Information
Composer: Benjamin Godard
- Violin Concerto No. 2 in G minor, Op. 131
- Concerto romantique for violin & orchestra in A minor, Op. 35
- Scènes poétiques, Op. 46
Chloë Hanslip, violin
Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra, Košice
Kirk Trevor, conductor
Date: 2008
Label: Naxos
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Praise for Chloë Hanslip’s confident excursion into unfamiliar territory
Benjamin Godard (1849-95) was a prolific, fluent composer in many genres, but little of his output is familiar today. A string-player (he’d been a pupil of Henri Vieuxtemps), he writes for the violin with great panache, and Chloë Hanslip is in her element, making the most of the showy passagework, enjoying finding the right tone of voice for the different styles of melody – elegiac, sensuous or graceful – and attacking with passion the dramatic recitatives that join the movements of the Concerto romantique. The orchestral writing in both concertos is full of colour, if occasionally rather brash, and is performed here with considerable dash and spirit. There are some delightful solo contributions from oboe, clarinet and viola, in dialogue with the violin, during the little Canzonetta that separates the slow movement and finale of the Concerto romantique. Neither concerto comes near to rivalling Bruch or Tchaikovsky, but Godard is a skilful composer; it’s music that’s formally satisfying, consistently entertaining and sometimes memorable and touching. Hanslip, who’s to be congratulated for taking on such unfamiliar repertoire, seizes on these high-spots – the second theme in Op 131’s first movement, the moment in Op 35’s sombre Adagio when the first turn to the major is made – and finds just the right colour to emphasise Godard’s happy thought.
The Scènes poétiques are really salon music transposed to the concert hall. Kirk Trevor and the orchestra relish the imaginative instrumental colouring, though the performance sounds to me like music learnt in the studio, rather than familiar from many concert outings – I may be wrong.
-- Duncan Druce, Gramophone
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Benjamin Godard (18 August 1849 – 10 January 1895) was a French violinist and composer. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris under Henri Vieuxtemps (violin) and Napoléon Henri Reber (harmony). Godard's long list of works includes eight operas, five symphonies, two piano concertos, three string quartets, four sonatas for violin and piano, a sonata for cello and piano, two piano trios, and various other orchestral works. Godard was opposed to the music of Richard Wagner and also highly critical of Wagner's antisemitism. His style was more in tune with those of Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann.
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Chloë Hanslip (born 28 September 1987) is a British classical violinist. She studied with Natasha Boyarskaya at the Yehudi Menuhin School and Zakhar Bron in Germany, and also received guidance from Shlomo Mintz, Ida Haendel, Salvatore Accardo, Ruggiero Ricci and Maxim Vengerov. At 13 she was the youngest recording artist ever to be signed to Warner Classics UK. She made her BBC Proms debut at 14, her US concerto debut at 15, and has performed at major venues in the UK, Europe, as well as Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Arts Space in Tokyo and the Seoul Arts Centre. Hanslip plays a 1737 Guarneri del Gesù violin.
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Conductor Kirk Trevor trained at London’s Guildhall School of Music, graduating in cello performance and conducting. He has served as music director of the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (1985–2003), the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra (1988–2015), and the Missouri Symphony (2000–2021). As a guest conductor, Trevor has conducted more than 40 orchestras in 15 countries. He is one of the world’s most recorded conductors of the past fifty years with more than 120 albums to his name. His discography includes opera (Tender Land), choral music as well as more than 65 albums of new American composers.
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