Reynaldo Hahn - Violin Concerto; Violin Sonata (Denis Clavier)

Information

Composer: Reynaldo Hahn

• Violin Concerto in D Major
• Romance in A Major
• Nocturne in E-Flat Major
• Violin Sonata in C Major

Denis Clavier, violin

Orchestre national de Lorraine

Fernand Quattrocchi, conductor

Dimitris Saroglou, piano

Date: 1998 / 2016

Label: Maguelone

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Review

How agreeable it is to listen to three sunny melodic works, so full of warmth and nostalgia with the minimum of angst. It really is amazing how these works have escaped the recording studios for so long. Although, in a way, perhaps, it isn’t, for it has only been in the last few years that the musical establishment has turned away from atonality and admitted a (sneaking?) liking for such unashamedly Romantic, even sentimental, works like these gems.

Hahn’s music, redolent of the ‘Belle Epoche’ of the 1890s, and the period leading up to World War I, is very approachable, well crafted and often surprisingly original. So far it has only been his songs, and little else, that has been represented in the catalogues so this disc is doubly welcome.

The Piano Concerto’s opening movement, marked Improvisation: modéré, begins in an almost devotional manner before broadening out to embrace material that has a rather cosy French provincial rustic flavour. The second subject is reminiscent of Schumann. Succeeding moods contrast the intimate and dreamy with a rumbustious out-of-doors freshness. The brief central Dance: vif, is full of wit and sparkle and reminds one of Saint-Saëns in playful mood and suggests pre-echoes of Poulenc’s insouciance. The substantial final movement is cast in the form of a triptych: first a lovely, sighing Schumann-like Rêverie that truly haunts; the tempo accelerates into the unruly self-mocking Toccata and the whole is rounded off with a return, after a cadenza, to a dignified close with an allusion to the opening material. A delightful work.

Hahn’s Piano Concerto (first performed in 1930) is available on a historic recording conducted by the composer with soloist, Magda Tagliaferro (Pearl GEM0157) and there is a modern alternative (Hyperion CDA66897) with Stephen Coombes and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jean-Yves Ossonce. Reviewing the latter performance, earlier, I was impressed with Coombes’s sparkling wit and virtuosity. Pondepeyre’s rather careful approach cannot quite match Coombes’s lightness of touch.

Hahn’s Violin Concerto and Suite Hongroise receive their premier recording on this disc.

Denis Clavier is a more assured soloist in the lovely Violin Concerto; his sweet poetic phrasing and technical control a delight to the ear. The work was premiered in 1928. The opening movement marked Décidé, reminds one of the opulence of Korngold. It is strongly rhythmic with determined orchestral tuttis that are slightly military and even jazzy in character but the music is predominantly beautifully lyrical, joyous and sunny with the melodic sweetness of Massenet. Massenet also informs the central movement, Chant d’amour, subtitled ‘Souvenir de Tunis’ and, indeed, the heat and languor of North Africa is nicely brought to mind. This movement is a gorgeous, fragrant, sensual confection; as one of my colleague reviewers has so aptly written, "(it) hovers between dance and delirium". The finale, Lent – Vif et léger, opens quietly so as not to destroy the mood of the slow movement, but soon the pace accelerates and we are whirled away in a merry dance. This performance of the Violin Concerto was recorded live.

Amazingly, the Hungarian Suite for Violin, Piano, Percussion and String Orchestra appears never to have been previously performed. It is difficult to date; the score deposited at the SACEM (Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers) was simply marked "19th November 1948". It is a charming, melodic work beginning with a zestful rhythmic movement, Parade, that sounds like a robust mix of Slav and Scottish dance figures. The second movement, Three Images de la Reine de Hongrie, is cast in three sections, two slow enclosing a more agitated passage. It begins in deep romantic yearning (with yet another lovely Hahn melody) and ends plaintively. The last movement, Chants et Danses brings this delightful work to a lively conclusion.

A truly enchanting album calculated to chase away the winter blues. It is incredible to believe that these are premier recordings of Hahn’s Violin Concerto and the Suite Hongroise, both are so effulgently melodic.

— Ian Lace

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Reynaldo Hahn (9 August 1874 – 28 January 1947) was a Venezuelan-born French composer best known for his elegant art songs. Moved to Paris as a child, he studied at the Conservatoire under Jules Massenet and later served as music critic for Le Figaro before becoming director of the Paris Opéra in 1945. Hahn composed operettas, ballets, incidental music and piano works, with Ciboulette (1923) among his most successful stage works. Inspired by literary figures such as Marcel Proust, he created music admired for its lyricism and refinement. His song Si mes vers avaient des ailes remains a concert favourite.

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Denis Clavier (born 1958) is a French violinist. Despite struggling as a student and repeating several grades at the conservatory, he was encouraged by influential mentors, including Gérard Poulet, who helped him pursue professional training. Clavier graduated first in his class at the Paris Conservatory. After performing with the Orchestre National de Lille, he joined the Orchestre National de Lorraine, inspired by his professor Pierre Nérini's passion for orchestral music. Beyond music, Clavier has served as a municipal cultural councilor and is an outspoken critic of genetically modified organisms and Monsanto.

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