Brahms: | Violin Sonatas Nos. 1-3 (complete) with Pierre Barbizet (piano) Sonatensatz (Scherzo from the F.A.E. sonata), WoO 2 with Pierre Barbizet (piano) |
Chaminade: | Sérénade espagnole, Op. 150 (arr. Kreisler) with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Dinicu: | Hora Staccato (arr. Heifetz) with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Dvorak: | Humoresque in G flat major, Op. 101 No. 7 (arr. Kreisler) with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Falla: | Danse Espagnole (from La Vida Breve) (arr. Kreisler) with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Fauré: | Berceuse, Op. 16 with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Franck, C: | Violin Sonata in A major with Pierre Barbizet (piano) |
Kreisler: | Caprice Viennois, Op. 2 with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) Rondino on a Theme by Beethoven with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) Liebesfreud with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) Liebesleid with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Lekeu: | Violin Sonata in G major with Pierre Barbizet (piano) |
Massenet: | Méditation (from Thaïs) (arr. Marsick) with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Mendelssohn: | Song without Words, Op. 62 No. 1 in G major 'May Breezes' (arr. Kreisler) with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Rimsky Korsakov: | Song of the Hindu Guest (from Sadko) (arr. Kreisler) with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Saint-Saëns: | Le carnaval des animaux: Le Cygne with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Sarasate: | Danza Española No. 3: Romanza Andaluza, Op. 22, No. 1 with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Schubert: | Ave Maria, D839 with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Schumann: | Violin Sonata No. 1 in A minor, Op. 105 with Pierre Barbizet (piano) Violin Sonata No. 2 in D minor, Op. 121 with Pierre Barbizet (piano) Romances (3), Op. 94 with Pierre Barbizet (piano) Kinderszenen, Op. 15: Traümerei (arr. G. Catherine) with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
Stravinsky: | Chanson Russe (arr. Stravinsky/Dushkin) with Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano) |
This set contains a selection of the recordings by the great French violinist focusing on his prowess as a chamber musician.
Ferras was born in 1933 of musical parentage – his father had been a violinist and a pupil of Marcel Chailley, a devotee and friend of Saint-Saëns. Though Christian’s talent was not in dispute, his father was extremely pushy and the undue pressure he exerted on his young son probably led to the mental instability that led to Ferras’s suicide in 1982. At the age of 8, Ferras enrolled at the Paris Conservatoire and in 1943 won first prize.
He recorded for the major record companies, and his colleague and friend, the violinist Zino Francescatti, commented that these recordings with Pierre Barbizet made in 1968 over five days were ‘musical perfection’. Ferras was ranked alongside Oistrakh, Stern, Menuhin and Francescatti in the top five violinists of his age, and it was Ferras whom Menuhin chose as ‘the ideal partner’ for the recording of the Bach Double Concerto for EMI in 1959.
Included are the three Brahms sonatas, the two by Schumann and those by Franck and the intriguing, short-lived Belgian Lekeu. Disc 4 contains encores that Ferras was especially fond of.
This set is a superb portrait of a great artist, who was gifted beyond anyone’s wildest dreams but lost the fight with his inner demons of depression and alcohol dependency. Essential listening for all lovers of the violin
‘Ferras is a player who habitually turns the simplest of melodic lines to poetical song … Lovers of the César Franck who happen not to know the Lekeu could well find a real extension of their pleasure in this very good record.’ Gramophone
‘Finely balanced yet ardent performance of the (Brahms) First Sonata.’ Gramophone
Extensive booklet tribute to and survey of Ferras’s life and career