Paul Juon: Chamber Music for Viola
Paul Juon was born in Moscow, of Swiss parents, in 1872, studying there with Arensky and Taneyev; Rachmaninov, a fellow student at the Moscow Conservatoire, dubbed him ‘the Russian Brahms’. Woldemar Bargiel, Clara Schumann’s half-brother, was his main teacher at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin before Juon himself became a member of the staff. There are indeed echoes of Brahms in Juon’s early music but there is also a fondness for Russian folksong and a mastery of counterpoint, which all feed into his urgent, late-Romantic lyricism.
Basil Vendryes, viola
Igor Pikayzen, violin (Tracks 8–18)
William David, piano
Listen To This Recording:
- I Moderato
- II Adagio assai e molto cantabile
- III Allegro moderato
- Moderato assai –
- Adagio –
- Tempo primo
- Romanze, Op. 7b, for Viola and Piano, Op. 7b
- No. 1 Prélude
- No. 2 Chant d’amour
- No. 3a Intermezzo 1
- No. 3b Intermezzo 2
- No. 3c Intermezzo 3
- No. 4 Mélancholie
- No. 5 Danse grotesque
- No. 1 Rêverie: Molto adagio
- No. 2 Humoreske: Allegro ma non troppo
- No. 3 Elegie: Andante cantabile
- No. 4 Danse fantastique: Quasi valse lente
Sonata for Viola and Piano in D major, Op. 15 (publ. 1901)
Sonata for Viola and Piano in F minor, Op. 82a (publ. 1924)
Romanze for Viola and Piano, Op. 7b (1898)
Silhouettes, 2ème série, Op. 43, for violin, viola and piano (publ. 1909)*
Trio-Miniaturen for violin, viola and piano (publ. 1920)
* FIRST RECORDING OF THIS VERSIOn
MusicWeb International :
‘The musicians play right to your heart.’
—Rob Barnett, MusicWeb International
Strad :
‘His music provides an intriguing mix of Russian-inspired melodic material given a thorough formal work-out in the Germanic manner. […]
Basil Vendryes, long-time principal of the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, draws a well-focused, attractive tone from his 1887 Ceruti viola and is an engaging advocate of this music. In complete musical accord with pianist William David, his clear-headed readings gently underline this composer’s special qualities. The duo is joined by the stylish Igor Pikayzen for two series of vignettes redolent of the salons from pre-revolutionary Russia, making a lovely conclusion to this well-recorded recital.’
—Carlos Maria Solare, Strad
MusicWeb International :
‘He was a late-Romantic par excellence and the viola works allow one to eavesdrop on his rich, ripe and appealing compositions. […]
The distinctive modality of the [viola sonata’s] finale comes with a real ease of execution, vividly conveyed by the performers on this recording. […]
Toccata is well-known for its extensively annotated booklets and this is no exception. Derek Katz writes with precision and clear historical knowledge and he has delved into the early recorded history of Juon on 78s and into the Julius Block cylinders, in which one can hear Juon playing .’
—Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International