Listen & tracks

1 of 13 tracks have a preview · 11 works · 78:24

Sonata for Violin and PianoClaude Debussy 3 movements14:11
1. 1 i. Allegro vivo 5:04
2. 2 ii. Intermède 4:36
3. 3 iii. Finale 4:31
4 Thaïs Jules Massenet Méditation 5:20
5 Sonatine Maurice Ravel Mouvement de menuet 2:48
6 Poème, Op. 25 Ernest Chausson 15:38
7 La plus que lente Claude Debussy 4:49
8 La fille aux cheveux de lin Claude Debussy 2:55
9 Poème élégiaque, Op. 12 Eugène Ysaÿe 14:33
10 Morceaux de lecture Gabriel Fauré 1:20
11 Habañera Maurice Ravel 3:24
12 Berceuse, Op. 16 Gabriel Fauré 3:21
13 Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, Op. 28 Camille Saint-Saëns 10:05

There are beautiful works from Massenet, Fauré and Ravel, lyrical-epic pieces by Ysaÿe and Chausson, the virtuoso Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso by Saint-Saëns, and from Debussy, The Girl with the Flaxen Hair and the late violin sonata. This Romantic music was chosen for its power to bring out the true spirit of the violin.

Reviews

a delightful collection.

— Martin Hibble, ABC Classic FM

haunting musicianship.

— Catherine Lambert, Sunday Herald Sun

a very welcome addition ... something for everyone

— Cliff Tucker, Radio Fremantle

The tonal qualities are rich, refined, subtle, meditative with an inward intensity of passion in places and vibrant and brilliant in others

— Music and the Teacher

An admirably determined artist.

— The Times, London

She played ... with a beautiful unforced tone and immaculate line.

— The Daily Telegraph, London

Brilliant … captivating … of formidable dimension

— The Sydney Morning Herald

She is not only an outstanding violinist, but above all Miwako Abe possesses a rare inner gift of the flame for the music, and this makes her playing so warm and living.

— Sándor Végh

A spirited performance … to mark her out as someone worth watching …

— The Times, London

Artists

Miwako Abe

violin

Miwako Abe is a Japanese-born violinist whose solo and chamber career has spanned Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Australasia. Based in Australia since 1982, she is admired for a warm, unforced tone and for new works written for her.

David McSkimming

piano

David McSkimming is one of Australia's finest accompanists. He has given recitals with many of the country's most distinguished musicians, and in October 1998, as part of the Melbourne Festival, David McSkimming was the associate artist in recitals with the renowned Korean soprano Sumi Jo and American tenor Gary Lakes.

Ernest Chausson

composer

Ernest Chausson (1855–1899) was a French Romantic composer. His chamber and concert works, marked by lyrical intensity, include the celebrated violin Poème.

Claude Debussy

composer

Claude Debussy (1862–1918) was a French composer whose harmony, colour and flexible sense of key reshaped European music at the turn of the twentieth century. Piano, orchestral and chamber works from his maturity remain central to the repertoire.

Gabriel Fauré

composer

Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924) was a French composer, pianist, organist and teacher whose music links late Romanticism with early modernism. His best-known works include the Requiem, the Pavane, and a large body of songs and piano music.

Jules Massenet

composer

Jules Massenet wrote more than thirty operas and a lasting body of songs. On these discs his lyric gift appears in the hypnotic mélodies Être aimé and Amoureuse, and in the long-breathed Méditation from Thaïs for violin.

Maurice Ravel

composer

Many consider Maurice Ravel a major composer for the piano as well as a genius of orchestration. It remains a surprise how few works make up his total output for the instrument: all his piano compositions can be performed in under two and a half hours.

Camille Saint-Saëns

composer

Camille Saint-Saëns wrote music of classical clarity and Romantic colour: the Organ Symphony’s blazing finale, the glittering Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, the late Clarinet Sonata, and the song Clair de lune that still draws listeners into moonlight and memory.