Reviving and Recording
Émile Sauret's 24 Études-Caprices, Op.64 (1902)
The extraordinary 19th century violin virtuoso, composer and pedagogue, Émile Sauret carved himself an enviable reputation during his lifetime. Deemed a successor to Niccolo Paganini, he was acclaimed by some of the greatest musicians of the time, including Brahms, Saint-Saëns and Tchaikovsky. He gave numerous concerts with Liszt, Rubinstein, Moszkowski and often played duets with Sarasate. However, Sauret himself seems very little known, although he is predominantly remembered by violinists for the fiendishly difficult cadenza he composed to Paganini's first violin concerto.
During his 12-year professorial tenure at the Royal Academy of Music, Sauret produced in 1902 his last major didactic publication - the 24 Études-Caprices, Op.64/ These works are a testament to his technical finesse and are dedicated to his student, the great English virtuoso Marjorie Hayward.
The Études-Caprices are inundated with specific dynamic, fingered, bowed indications and infused with an extraordinary density of variations, only rarely used for show, rather drawing the ear away from the repetition at the core of an étude. For the player, this unending variety, and the resultant length of the series (amounting to nearly four-and-a-half-hours of continuous music), is an invocation to draw every resource of expressiveness from the instrument.
My research project explores Émile Sauret through the making of world premiere recording series of his 24 Études-Caprices, Op.64. Partially recorded on his c.1685 Stradivari violin, the project spans four discs and is released on Naxos.
The first volume [8.573704] was released in 2017 and featured on BBC Radio 3 and was also selected as a ‘Critic’s Choice’ in American Record Guide. In 2018, Nazrin was awarded one of the most prestigious awards of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, The John Clementi Collard Fellowship in support of her Sauret project. The remaining three volumes were recorded on the c.1685 ‘Sauret’ Stradivari violin, kindly loaned to her by John Ludlow, and have been critically acclaimed by The Strad, Ritmo, Neue Musikzeitung and Fanfare Magazines.
During his 12-year professorial tenure at the Royal Academy of Music, Sauret produced in 1902 his last major didactic publication - the 24 Études-Caprices, Op.64/ These works are a testament to his technical finesse and are dedicated to his student, the great English virtuoso Marjorie Hayward.
The Études-Caprices are inundated with specific dynamic, fingered, bowed indications and infused with an extraordinary density of variations, only rarely used for show, rather drawing the ear away from the repetition at the core of an étude. For the player, this unending variety, and the resultant length of the series (amounting to nearly four-and-a-half-hours of continuous music), is an invocation to draw every resource of expressiveness from the instrument.
My research project explores Émile Sauret through the making of world premiere recording series of his 24 Études-Caprices, Op.64. Partially recorded on his c.1685 Stradivari violin, the project spans four discs and is released on Naxos.
The first volume [8.573704] was released in 2017 and featured on BBC Radio 3 and was also selected as a ‘Critic’s Choice’ in American Record Guide. In 2018, Nazrin was awarded one of the most prestigious awards of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, The John Clementi Collard Fellowship in support of her Sauret project. The remaining three volumes were recorded on the c.1685 ‘Sauret’ Stradivari violin, kindly loaned to her by John Ludlow, and have been critically acclaimed by The Strad, Ritmo, Neue Musikzeitung and Fanfare Magazines.
A supreme virtuoso, the French violinist, composer and teacher Émile Sauret was acclaimed by the greatest musicians of the century, including Sarasate and Liszt. He wrote a series of charming genre pieces (available on Naxos 8.572366) but also a sequence of 24 Études-Caprices which marry virtuosity with every expressive opportunity available to the instrument. The result is one of the unsung but major cycles for solo violin spanning all twenty-four keys.
© Naxos Released in 2017 For more information https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573704 Reviews https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.573704&languageid=EN Article https://www.thestrad.com/variations-on-fast-forward-the-extraordinary-density-of-emile-saurets-24-etudes-caprices/7130.article |
Earning the admiration of the most eminent composers of his time, from Brahms and Tchaikovsky to Liszt and Sarasate, Émile Sauret occupies a significant place in the history of the violin. His lively genre pieces (available on 8.572366) were augmented by an extensive cycle of Études-Caprices (Volume 1 is on 8.573704) that remain a testament to his finesse and command. Written to span all twenty-four keys, they encompass subtle expressive qualities as well as drama and technical virtuosity. © Naxos
Released in 2018 This recording features the c.1685 'Sauret' Stradivari violin For more information https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573843 Reviews https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.573843&languageid=EN Article https://www.thestrad.com/artists/nazrin-rashidova-plays-emile-saurets-etudes-caprices-on-the-sauret-stradivari/7612.article |
With a portfolio of over 250 works, including major concertos and technical studies, Emile Sauret- hugely admired by Brahms, Liszt and Tchaikovsky- was one of the most distinguished figures of his time, a violinist with a stupendous technique and a profoundly analytical mind. With its spellbinding effects and exceptional variation of form and dynamics, Volume 3 of his Etudes-Caprices, Op. 64 continues the exploration of this monumental work’s fusion of virtuosity and expression. Nazrin Rashidova plays on Sauret’s own 1685 Stradivari violin. © Naxos
Released in 2019 For more information https://naxosdirect.com/items/sauret-24-etudes-caprices-vol.-3-499978 Reviews https://www.naxos.com/catalogue/item.asp?item_code=8.573975 Article https://www.thestrad.com/playing/emile-sauret-moderation-and-the-saccade-bow-stroke/9214.article |
The final volume of the 24 Études-Caprices by the internationally renowned virtuoso Émile Sauret, crowns one of the most impressive but seldom performed bodies of solo violin writing in the entire canon. In the last five Études, once again played by Nazrin Rashidova on Sauret's own Stradivarius violin, the full range of his art can be heard, from double-and triple-stopping, to registrar leaps, chordal and staccato techniques and exercises for absolute control of the bow. Of Volume 3 (8.573975) The Strad wrote: 'Rashidova plays superbly'. © Naxos Released in 2020 For more information https://www.naxos.com/feature/Rashidova-Sauret.asp Reviews https://www.naxos.com/reviews/reviewslist.asp?catalogueid=8.574159&languageid=EN Article https://www.thestrad.com/playing-and-teaching/nazrin-rashidova-on-emile-sauret-the-teacher/10671.article |
|
|
|
|