Both
Sergey Khachatryan
and
Hilary Hahn
, who recently issued
her own traversal
of
Eugène Ysaÿe
's technically perilous
Six Sonatas for Solo Violin
, can lay claim to the
Ysaÿe
's tradition.
Hahn
was the last student of
Jascha Brodsky
, who was
's last student, but here,
Khachatryan
plays a 1740
del Gesù
violin that for many years was played in concert by
(it was later owned by
Isaac Stern
as well) and presumably reflects a sound ideal with which
would have been comfortable. This is the first recording of the sonatas made on this instrument, and it is a wonder. It is gutsy in the low registers, brilliant at the top, and capable of the intense contrasts that are the hallmark of
's playing. Is this a central Asian set of
sonatas in place of the Franco-Belgian tradition usually represented? That is open to debate, but
favors dramatic intensity. Sample the first movement of the
Sonata for Solo Violin No. 2 in A minor
, where the opening
Bach
quote is destabilized with uncommon vigor. No technical mastery is sacrificed for the drama;
's playing is ironclad, as a sampling of the
Sonata for Solo Violin No. 6 in E major
, the technical king of them all, will attest. Each of
's
six sonatas
was dedicated to a different violinist in the composer's 1920s milieu, and
imbues each with a distinct personality. The
Naïve
label contributes excellent sound from the Brucknerhaus in Austria, redolent of the big recitals of the great violinists. An excellent rendering of these virtuoso works and downright essential for violin buffs. ~ James Manheim