Janine Jansen brings a nice selection of French music for violin and piano on this CD with pianist Iatamar Golan. The major part of the CD is occupied by three very different works, Messiaens Thème et Variations and violin sonatas by Debussy and Ravel. It is nice how Jansen uses better known works to further entice the audience to music that is not heard enough. Unfortunately, the booklet is only
… filled with a conversation between Jansen and composer Richard Dubugnon, of whom Jansen will play three short works. The conversation is nice, but it is precisely this lesser known music that deserves explanation, even though Jansen plays those works with enough energy and verve to convince the novice listener as well. The supplied DVD is more varied: a rather kitschy video clip with Fauré's Après un Rêve is contrasted with a nice conversation, again between Jansen and Dubugnon. This is where Jansen's pure and lively enthusiasm suddenly breaks through, which fortunately also dominates the entire CD. Fortunately, right through all the commercial violence, her enormous musicality and technique are still convincingly in the foreground. (TC)more
