sonata for Solo Violin No. 1 in G minor, BWV 1001 [18:24]
I. Adagio [04:37]
II. Fuga [06:25]
III. Siciliana [03:51]
IV. Presto [03:32]
6-9. Beethoven: Violin Sonata No.7 in C minor, Op.30, No.2 [24:27]
I. Allegro con brio [07:33]
II. Adagio cantabile [08:50]
III. Scherzo. Allegro – Trio [03:06]
IV. Finale. Allegro [04:58]
10-12. Ravel: Violin Sonata in G Major, M.77 [16:22]
I. Allegretto [07:47]
II. Blues. Moderato [05:12]
III. Perpetuum mobile. Allegro [03:23]
13. Sarasate: Zigeunerweisen, Op.20 (Gypsy Airs) [07:43]
14. Falla: Danse Espagnole No. 1 from “La vida breve” (arr. Kreisler) [03:11]
Tragically, on the morning of 7 February 2012, the violinist Devy Erlih was
fatally hit by a reversing lorry on his way to the École normale de musique,
Paris, where he was still teaching; he was 83. His life began in the very same
city in 1928. He was the son of Moldovan-Jewish immigrants, and he seems to have
inherited his musical gifts from his father, who was a folk musician, playing
cimbalom and pan pipes and running a cafe orchestra. Young Devi soon took to the
stage and became the star attraction, learning and playing the violin by ear.
His talent acknowledged, he eventually went on to study at the Paris
Conservatoire with Jules Boucherit, from whose fertile stable came Ginette
Neveu, Henri Temianka and Michèle Auclair. His studies were interrupted by the
Second World War but when they resumed he pocketed the Conservatoire’s Première
Prix, and an international career beckoned. In 1955 he won the Long-Thibaud
Competition. His travels took him around Europe, to the United States and as far
afield as Japan.
From early on, he gravitated towards contemporary music including Bartók,
Stravinsky and Prokofiev. He premiered concertos by Darius Milhaud, Bruno
Maderna, Henri Sauguet and Henri Tomasi and was an enthusiastic champion of the
music of André Jolivet, whose Violin Concerto and Suite rhapsodique he premiered
in 1972. He was later to marry Jolivet’s daughter, Christine.
Here we have a live concert which the violinist gave with the pianist Maurice
Bureau at the Salle Gaveau, Paris on 15 December 1952. Meloclassic states that
this is a first CD release. The Bach and Beethoven Sonatas form the main bulk of
the recital and, for me, it is the former which constitutes the highlight of the
disc. Erlih’s Bach is earthy and roughly hewn, calling to mind the young
Menuhin, or perhaps more pertinently Georges Enescu, who was a formative
influence on the young violinist. This is communicative playing, with an
instinctive feel for the music, underpinned by rhythmic integrity. The opening
Adagio has an improvisatory feel, countered with an innate sense of direction.
The polyphonic clarity of the Fuga adds real distinction. Erlih draws a rich,
full-blooded sound from his fiddle, with intonation spot-on. The violinist
recorded the complete Sonatas and Partitas on LP for the French Adès label, but
I wasn’t able to ascertain the date. I have seen a two-separate CD incarnation
on Amazon at an exorbitant price- maybe something for a lottery win.
The Beethoven is a performance of unshowy virtuosity, where both violinist and
pianist effectively judge the ebb and flow of the music. The slow movement won
me over immediately with its heartfelt lyricism. The Ravel Sonata sees Erlih
comfortably ensconced in his comfort zone. It’s an idiomatic performance awash
with a palette of tonal allure. The performance exploits the full gamut of moods
and contrasts from the quirky lyricism of the first movement, to the exotic
blues movement and the Perpetuum mobile of the Finale, with its strongly
articulated pizzicatos. The Sarasate and de Falla/Kreisler pieces are the
perfect foil to Erlih’s supreme technical command.
The recital is in respectable sound for its age and provenance. I couldn’t
detect much in the way of audience noise apart from the odd cough, but nothing
to write home about. Applause has been edited out, apart from 0.5 of a second
starting on the last chord of Zigeunerweisen, a sure sign of the audience’s
eager excitement. Excellent booklet notes give a potted biography of the
violinist, in English only. This release gets my enthusiastic endorsement.
Stephen Greenbank