Franco Mezzena & Elena Ballario
Release Date: 30 April 2021
Label: Odradek Records
Packaging Type: Digipak
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 0855317003851
Genres: Classical Chamber Music
Description
A sumptuous album of French and Belgian music for violin and piano, performed with unique intimacy and poetry by long-term partners Franco Mezzena and Elena Ballario.
Cesar Franck's Violin Sonata in A is his most celebrated work, a perfect example of cyclical form resulting in music of ardour and spirit, the two protagonists engaged in a lively and exhilarating dialogue that culminates in a thrilling finale. Franck had promised a violin sonata to Cosima Wagner, but it was Eugene Ysaye's request for a wedding piece that finally galvanised him to compose the work. Debussy's Violin Sonata was his last complete composition, written in the shadow of the First World War. The work reflects some of the internal tussle the composer was experiencing during the conflict, but with his characteristic fluidity and nuanced harmonies. Debussy said of the work: "Through a quite humane contradiction, it is full of a joyous tumult." Florent Schmitt was a French composer who absorbed Germanic influences to create a rich and passionate vocabulary. His music has seen a revival in recent years, and his Four Pieces for Violin and Piano encompass a lyrical 'Lied', brooding 'Nocturne', sunny 'Serenade' and remarkably dramatic 'Barcarolle'. Italian musicians Franco Mezzena (violin) and Elena Ballario (piano) have been collaborating for some time, resulting in a performance style of real kinship, warmth and understanding. With Odradek they have also made a superb recording of Schubert's Piano Trios as part of the Mezzena/Patria/Ballario Trio.
Tracklisting
Nuno Côrte-Real, Ensemble Darcos & Coro Ricercare
Artur Pizarro, Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal, Julia Jones
Jenaer Philharmonie, Simon Gaudenz
Carion Wind Quintet
Johannes Fleischmann
Tony Addison Sextet
Vasco Pimentel Trio
Franco Mezzena & Elena Ballario
Ensemble La Francais
Christoph Croise; Andrey Baranov; Alexander Panfilov
Trio Parnassus
Kilian Herold, Barbara Buntrock, Florian Donderer, Tanja Tetzlaff
Narratio Quartet
Beau Soir Trio
Martin Rummel, Stefan Stroissnig
Hanspeter Oggier; Marina Vasilyeva
