Connections Franck Debussy Chausson Fauré Œuvres pour violoncelle et piano Zelenka Shih

This recording is about connections. All four featured composers lived in Paris during the second half of the 19th century and were linked both professionally and personally. Franck's great Sonata is like capturing and portraying a life in sound. The first movement is a languid, delicate introduction, with only hints of the ecstasy yet to come. The second movement, with its restless virtuosic piano writing, speaks of the passion of youth, full of angst and yearning. The third movement is a contemplative discourse in which moments of quiet desperation balance moments of celestial beauty. The fourth movement is a mature epilogue, growing in joy and excitement until the glorious, triumphant ending. The Debussy Sonata is short, with abrupt and daring changes in mood and colour. Ideas appear and morph so quickly from one emotional state to the next that one is left with only fleeting impressions. Chausson's Piéce is a little gem. It's an extremely beautiful and wistful late work - one which needs space to breathe and to sing. Fauré's Papillon, by comparison, is a lightning-fast piece where images seem to appear and disappear - like a mirage.