Eugène Ysaÿe - Légende Norvégienne (Tor Johan Bøen; Eirik Haug Stømner)

Information

Composer: Eugène Ysaÿe

1. Légende norvégienne
2. Mazurka de Concert Op. 1
3. Grande Valse de Concert Op. 3
4. Première Polonaise
5. Scène sentimentale (Sérénité)
6. Scène sentimentale No. 5
7. Polonaise Brilliante
8. Trois Études-Poèmes: No. 1
9. Trois Études-Poèmes: No. 2
10. Trois Études-Poèmes: No. 3
11. Petite fantaisie romantique
12. Ballade en Sol mineur (No. 1) Op. 23 de Fr. Chopin
13. Fantaisie-impromptu Op. 66 de Fr. Chopin
14. Huit Valses de F. Chopin: Valse No. 1 en La majeur
15. Huit Valses de F. Chopin: Valse No. 2 en Fa# mineur
16. Huit Valses de F. Chopin: Valse No. 3 en La mineur
17. Huit Valses de F. Chopin: Valse No. 4 en La majeur
18. Huit Valses de F. Chopin: Valse No. 5 en Ré mineur
19. Huit Valses de F. Chopin: Valse No. 6 en La b majeur
20. Huit Valses de F. Chopin: Valse No. 7 en Mi b majeur
21. Huit Valses de F. Chopin: Valse No. 8 en Mi mineur

Tor Johan Bøen, violin

Eirik Haug Stømner, piano

Date: 2023

Label: Simax

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Review

There’s always more to learn about the protean figure of Eugène Ysaÿe. However, apart from the solo Sonatas and some other works, much remains to be discovered, as this twofer from Simax shows. Numerous premiere recordings litter the release like so much confetti. Given that many are derived from editions made by the violinist on the disc, Tor Johan Bøen, what precisely are we listening to? 

The answer to that is principally pieces that come from early in his career, which he wrote on tour such as Légende norvégienne (which lends its name to Simax’s title), or else genre morceau, or adaptations of pre-existing pieces for violin, like the long sequence of Chopin’s Waltzes which occupied him from 1912-26. The Norwegian tribute opens in fine style with a virtuoso cadential passage and has strong, vivid themes followed by a fresh Allegro con fuoco where silky passagework and lilting melodic charm ensures that nothing outstays its welcome. Tor Johan Bøen and Eirik Haug Stømner are rather more athletically inclined than Kerson Leong (violin) and Jonathan Fournel (piano) in a 5-CD miscellaneous box from Fuga Libera (review). 

One of the problems with Ysaÿe is that he left indications as to potential orchestrations of his violin-and-piano music, so it is possible, sometimes, to attempt a reconstruction. That’s not the case here. There is a long sequence of genre pieces from 1881-82 designed, presumably, for himself to play, concert waltzes and Polonaises cut from conventional cloth reminiscent of Wieniawski (his teacher), but without Wieniawski’s panache or personality. There’s a lot of angular figuration in the Première Polonaise as well as a nice tune and plenty of virtuosity, which elevates it above the smaller, somewhat more conventional, salon-inclined neighbouring pieces, such as the Scène sentimentale (Sérénité), for instance.

One piece that has been recorded before is Scénes Sentimentales: No. 5, a genuine charmer that moves from palm tree and antimacassar to foreground some virile extroversion. It’s played splendidly here. In 1900 he wrote three Études-Poèmes of which No.3 is by a significant way the longest, an increasingly turbulent work with vigorous passagework ending in a Funeral March; an Études-Poème, yes, but with something of the tone poem about it. The remainder of the programme is Chopin in violinistic adaptation. The Ballade No.1 has been recorded before and is expressively done whilst Ysaÿe never completed the adaptation of the Fantaisie-Impromptu, a job that’s been completed by Bøen. The series of Waltzes, of which five of the eight are here receiving their premiere recordings, are pretty straightforward and, frankly, not that interesting. No.5’s piano part has been lost so the violinist has fashioned a replacement.  

Finely recorded and with necessarily detailed booklet notes by Bøen, this is a niche acquisition because of the obscurity and adaptive nature of so many of the works. However, even Ysaÿe collectors will find things new to them in the stylish recital in which pianist Eirik Haug Stømner plays his full part.

— Jonathan Woolf

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Eugène Ysaÿe (16 July 1858 – 12 May 1931) was a Belgian violin virtuoso, composer and conductor. He studied at the Royal Conservatory of Liège and later with Henryk Wieniawski and Henri Vieuxtemps. Ysaÿe gained international recognition through extensive tours and was professor of violin at the Brussels Conservatory from 1886 to 1897. Renowned for his technical brilliance, expressive playing, and innovative use of vibrato, he influenced and inspired numerous prominent composers. His most celebrated compositions include six sonatas for solo violin, alongside concertos, chamber works, and the opera Piér li Houïen.

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Tor Johan Bøen (born 1971) is a Norwegian violinist and music researcher. A prize-winning violinist from an early age, he joined the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra at 17 and studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music before continuing advanced studies in the United States. He earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Rice University in 2005. Bøen specializes in both historical and modern violin performance, particularly music from the Baroque period through the early twentieth century. He founded Fragaria Vesca and is internationally recognized for his research and recordings of the works of Eugène Ysaÿe.

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Eirik Haug Stømner (born 1993) is a Norwegian pianist from Halden. He completed his diploma studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2018 under the guidance of Einar Henning Smebye and Marianna Shirinyan. A recipient of several awards, including the Youth Music Championship and the Einar Steen-Nøkleberg Talent Prize, he has performed as a soloist with leading orchestras in Norway and abroad. Stømner has also collaborated with prominent musicians and appeared in concerts across Europe. Since 2018, he has worked as an accompanist at the music department of Foss Upper Secondary School.

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