Violinist
Francesca Dego
has taken up the generally unfamiliar music of
Busoni
on several recordings now; this album of sonatas and bagatelles followed on her version of the
violin concerto, recorded along with that of
Brahms
. That juxtaposition pointed to the mixture of Italian and German elements in
's music. The same mixture is present in this chamber music release, recorded with
Dego
's frequent duet partner
Francesca Leonardi
. On the program are early
works, all composed before 1900; the
Bagatelles for violin and piano, Op. 28
, were written in 1888, allegedly for the seven-year-old
Egon Petri
. They are simple but artful pieces of salon music. The two violin sonatas are perfect mixtures of Italianate melody and German structure, with the
Violin Sonata No. 2 in E minor
, written in 1898 and revised in 1900, breaking free of structural conventions into a unique 12-section form. Sample the "Choralgesang des
J.S. Bach
," the second section of the third movement, and hear how it is elaborated and then develops into a little march, for a hint of the mature
. These pieces aren't often played, but they succeed on their own terms, with a melodicism that has some heft, and
invests them with the right seriousness. The excellent sound, the work of producer, editor, and engineer
Jonathan Cooper
at Potton Hall, Suffolk, is another strong draw. Anyone interested in exploring
's earlier music would do well to start with this release. ~ James Manheim