Natalia Lomeiko on the cover of her new album
This coming Friday, Orchid Classics will release an album of compositions for violin and piano by Eugène Ysaÿe. As the accompanying booklet observes, he was “justly celebrated as one of the greatest violin virtuosos of his time.” He is probably best known for his Opus 27 set of solo violin sonatas, but he currently receives relatively little attention. In fact, the last time he appeared on this site was almost exactly a year ago, when Tessa Lark performed the fourth of his solo violin sonatas for her Shenson Spotlight Series recital at Davies Symphony Hall.
The new release accounts for seven compositions for violin and piano leading up to Opus 27. The violinist is Natalia Lomeiko accompanied at the piano by Iván Martín. One of the selections, the Opus 26 “Amitié,” requires two violins; and Lomeiko is joined by Yuri Zhislin.
While they are not presented in chronological order, the seven tracks on this new album may be regarded as an “ascent” to the spectacle of virtuosity that permeates Opus 27. Indeed, that ascent begins on the very first track with the invocation of a spinning wheel on the Opus 13 “Au rouet.” There are also selections that reflect on popular nineteenth-century genres, such as the concluding Opus 3 “Grande valse de concert” and the Opus 11 mazurka, given the title “Lointain passé.”
It would not surprise me if this new album draws more attention from violinists than from others. (I am one of those “others,” just to set the record straight!) From a technical point of view, there is much to appreciate in Ysaÿe’s inventiveness as a composer, as well as the lyric qualities of his inventions. Lomeiko delivers a solid account of the full diversity of those inventions, suggesting that this album would serve very well as a “prologue” to those interested in getting to know the Opus 27 sonatas better.
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