Christian Ferras (violin)
Edition
rec. 1947-71
Eloquence 484 3652 [19 CDs: 927]
Christian Ferras, who would have been 90 this year (2023), has been generally well served in the reissue stakes, as he has in the number of live broadcasts issued by various assiduous labels across the globe. In the first category there’s his EMI legacy reissued on 13-CDs on their (sorry, Warner’s) Icon label (review). There’s a 4-CD set on Brilliant Classics (93791-4) that offers the Brahms, Schumann, Franck and Lekeu sonatas as well as the encore disc accompanied by Shuku Iwasaki, all of which are contained in Eloquence’s 19-CD box under review. Meloclassic, Claves, SWR, Forgotten Records and others have all chipped in too and you’ll find a number of reviews on this site.
Another useful avenue is that capacious cube called Decca Sound – The Mono Years 1944-1956 FFRR (review) which also contains recordings that you’ll find on Eloquence – the Brahms Concerto with Schuricht, the Elizalde Concerto with Gaston Poulet and the Rodrigo Concerto conducted by Enescu are all contained in CD 20 of that 53 CD box, with some comments from me in the review cited.
Now Eloquence draws together the Decca and DG elements of Ferras’s discography supplemented by the recordings he made for the labels’ French and Japanese divisions. There are several first-ever CD transfers in this newly remastered set, and the first stereo release on CD of the coupling of Eck and Mozart on CD 8.
CD 1 contains the truly delectable Elizalde Concerto which is coupled with early recordings that have already been reissued on DG’s ‘Forgotten Ferras’ disc (review). To add to the Rodrigo on the second disc – there’s no sound of any sonic degradation that I noticed on Decca’s own transfer in its box – one finds Ivan Semenoff’s Double Concerto specifically written for Ferras and his long-time accompanist Pierre Barbizet. This is an 18-minute sectional concerto with successive early cadenzas for both instruments and encodes a naughtily blues-inflected passage before a Waltz.
In 1955 Ferras and Barbizet recorded a near-classic French sonata brace, the Debussy and the Fauré; only the ‘wrong’ Fauré, the much-less performed Second Sonata. The Debussy is rather slow for my own tastes which incline much more to Francescatti, Dubois and Grumiaux. They do well by the Fauré though, drawing out its lyricism in the opening movement and playing with seductive warmth in the Andante. It’s a loving, deft performance but sterner auditors will again prefer Grumiaux’s lither approach.
CD 4 preserves a 1953 recording made in Brussels with the Orchestre nationale de Belgique directed by the experienced Georges Sébastian in Chausson’s Poème and Tavel’s Tzigane, a staple of Ferras’s repertoire. Ferras takes a daringly slow tempo for the Poème, which doesn’t really work, but digs into Tzigane; only the mono sound limits ultimate appreciation and that’s hardly his fault. The final work on this disc is Honegger’s Solo Sonata, H.143, of which Ferras had given the premiere in 1948. In four defined sections but one movement it evokes Bach and is beautifully played.
Talking of Bach, CD 5 sees Ferras teamed with pianist Céliny Chailley-Richez for a fine version of the Third Sonata. However, Grumiaux invariably employed a harpsichord in the sonatas and took the opening movement at a much more streamlined, classical tempo. The Brandenburg Concerto No.5 and Concerto in A minor are both conducted by Enescu and feature the same pianist and Rampal. They’re richly communicative and the Affettuoso in the Brandenburg is especially intimate. However, they were among the body of music that aroused pianist Jörg Demus’ disquiet, which he and Casals, to whom he spoke about Enescu’s Bach, traced back to Enescu’s too straightjacketed direction.
The two Mozart sonatas with Barbizet are charmingly elegant and refined with no shortage of personality. The Brahms Violin Concerto with Schuricht on CD 7 is briefly discussed in the context of the Decca box but I prefer it as an interpretation to the remake with Karajan in Berlin a decade later, which was excellent in its own right and obviously in stereo, unlike the Schuricht, and which you can find on CD 9. I’ve previously reviewed it on an Eloquence single disc (review).
In Eloquence’s own Münchinger box they were still noting Eck’s Concerto in E flat major as ‘attributed to Mozart’ but in the booklet Antony Hodgson noted the concerto was by Eck (review); here they’ve bitten the bullet and attributed it directly to Eck now adding ‘formally attributed to Mozart’, which is as it should be. I’d judge the Mozart Third, with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, against the cycle Grumiaux made in Vienna with Moralt (in 3 and 4) and Paumgartner in 1, 2 and 5, and I’d say Grumiaux’s stylishness edges it. The gain in the use of stereo tapes, as opposed to the mono in the Münchinger box, is decidedly noticeable with an increased sonic spectrum and amplitude. This disc is heard in its first appearance on CD in stereo.
Ferras’s Sibelius is muscular, powerful, characterful and intense and Karajan directs splendidly. It’s a recording that has stood the test of time and my only doubts concern an occasional overuse of Ferras’s intense, oscillating vibrato about which I’ll have something to say in a moment. CDs 11 and 12 again investigate sonata repertoire. Schumann’s two sonatas and Three Romances occupy disc 11 and were recorded in 1965. There’s a fine sweep to these though in the second movement of the Second Sonata the nervous intensity of his vibrato becomes annoyingly obtrusive. Franck and Lekeu occupy disc 12. The former is well paced and the tricky third movement is deftly phrased though – for me – the inconsistency of his vibrato usage sabotages elements of the second movement. His Lekeu is outstanding. Grumiaux never quite reconciled the tempo relationships – his two recordings offer very divergent tempi – but Ferras is right on the button and his phrasing is meltingly lovely, songful and warm, his vibrato characteristically fast but not oscillating.
If backed into a corner, I’d prefer his recording of the Tchaikovsky with Silvestri in 1957 to the Karajan one here made in 1965 but the Berlin taping is still pointed and potent, taken at relatively broad tempi and full of grandeur but, also, with moments of that queasy vibrato. As this is an Original Jacket production Karajan’s Capriccio italien is here. Serge Nigg (1924-2008) wrote his Violin Concerto No.1 for Ferras, and it was premiered in 1960. It’s a fairly middle-of-the-road work conducted by Charles Bruck. There’s plenty to mull over in the long first movement – as long as the Tchaikovsky – and that includes pirouetting passagework and a cadenza, as well as plenty of lyricism and Ferras’s nagging vibrato.
The Bach concertos in CD 15 can be passed over quickly as Karajan directs quite heavily and Ferras’s recording of the Double with Menuhin is much more eventful and sympathetic than this one with Michel Schwalbé. If I am reading the discographical information correctly these recordings, made in 1966 in the unusual location – for Karajan – of the Victoria-Konzertsaal, Hotel ‘La Reine Victoria’, St. Moritz, Switzerland weren’t released until 1999 (the solo concertos) and 2007 (the Double).
Central recommendation returns with the Beethoven with Karajan. Ferras was the conductor’s violinist of choice for a number of years until Ferras’s alcoholism began to take hold and it took a strong sense of self to stand up to Karajan. Though he had already recorded this for EMI with Malcolm Sargent in 1959 (it’s in the ‘Icon’ Box, as is the Menuhin-Ferras Bach Double), the lure of Karajan and DG proved too strong and together they turned in a grand seigneurial and frequently magisterial performance, a touch on the slow side, though not inordinately so.
In 1968 he and Barbizet recorded the Brahms sonatas and the Scherzo from the F.A.E. Sonata. These are very inconsistent readings with Ferras’s bleaty vibrato proving troublesome (for me – maybe not for you) once again. There’s welcome songful lyricism in the slow movement of No.2 but I’ve never liked this set. Suk and Katchen, recorded for Decca at about the same time, prove altogether superior in nearly all respects.
As I’ve already reviewed the final disc with Shuku Iwasaki (review) this just leaves a similar selection of sweetmeats on CD 18 with pianist Jean-Claude Ambrosini. This disc proves how difficult it is, even for elite players like Ferras, to play Kreisler (and others) idiomatically – Ferras is altogether too perfumed and lacking in Viennese coquetry, constantly doing too much when he should do far less. This is another disappointing disc. He seldom phrases with simplicity or grace or unaffectedly. Instead, not helped by the odd acoustic of the Polydor Studios in Paris, he seems unable to relax. I think he was a heavy-duty concerto-and-sonata performer at heart and encore morsels were not his metier.
This is another high class offering from Eloquence with those Original Jackets and a fine booklet essay from Tully Potter. Remastering has been carried out with great care and there is full discographic information in the colourful and generous booklet.
Jonathan Woolf
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Contents
CD 1
Federico Elizalde (1907-1979)
Violin Concerto
London Symphony Orchestra/Gaston Poulet
Kreisler ∙ Massenet · Fauré ∙ Ravel
Ernest Lush ∙ Pierre Barbizet
Recording Location: Kingsway Hall, London, UK, 7 November 1947 (Elizalde) and Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London, UK, 26 November 1948 (Sarasate), 27 November 1948 (Kreisler); Polydor Studios, Paris, France, 15 February 1951 (Massenet, Fauré, Ravel)
CD 2
Joaquin Rodrigo (1903-1999)
Concierto de estío
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire/George Enescu
Ivan Semenoff (1917-1972)
Double Concerto
Pierre Barbizet (Piano)/Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire/Ivan SemenoffRecording Location: La Maison de la Mutualité, Paris, France, 24–25 October 1951
CD 3
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
Violin Sonata
Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924)
Violin Sonata No 2
Pierre Barbizet (piano)
Recording Location: Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London, UK, 19 October 1953
CD 4
Ernest Chausson (1855-1899)
Poème
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)
Tzigane
Orchestre nationale de Belgique/Georges Sébastian
Arthur Honegger (1892-1955)
Sonata for solo violin
Recording Location: Brussels, Belgium, 16 June 1953
CD 5
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Violin Sonata No 3
Brandenburg Concerto No 5
Concerto for Flute, Violin and Harpsichord
Céliny Chailley-Richez (piano)/Jean-Pierre Rampal (flute)/Orchestre de l’Association des Concerts de Chambre de Paris/George Enescu
Recording Location: Paris, France, 25 February – 3 February 1954 (BWV 1050 & 1044), 14 December 1953 (BWV 1016)
CD 6
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Violin Sonatas K. 305 & 376
Pierre Barbizet (piano) Recording Location: Paris, France, 9 November 1954
CD 7
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Violin Concerto
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra/Carl Schuricht
Recording Location: Grosser Saal, Musikverein, Vienna, Austria, 19–20 April 1954
CD 8
Johann Friedrich Eck (1767-1838) (attr. Mozart)
Violin Concerto in E-flat major
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Violin Concerto No 3
Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra/Karl Münchinger
Recording Location: Victoria Hall, Geneva, Switzerland, 14 October – 11 November 1954
CD 9
Johannes Brahms
Violin Concerto
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Herbert von Karajan
Recording Location: Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, Germany, 4–6 May 1964
CD 10
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957)
Violin Concerto
Finlandia
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Herbert von Karajan
Recording Location: Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, Germany, 28 October 1964 (Finlandia), 29–30 October 1964 (Violin Concerto)
CD 11
Robert Schumann (1810-1856)
Violin Sonata No 1
Violin Sonata No 2
3 Romances
Pierre Barbizet (piano)
Recording Location: Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, Germany, 19–20 May 1965 (Sonatas), 15 October 1965 (Romances)
CD 12
César Franck (1822-1890)
Violin Sonata in A major
Guillaume Lekeu (1870-1894)
Violin Sonata in G major
Pierre Barbizet (piano)
Recording Location: Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, Germany, 13–14 October 1965
CD 13
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Violin Concerto
Capriccio italien
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Herbert von Karajan
Recording Location: Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, Germany, 6–8 November 1965 (Violin Concerto), 13 October 1966 (Capriccio italien)
CD 14
Serge Nigg (1924-2008)
Violin Concerto No 1
Marius Constant (1925-2004)
24 Préludes for Orchestra*
Orchestre Philharmonique de l’ORTF/Charles Bruck
Recording Location: Paris, France, 4–5 February 1966
CD 15
Johann Sebastain Bach
Violin Concerto in A minor
Violin Concerto in E major
Concerto in D minor for two violins
Michel Schwalbé (violin)/Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Herbert von Karajan
Recording Location: Victoria-Konzertsaal, Hotel ‘La Reine Victoria’, St. Moritz, Switzerland, 17–23 August 1966
CD 16
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Violin Concerto
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra/Herbert von Karajan
Recording Location: Jesus-Christus-Kirche, Berlin, Germany, 25–26 January 1967
CD 17
Johannes Brahms
Violin Sonata No 1 in G major
Violin Sonata No 2 in A major
Violin Sonata No 3 in D minor
Scherzo from F.A.E Sonata
Pierre Barbizet (piano)
Recording Location: UFA-Tonstudio, Berlin, Germany, 10–12 June 1968
CD 18
Rendez-vous musical avec Christian Ferras
Kreisler · Schumann · Schubert · Mendelssohn · Dinicu · Dvořák · Massenet · Chaminade · Fauré · Rimsky-Korsakov · Sarasate · Falla · Saint-Saëns · Stravinsky
Jean-Claude Ambrosini (piano)
Recording Location: Polydor Studios, Paris, France, 16–19 December 1968
CD 19
Air Sul G – Violin Favourites
Rameau · Tchaikovsky · Granados · Mendelssohn · Debussy · Drdla · J.S. Bach · Boccherini · Ravel · Dvořák · Beethoven · Albéniz · Schubert · Kreisler
Shuku Iwasaki (piano)
Recording Location: Japan, 10–11 April 1971
