Hartmann, A: L’amour, valse bluette

Philippe Graffin is the latest violinist to join ONYX, after several outstanding discs of rare French and English repertoire for labels such as Hyperion and Avie. This new recital brings together the mesmerising intensity of Gypsy violin playing with classical composers’ response to it.

Released to coincide with a notable novel called Hungarian Dances by writer and journalist Jessica Duchen. She explains: “When I asked Philippe Graffin, a treasured friend and colleague, to check the manuscript of Hungarian Dances for violinistic errors, I little dreamed he’d respond by making this recording: a CD inspired by the novel. Yet the novel was partly inspired by a CD – Philippe and Claire’s beautiful recital ‘In the Shade of Forests’, [Avie Records, rave reviews worldwide] evoking the spirit of the archetypal wandering Gypsy violinist”.

Philippe’s recital is loosely based around the book but is also designed to work as a programme in its own right with several pieces chosen only for the recording including rarities by such composers as Von Vecsey, Hubay, Scarlatescu and Arthur Hartmann.

Claire Désert is well-known in France for several solo CDs for FNAC and other labels and here plays both piano and piano luthéal, the ‘prepared piano’ that Ravel had made for Tzigane in 1919 and which imitates the sound of a Hungarian cimbalom to striking effect in many of these pieces.

Arthur Hartmann, an American of Hungarian descent was a brilliant violinist who attracted

rave reviews throughout his life as soloist and leader of the Hartmann Quartet.

Emotionally exuberant and vital, his miniatures are infused with the specific harmonic and

rhythmic intonations of Hungarian folklore and skilfully exploit the colours of the different

violin strings.

His works were performed by artists of the calibre of Heifetz, Menuhin, Kreisler and

Thibaud.

A child prodigy at age 11 he gave recitals in Europe, meeting and charming Sir Charles Hallé, Saint-Saens, Hans Richter, Paderewski, Benjamin Godard and many others.

Hartmann’s sympathetic and subtle transcriptions, particularly of Debussy, won the composer’s approval and are still in circulation today.

A pupil of the legendary virtuoso Eugene Ysaÿe, Hartmann was renowned for his interpretation of Bach’s Chaconne for solo violin.

This is the first recording of any of Hartmann’s Kreisler-like salon miniatures for violin and piano which, like Elgar’s violin miniatures, speak immediately to the listener with their easy tunefulness.