Review By Gerald Fenech,Music & Vision,May 2010
The lot of English composers who were active in the years between the two great wars has somewhat diminished again of late, especially with Frederick Delius, whose music is hardly ever played today. Happily this beautifully executed and superbly recorded disc will throw fresh light on another underrated instrument: the viola, which is used with great skill by all three composers here in varied works.
Arthur Bliss brings a jazzy penchant to the instrument which is quite superbly caught by the young Hungarian violist Eniko Magyar. She has a beautiful dulcet tone, quite ravishing in the Andante which is by far the longest movement of the work, and, ably supported by Tadashi Imai on the piano, Magyar brings energy and wit to the Furiant and Coda which close off the work in rousing fashion.
Delius’ short Viola Sonata is an arrangement by Lionel Tertis of the composer’s Third Violin Sonata written in the last years of his life at Grez sur Long. It has a wistful and melancholy atmosphere, particularly in the first movement marked Slow, which rather suits the viola’s perhaps more expressionistic sound. Again Magyar is an ideal exponent with some quite lovely playing in the Lento-con moto final movement.
The final work is Frank Bridge’s collection of pieces for viola and piano. These are short tone pictures which afford Magyar and Imai the opportunity to let off some virtuosic steam, and the result is extremely enjoyable.
As usual, Naxos provides extensive notes and the recording is excellent, although a slight brightness to the viola can be detected in some places. Otherwise a hugely commendable disc and certainly a calling card for Eniko Magyar as one to watch.
more....
Review By Andrew Achenbach,Gramophone,May 2010
An impressive calling-card for a stylish young viola player
Fashioned for the great Lionel Tertis, Bliss’s imposing Viola Sonata of 1933 has been enjoying a renaissance on disc: this fine new recording by Hungarian viola player Eniko Magyar (a product of the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest and the Royal Academy of Music, where she studied with Martin Outram) is the fifth to have come my way in as many years. Confidently partnered by Tadashi Imai, Magyar gives a most compelling interpretation which, in its rewarding marriage of youthful vigour and songful grace…Tertis’s own arrangement of Delius’s Third Violin Sonata was published in 1932, the virtuoso having sought and received approval on a visit to the previous year. It’s an effective and accomplished piece of work, and these sensitive artists are fully attuned to the music’s intensely lyrical flow and inimitably Delian sunset glow (the valedictory finale being especially moving). The sequence of seven pieces by Frank Bridge (an admirable viola player in his own right) date from between 1901 and 1908. The winsome Berceuse, Serenade and Norse Legend were later orchestrated; just two (Pensiero and Allegro appassionato) were originally conceived for viola and piano. Once again, Magyar and Imai are utterly convincing protagonists of all this attractive material.
Throw in sound that is undistractingly truthful, Lewis Foreman’s helpfully detailed notes and Naxos’s enticing price-tag, and it is certainly adds up to a healthy recommendation.
more....
Review By Steven E. Ritter ,Fanfare,May 2010
This Naxos release has one name that serves as a connecting thread through all of these pieces—Lionel Tertis. Tertis (1876–1975) was one of the first violists to achieve international fame, and his name is legendary among string players. Arthur Bliss, who achieved much success in England after returning post-WWII, wrote and dedicated his viola sonata to Tertis, who served as the editor for the composition. The work is unsettled and slightly brooding in the first movement, albeit with a lovely middle movement and reckless one-legged jig in 6/16 time in the finale. Though it is a repertory item, I count only four recordings currently in the catalog, including one already out on Naxos as well, that of Martin Outram (Viola) and Peter Donohoe (piano), coupled with the oboe quintet and piano quartet by the same composer. But Eniko Magyar, a young Hungarian violist with some impressive credentials, sets the bar almost impossibly—and unfairly—high with this lustrous reading.
Delius dictated much of his last music to Eric Fenby—this third violin sonata is one of those pieces. However, Tertis made his own arrangement not long after and actually played it for the composer in 1932. The work is typical of this composer, uncertain, hesitant in places, followed by gloriously assured writing that belies any of the questions we might have had. Delius, aside from some of his more direct melodies, sometimes takes time to unfold his arguments, but they are always cushioned in glorious sonorities, and this sonata is no exception. I always question these sorts of transcriptions, especially those that go between violin and viola, but this one is sensational.
Finally, Frank Bridge. What we have here is a collection of miscellaneous pieces written for violin generally and transcribed for viola. Only two, Pensiero and Allegro appassionato were written for viola. But they are, in a word, gems. Melodically they are as entrancing as anything you are likely to hear from any composer—catchy, beautiful, and memorable. Though they don’t really make any sense in the order they are presented, it doesn’t matter, as you look forward to the next before the current one ends. Part of this is no doubt due to the fabulous playing of Magyar, an up-and-coming talent if ever there was one, whose technique is matched only by her formidable sense of line and structure—not to mention one of the fattest and chocolaty viola sounds I have ever heard, rich in overtones and gorgeously even across the entire spectrum. This is a Want List candidate for sure.
