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Album Summary
Performers
Ashley Wass (Piano)- Maxim Rysanov (Viola)
Notes & Reviews:
In his Treatise on Instrumentation, Hector Berlioz wrote of the viola that 'the sound of its strings is particularly telling, its upper notes are distinguished by their mournfully passionate accent, and its quality of tone, of a profound melancholy, differs from that of other instruments played with a bow'. In devising the present programme, Maxim Rysanov could almost have been inspired by this description, and by the affinity between the timbre of the viola and the particular colours in French music. The pieces - all arrangements - by Ravel, Fauré and Debussy are bathed in an atmosphere of calm beauty with a hint of melancholy. Framed by two Pavanes, they include perennial favourites such as Après un rêve and Clair de lune, performed by a player who 'couldn't make an ugly sound if he tried' and who 'better than almost anyone else is able to bring out the beauties of the viola' according to reviews in International Record Review and on website klassik.com respectively. Two contemporary pieces are included - both of them by the Swiss-French composer Richard Dubugnon (b. 1968), described as belonging 'to a tradition that looks back to Ravel by way of Dutilleux'. Incantatio and Lied, both for viola and piano, are adaptations by the composer of existing works, made especially for Maxim Rysanov. For BIS Rysanov has previously recorded a solo disc (with three of Bach's cello suites) as well as his own arrangement for viola and orchestra of Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations. He is here partnered by the eminent British pianist Ashley Wass.
BBC Music Magazine, February 2013
Rysanov has previously demonstrated that there is far more to the instrument than Romantic brooding, but this disc finds him exploring that cliche...and the playing is utterly sublime, especially Rysanov's delicacy in upper registers and gossamer-like harmonics...The sense throughout is more of fine dark chocolate than sugar, and what (only just) prevents this becoming too sickly is the inclusion of Richard Dubugnon's Lied and, especially, Incanto.
Expedition Audio - Music that deserves to be heard
Violist Maxim Rysanov's program on this BIS Super Audio CD is made up of some very familiar charmers from composers of the impressionist period plus two pieces by one composer who is working today, Richard Dubugnon, born in 1968. Highlights of the earlier works include Ravel's Pavane pour une infante défunte, Debussy's Clair de Lune and Fauré's Pavane. These are all transcriptions, of course, and the hushed, wistful tone of the viola benefits Rysanov's superbly musical performances.... ... read more ...
Recording information: Potton Hall, Saxmundham, Suffolk, England (12/2011).
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Works Details
Ravel, Maurice : Pavane pour une infante défunte - Performers: Ashley Wass (Piano); Maxim Rysanov (Viola)
- Running Time: 5 min. 23 sec.
- Period Time: Modern
- Written: 1899
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924) : Après un rêve, Op. 7 no 1 - Performers: Ashley Wass (Piano); Maxim Rysanov (Viola)
- Running Time: 3 min. 13 sec.
- Period Time: Post Romantic
- Written: 1877
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924) : Elégie for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 24 - Performers: Ashley Wass (Piano); Maxim Rysanov (Viola)
- Running Time: 7 min. 3 sec.
- Period Time: Post Romantic
- Written: 1880
Dubugnon, Richard : Incantatio, for viola & piano, Op. 12b - Performers: Ashley Wass (Piano); Maxim Rysanov (Viola)
- Running Time: 15 min. 5 sec.
- Period Time: Contemporary
- Written: 1996
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924) : Romance for cello & piano, Op. 69 - Performers: Maxim Rysanov (Viola); Ashley Wass (Piano)
- Running Time: 3 min. 39 sec.
- Period Time: Post Romantic
- Written: 11/14/1894
Debussy, Claude : Clair de lune (Suite bergamasque) - Performers: Maxim Rysanov (Viola); Ashley Wass (Piano)
- Running Time: 4 min. 6 sec.
- Period Time: Post Romantic
- Written: 1890-1905
Dubugnon, Richard : Lied, for viola & piano, Op. 44b - Performers: Maxim Rysanov (Viola); Ashley Wass (Piano)
- Running Time: 5 min. 49 sec.
- Period Time: Contemporary
- Form: Vocal
Debussy, Claude : La fille aux cheveux de lin - Performers: Ashley Wass (Piano); Maxim Rysanov (Viola)
- Running Time: 2 min. 37 sec.
- Period Time: Post Romantic
- Written: 1910
Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924) : Pavane, Op. 50 - Performers: Ashley Wass (Piano); Maxim Rysanov (Viola)
- Running Time: 5 min. 46 sec.
- Period Time: Post Romantic
- Written: 1887
