Joseph Holbrooke - Violin Sonatas; Horn Trio (Kerenza Peacock; Mark Smith; Robert Stevenson)

Information

Composer: Joseph Holbrooke

• Violin Sonata No. 1, Op. 6a "Sonatina"
• Horn Trio in D major, Op. 28
• Violin Concerto in F major, Op. 59 "The Grasshopper" (arr. as Violin Sonata No. 2)
• 3 Mezzo-Tints, Op. 55: 2. L'Extase. Andante semplice

Kerenza Peacock, violin

Mark Smith, horn

Robert Stevenson, piano

Date: 2011

Label: Naxos

https://www.naxos.com/CatalogueDetail/?id=8.572649

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Review

Aware that Joseph Holbrooke was a prominent, prolific composer in the early part of the last century, I was curious to hear these pieces. All the performances are of a high standard, often brilliant and imaginative, and I was particularly impressed with Kerenza Peacock’s lithe, elegant violin-playing and her easy conquest of the virtuoso demands of The Grasshopper. I can’t, however, summon much enthusiasm for the music – well crafted, generally amiable but not succeeding in developing the individual, engrossing musical world that such contemporaries as Delius, Vaughan Williams or Frank Bridge do. Most enjoyable is the Sonata No 1, an unassuming, lively piece with classical references, like a more difficult (but less memorable) Dvorák Sonatina. The best parts of the Horn Trio are the beginning and end of its slow movement – a beautiful melody, admirably conceived for horn. The serene mood returns at the close but the music’s development seems purely decorative, evoking a faded romanticism. The outer movements are energetic, with an atmosphere of somewhat forced jollity.

The Grasshopper exists in alternative versions, as violin concerto and duo sonata. The keyboard-writing sounds like a genuine piano part, not an orchestral reduction, but even so the work represents an uneasy compromise; virtuoso tricks à la Sarasate seeming excessive in this chamber-musical context. Once again, the best moments come in the middle movement, where Holbrooke abandons his generally restless tonality and allows his ideas to develop in a natural way.

-- Duncan Druce, Gramophone

More reviews:
https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2011/Aug11/Holbrooke_vc_8572649.htm

https://www.thestrad.com/holbrooke-violin-sonata-no1-op6a-violin-concerto-op59-grasshopper-horn-trio-in-d-major-op28-lextase-from-mezzo-tints-op55/2835.article

https://www.naxos.com/Review/Detail/?catalogueid=8.572649&languageid=EN

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Holbrooke-Violin-Sonatas-Horn-Mezzo-Tints/dp/B0058JDBWC

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Joseph Holbrooke (5 July 1878 – 5 August 1958) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He studied under Frederick Corder and Frederick Westlake at the Royal Academy of Music. Holbrooke was a late-Romantic composer, writing in a predominantly tonal and richly chromatic idiom. His style was essentially eclectic: whilst the early chamber works echo the language and methods of Brahms and Dvořák, there is also an exuberance informed by his affection for the music of Tchaikovsky. Only a small fraction of Holbrooke's large output has been recorded by CPO, Dutton, Naxos and Cameo Classics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Holbrooke

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Kerenza Peacock studied violin at the Royal Academy of Music in London, and was leader of the Pavao Quartet for 15 years.

https://www.kerenzapeacock.com/

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Mark Smith trained at the Royal College of Music in London, and now performs and teaches in Denmark and the UK.

https://marksmithhorn.com/

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