Joachim Raff - Works for Violin & Piano Vol. 4 (Ingolf Turban; Jascha Nemtsov)

Information

Composer: Joachim Raff

• Fourth Grand Sonata in G minor, Op. 129: Chromatische Sonate in einem Satze
• Sonatillen, Op. 99: Nos. 1–3, 9 & 10
• Fifth Grand Sonata in C minor, Op. 145

Ingolf Turban, violin

Jascha Nemtsov, piano

Date: 2006

Label: CPO

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Review

We’ve arrived at volume four in the survey of Raff’s complete music for violin and piano (see below for links to previous volumes). This gives us the Fourth and Fifth of the Grand Sonatas and some of the Sonatillen in performances of commitment and assurance by Turban and Nemtsov, recorded in June 2006 in Stuttgart.

 

The most imposing and impressive of the works is programmed first, the sixteen minute, one-movement Grand Sonata written in 1866. Its formidable recitative-like opening foretells great things and whilst they’re not entirely met one does admire Raff for his blending of quasi-dramatic and romantic leanings in the work. This convulsively, often irresistibly lyrical style can, as we know, sometimes leech into salon sentiment but not here; or at least not too often. Written in strict sonata form it was dedicated to Vieuxtemps and there is much in it to interest a virtuoso who can marry dynamism with pathos. There are hints of Tannhäuser here, cryptic little semi-quotations, and a piano part full of ardour and spirit and the lure of mid century expression. It’s a powerful, exciting work, and played with just the right spirit by this experienced duo.

 

The Fifth Sonata followed two years later. It’s nearly twice as big as the earlier work but it’s not twice as good. A certain amount of conventionality seems to have descended on the hard working Raff in 1868. So whilst the main theme of the first movement is auspiciously noble and commanding and whilst there’s sturm und drang in the slow movement the sonata as a whole never quite measures up to the sum of its parts. The urgency of that Andante – full of tremolandi and perturbed spirit – sees the last high vantage point; from then on the sonata falls away progressively into note spinning. A pity as the first two movements have their moments; the last two are merely workmanlike.

 

Programmed in between the sonatas are the Op.99 Sonatillen. These gentle, classical pieces were originally written for the piano and then arranged by Raff for violin and piano. The odd title means that each piece stands alone but as the first three show they can form a unified sonata without too much embarrassment. The Larghetto is a rather lovely lied, warm and generous, and something at which Raff was a master. The “finale” to this de facto sonata is a tarantella and it’s full of vivacity. No.9 is a scherzo that has bathed in Schubertian waters and has perhaps also taken heed of the scherzo of Beethoven’s Op.24 violin sonata.

 

Once again the Turban-Nemtsov duo proves admirably accomplished in these miniatures. The recording is warm, sympathetic and attractive, the works themselves inconsistent. At their best though, in the shape of the Fourth Sonata, they show Raff in the best light possible.

 

— Jonathan Woolf

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Joachim Raff (27 May 1822 —  24 or 25 June 1882) was a German composer and teacher who was greatly celebrated in his lifetime but nearly forgotten by the late 20th century. Initially a self-taught musician, he was influenced by Mendelssohn and Schumann before aligning with Liszt and Wagner's "New German School". He served as Liszt's assistant in Weimar and later taught piano in Wiesbaden. From 1877, he directed the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. A prolific composer, Raff wrote 11 symphonies, concertos, operas, choral, chamber and piano music. Many of these works are now commercially recorded.

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Ingolf Turban (born 17 March 1964) is a German violinist. His teachers include Gerhart Hetzel, Jens Ellermann and Dorothy DeLay. In 1985, he became first concertmaster of the Munich Philharmonic under Sergiu Celibidache. In 1988, he left the orchestra and began a successful soloist career. In 1995, he became a professors at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart, and, since 2006, at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. Turban plays the great violin literature "from Bach to Berg", but also many rarely or never before heard works of all styles. As of 2020, he has released over 40 CDs.

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Jascha Nemtsov (born 1963 in Magadan, Siberia) is a pianist and musicologist. He studied at the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory and has lived in Germany since 1992. He has performed internationally and recorded over 40 CDs, many featuring works by persecuted composers. His notable achievements include a German Record Critics' Award (2007) and the OPUS KLASSIK (2018). His recent CD Ukrainian Préludes was nominated for the 2025 International Classical Music Awards. Nemtsov earned a doctorate in 2004 and now holds a professorship in Jewish music history at the Liszt University in Weimar.

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