A new CD to appear introduces us to 23 “salon” pieces written between 1823 and 1913. Forgotten music, in the main, with just a few bits still around such as François Schubert's The Bee, Moritz Moszkowski's Guitarre, or Franz von Vecsey's Valse Triste. Looking through my files of alternative recordings of some of the pieces on the CD, competitive versions were recorded mainly at the beginning of the past century by the likes of the young Mischa Elman, Jan Kubelik, Maud Powell, Franz von Vecsey, and others. The 23 tracks on this CD really are grandad stuff, and all praise to Vaughan Jones for exhuming them. Some pieces, such as Joachim Raff's Cavatina, I used to play on my violin in my young days.
The pieces rarely demand extreme virtuosity, but they do demand a real sense of style. Vaughan Jones does not make you forget Kreisler, Heifetz or Grumiaux, and his violin can sound a little thin and fragile on occasions, particularly in the upper registers. But perhaps I still have the sound of Augustin Hadelich's violin in my ears. On occasions, the rhythmic articulation sounds a bit contrived, rather than flowing naturally from the music. But this is nit-picking; the CD is highly enjoyable and it is sad that so many of these pieces are rarely played nowadays, being replaced by eternal renditions of the Spring sonata, or Ravel's violin & piano sonata.
The CD, with 23 tracks, lasts a generous 83 minutes. The pieces are best enjoyed 3-4 at a time, so some form of shuffle-play facility is a big plus. Let us hope this starts a trend for exhuming the salon music for violin and piano of the past centuries. I have enjoyed listening to this CD, and will enjoy it many times again in the future. The music is mainly lyrical and sentimental in character, and listened to in short chunks, it whiles away a happy and relaxed half an hour at a time. All praise and thanks to Vaughan Jones and his pianist, Marcus Price. The CD is exceptionally well recorded, and the violin and piano well balanced.
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