Violinist Michi Wiancko Revives Showpieces by Sauret
Free Download: Souvenirs d'Orient: Danse
Friday, August 12, 2011
-
Violinist Michi Wiancko
- Join the Discussion [5]
-
Recommended Links
Michi Wiancko leads a double life. A busy New York violin soloist who has toured with the Los Angeles Piano Quartet, the Mark Morris Dance Group and Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, she is also a singer in her own downtown rock band, called Kono Michi or “this path” in Japanese (her mother is Japanese).
She is also a champion of forgotten composers. Together with pianist Dina Vainshtein, Wiancko has put together a new collection of pieces by Émile Sauret (1852-1920), a French violin virtuoso who wrote over a hundred works for the instrument, oscillating between lyric charm and showy technical display. The recording is our Album of the Week.
A child prodigy, Sauret enjoyed an international touring career and was likened in his lifetime to Paganini. A New York Times review from 1896 compared Sauret favorably to Eugene Ysaye and other violinists of the day, noting that Sauret’s “tone is pure and clear and certain,” and concluding “he is indeed a delightful player, and will make himself welcome in our concert halls.” (His pianist on his first U.S. tour was none other than Franz Liszt.)
Sauret may have worked in a lighter style that can seem somewhat dated to modern ears but his pieces aren’t to be dismissed. Mostly programmatic in nature, they include such evocative musical travelogues as the Scenes villageoises, a Spanish-tinged Souvenir de Los Angeles and Souvenirs d’Orient. Wiancko plays these with agile and effortless athleticism. But the real fireworks come in the final two selections on the album: the molto perpetuo Farfalla (Butterfly) and the Scherzo fantastique, a fiendishly difficult showpiece filled with ricochet bowing, double-stopped thirds and spiraling runs. If there are a few hints of strain in the upper register, Wiancko nonetheless sails gracefully through acrobatic passages and unfurls gleaming phrases with sumptuous tone.
Émile Sauret
Music for Violin and Piano
Michi Wiancko, violin
Dina Vainshtein, piano
Available at Arkivmusic.com
Watch Michi Wiancko in her rock guise, as the leader of Kono Michi:
Comments [5]
In your piece on Michi Wiancho playing
the music of Emile Sauret, you quoted a
New York Times article from 1896 about
Sauret's playing. Then a line or two later
you said, Sauret's accompanist was none
other than Franz Liszt. Liszt died in 1886.
But perhaps it was a much, much earlier
visit. In all my readings about Liszt, I have
never read of him visiting America.
Ms. Wiancko's violinism is splendid but her singing is...sensational! I look forward to following her recordings and performances. One caveat: For me, her musicial expressiveness doesn't need the over-produced glam that often accompanies performers these days.
+1, this is an album worth having. Inexpensive download available at ClassicsOnline here: http://bit.ly/pmuPxc
I want to hear more of both E'mile Sauret and Michi Wiancko based on hearing "Danse." Maybe with her endorsement as well as others, some of his pieces will become as familiar as those of Kreisler's.
This is a great recording, available on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/q117ZV Highly recommended!
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.