Marcel Dupré - Piano & Chamber Works (Philip Nixon; Rosanne Hunt; Harold Fabrikant)

Information

Composer: Marcel Dupré

• Élévation in B flat major, Op. 2
• Trois pièces for cello and piano, Op. 13
• Quatre pièces for piano, . 19
• Trois pièces for cello and piano, Op. 13: No. 3 Berceuse enfantine, version for violin and piano
• 6 Préludes for piano, Op. 12
• Sonata for Violin and Piano in G minor, Op. 5

Philip Nixon, violin

Rosanne Hunt, cello

Harold Fabrikant, piano

Date: 2025

Label: Toccata

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Review

A quick canter through the pages of Gramophone reveals that scant attention has been paid to Marcel Dupré's chamber and piano music, composed before his career took off as an international virtuoso organist with his American debut at Wanamaker's store in New York in 1921.

The Australian trio of violinist Philip Nixon, cellist Rosanne Hunt and pianist Harold Fabrikant – who also contributes an excellent essay on Dupré – offer three substantial works: a Violin Sonata, Op 5; Four Pieces for piano, Op 19, of which the 'Cortège et Litanie' is better known in the version for organ, and was transcribed by Dupré at the suggestion of his tour manager in America; and Six Preludes for piano, Op 12, the centrepiece and the finest work on the album. The brief Élévation, Op 2, opens the programme, as graceful an introduction as one could wish, the inner voice a reminder of its origin for harmonium or organ. The Three Pieces for cello, Op 13, are agreeable miniatures, evoking a warm-hearted response from Rosanne Hunt.

The somewhat clinical recording, in a studio in Melbourne, does unfortunately – but not exclusively – contribute to the sound picture, where in close-up the pianist and his fellow musicians reveal a samey approach to their interpretations, manifest from the word go in Fabrikant's take-it-or-leave-it initial offering, the Élévation. In the Op 12 piano Preludes, Fabrikant's agility on the keyboard is never in doubt, though it might come with a lighter touch, and it's a shame he misses that moment to relish in the harmonic transition into a radiant F sharp major in the Sans lenteur, which could be expressed with greater tenderness. The performance of the Violin Sonata in G minor doesn't escape such comment, though the ecstatic conclusion to the first movement in the tonic major is well done. All in all, then, a somewhat mixed response from this reviewer, a laudable enterprise, and one not likely to come this way again, tempered by a dogged, studied response to the music.

— Adrian Edwards

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Marcel Dupré (3 May 1886 – 30 May 1971) was a French organist and composer. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire under Guilmant, Vierne and Widor, and won the Grand Prix de Rome in 1914. Renowned for his extraordinary memory and virtuosity, he performed more than 2,000 organ recitals worldwide. Dupré served as organ professor and later director of the Paris Conservatoire, while remaining titular organist at St. Sulpice from 1934 until his death. His extensive, technically demanding compositions and influential teaching shaped generations of organists, such as Jehan and Marie-Claire Alain and Olivier Messiaen.

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Philip Nixon (born 1968) is a violinist who has served as a Tutti Violin with Orchestra Victoria since 2001. He began studying music at the age of seven and received training from distinguished teachers in Australia, London, and Canada, including Elizabeth Morgan, Jan Sedivka, David Takeno, and Lorand Fenyves. Throughout his career, he has performed with leading ensembles such as the Queensland Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony, the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Orchestra Victoria. Nixon has received several scholarships and awards and has toured extensively across Europe and South America.

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Rosanne Hunt is a Melbourne-based cellist. Born into a musical family, she initially studied medicine before pursuing advanced cello training in Australia, the Netherlands and the United States. Hunt has performed with leading ensembles, including the Australian Chamber Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony and the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, where she served as principal cellist. She teaches at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and supports emerging musicians through the Hunt Family Memorial Fund. She also serves as treasurer and founding member of the Melbourne Baroque Orchestra.

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