Bruno Monteiro’s Century of Diversity

Cover of the album being discussed (courtesy of violinists Bruno Monteiro)

Those that have followed this site for some time may know that I have been making it a point to follow the albums released by Portuguese violinist Bruno Monteiro, usually performing with pianist João Paulo Santos. The title of the most recent album to be released by this duo is 20th Century and Forward. As of this writing, the album has been available on an Amazon.com Web page since April 1; but it is only available for MP3 download. According to at least one site that I visited, the CD version should be available next month. (It is already available in Europe, but I suspect that most readers are not interested in overseas delivery.)

The chronology of this new release begins early in 2017, which is when Claude Debussy concluded his only sonata for violin and piano, composed in the key of G minor. This has been a personal favorite for almost as long as I have been focusing on writing about the making of music. In this particular case, the music is introduced in a less familiar context, since it is preceded by Edward Elgar’s Opus 82, a duo sonata in E minor. I must confess that, for this particular piece, Monteiro’s intonation did not sound as secure as it did on the rest of the album, leaving me to wonder how much (or little) Elgar knew about intonation issues where the violin was concerned. (He certainly did not have any trouble with the cello in his cello concerto!)

The two sonatas were followed by two single-movement compositions. The first of these was the “Romance” by José Luiz Barbosa, a leading Portuguese violinist during the first half of the twentieth century. Little seems to be known about his efforts as a composer; and, since “Romance” is only three and one-half minutes long, it is hard to assess the quality of those efforts. The second short piece is “Ascent,” composed for violin and piano by the British composer Ivan Moody, who died this past January after struggling with prolonged illness. The title was chosen to refer to the ascent into Heaven; and, on Monteiro’s album, the cobwebs of that dark rhetoric are blown away by his selecting Ravel’s “Tzigane” as the concluding track. This music is technically challenging; but, for the attentive listener, it serves up a wild ride well worth taking!

Overall, this new release is a satisfying offering. I am not sure if the idea of a violin sonata was in Elgar’s comfort zone. (He destroyed his first effort, but that was way back in 1884!) I would say that my own jury will stay out until I have an opportunity to listen to a violinist perform this music in a recital. Nevertheless, if another recording comes my way, I shall probably let my curiosity get the better of me.