Duo Concertante for Violin & P

This CD features two small-scale works by Stravinsky and two by Ravel, all performed by violinist Jennifer Frautschi and pianist Marta Aznavoorian. The Stravinsky Duo Concertante is the most modernist work on the CD, but it is quite interesting and played to perfection by the violinist and pianist. The Divertimento by Stravinsky is a piano and violin arrangement of the Divertimento from his ballet The Fairy's Kiss. After hearing the original and the arrangement, I can say that the arrangement is far more enjoyable to listen to, especially as played by Jennifer Frautschi. It is full of hummable, bouncy dance tunes and exuberant rhythms. It is as melodic as "chamber music" gets. Frautschi simply plays the piece as if it were the greatest piece of music in the world, full of fervor and energy. Her tone is always sweet but firm and she's always agile at switching keys seamlessly and with great poise.

The Ravel Sonata's middle movement is called "Blues" and it sounds like it could have been written by Gershwin, so authentic is its American, inner city, jazzy idiom. Frautschi captures the moods of the work marvelously, and her collaborator on the piano complements her playing perfectly. The Ravel Tzigane can be either for violin and piano or violin and orchestra, but the piano version is the better one (and is the original version written by Ravel), since the orchestra has very little to do but create atmosphere, which the piano does perhaps even better. The work is a Gypsy-flavored showpiece and Frautschi gives a jaw-droppingly virtuosic performance of intensity, exoticism and vibrant melody. One reviewer called this performance a "desert island Tzigane" and I certainly concur with that. You simply will not hear a better Tzigane played by anyone, anywhere.

In sum, this CD really is a must-have for lovers of colorful violin music. Even if you normally shy away from "chamber music", you will still love the music and the playing on this CD. Jennifer Frautschi is a world-class talent who deserves to achieve the recognition which other great violinists on the scene today have already achieved. She may just be a cut above them!

In this debut album on Artek by the young California violinist, Jennifer Frautschi, she plays pieces that are directly related to the composers as performers. Stravinsky wrote the Duo Concertante and the Divertimento when he was touring with a friend and violinist, so they would have his own music to perform. If you like Stravinsky, you'll like these, I think, and if you do not care for the contemporary idiom, you probably won't care for this CD. Frautschi has recorded many 'modern' composers, and she plays wonderfully. What little I know about Marta Aznavoorian, the pianist, is on this recording; they play very, very well together.
Ravel is often thought of as being of the Impressionist era, and associated with tone color, chord mood, feeling in music, and the like. But in "Bolero", one of his best-known, and many others, his innovations and playful way with rhythm is as prominent. That's the case with this Sonata. "Tzigane" is on almost every young (or old) violinist's early records; it holds up well with this performance.
It is refreshing to read album notes by Frautschi; she knows what she is talking about.
A good CD, that I enjoy listening to repeatedly. By coincidence the name of the Hall in which it was recorded is from my grandmother's family; it's good to know our family supports music with performance venues. (Ha.) Wish I could too, but at least I bought the CD.

An awesome debut album from a rising star.