Ernest Chausson - Poème; Piano Trio; Andante & Allegro; Pièce (Philippe Graffin; Pascal Devoyon)

Information

Composer: Ernest Chausson

• Poème for violin, string quartet & piano, Op. 25
• Piano Trio in G minor, Op. 3
• Andante & Allegro for clarinet & piano
• Pièce for cello & piano, Op. 39

Philippe Graffin, violin

Pascal Devoyon, piano

Chilingirian Quartet

    Levon Chilingirian, violin

    Charles Sewart, violin

    Asdis Valdimarsdottir, viola

    Philip de Groote, cello

Charles Neidich, clarinet

Gary Hoffman, cello

Date: 1998

Label: Hyperion

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Review

The opulent sound of this disc is ideal for Chausson; it especially suits the impassioned early Trio. Devoyon plays the demanding piano part in the grand style, yet the strings are never swamped. In particular, Philippe Graffin’s sensuous, unforced tone sails above the texture without any of the strenuous feeling we experience even in the Beaux Arts’ otherwise excellent, well-balanced performance. All three players sound completely at home, whether in the rhetorical gestures of the work’s big moments, or the poised delicacy of the second movement. This Trio, though an early work, is already fully characteristic of Chausson – the way the carefree, day-in-the-country atmosphere at the start of the finale is gradually overtaken by tragic portents very strongly shows his melancholic nature. The Andante et Allegro is less individual, but here, too, the performance rises to the occasion – and beyond. Neidich’s playing is quite remarkable for its breadth of expression in the Andante as well as for the extraordinarily brilliantly articulated Allegro. Hoffman and Devoyon are equally convincing in the beautiful, dreamy Piece for cello and piano.

The most novel aspect of the disc, paradoxically, concerns the most familiar music: this is the first recording of a newly rediscovered version of the Poeme, with string quartet and piano accompaniment. As a chamber work, the music’s essentially intimate tone is felt more strongly, and Graffin gives a plangent account of the solo part, with something of that sense of freedom that Ysaye, the work’s sponsor, would certainly have conveyed. The only trouble with the arrangement is the loss of perspective between the soloist and an ‘orchestra’ led by another solo violin. But the Chilingirian and Devoyon play the sustained ‘tutti’ music beautifully. I’d be surprised if next year’s Chausson centenary brings many issues of this quality.

— Duncan Druce

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Ernest Chausson (20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a prominent late-19th-century French composer. After completing a law degree, he studied composition at the Paris Conservatory under Jules Massenet and César Franck. Influenced by the operas of Richard Wagner, Chausson developed a richly chromatic yet characteristically French musical style. He also supported younger composers such as Claude Debussy while serving the Société Nationale de Musique. His notable works include Poème, Symphony in B-flat Major, and the opera Le Roi Arthus, which incorporated Wagnerian leitmotifs and his own libretto.

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Philippe Graffin (born 1964 in Romilly-sur-Seine, France) is a French violinist. Graffin was a student of the late Joseph Gingold and Philippe Hirschhorn and has established a particular reputation for his interpretations of his native repertoire as well for his interest in rare and contemporary works. He has made numerous landmark recordings for labels such as Hyperion, Avie, ASV and Onyx. Graffin plays a Domenico Busano violin, made in Venice, 1730. He is currently professor at the Paris Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique and guest professor at the Brussels Conservatoire Royal.

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Pascal Devoyon (born 6 April 1953) is a French classical pianist and educator. He graduated from the Paris Conservatoire in 1971 and earned a Music License from the École Normale de Musique in 1972. Devoyon has performed at leading venues worldwide, including Carnegie Hall and the Concertgebouw, and collaborated with renowned orchestras and conductors such as Charles Dutoit and Semyon Bychkov. An active chamber musician, he frequently performs with Steven Isserlis and violinist Dong-Suk Kang. Since 1991, he has taught at major European conservatories in Paris, Berlin and Geneva.

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