A French Connection

“Daniel Rowland and Natacha Kudritskaya prove to be the perfect partnership” – BBC Music Magazine 🎶🎻

Daniel Rowland – violin and Natacha Kudritskaya’s first release with us (CHRCD120) was critically acclaimed. We are thrilled that they are back with a new recording of two gorgeously romantic pieces: the Franck sonata, and the all too rarely heard Chausson concerto for violin, piano and string quartet, plus the premiere recordings of beautiful arrangements of three Debussy preludes by Craig White. 💿 Released 19th Feb 2021

REVIEWS:

GRAMOPHONE: “ Beyond ‘fabulous’ it’s not always easy to put a finger on what Chausson;s ear-grabbing Concerto actually is…This is a rapturously full-bodied account…Rowland leading from the front with is won shimmering, wide, polished sound which becomes piercingly sweet up on top and huskily rough and cloaked down below. It’s impossible not to be sweet along by the sheer confidence of it’s luxuriously sweeping largesse when the long lined power of each of their ,any climaxes would have had Scriabin himself weeping with ecstasy. In the slower, lighter textured interludes it feels as though you’ve been dropped into a different universe in which time has momentarily, transcendentally stood still. I’m also not sure I’ve ever hear such a programmatic feeling Grave, which is deeply, eerily, menacingly dark..On to the finale and there;s some specially exciting playing from the quartet, who all the way through are phenomenallly blended with Rowland – the benefit of individual friends over an established ensemble….

…A refreshingly individual, non-eccentric reading [of the Franck Sonata}..It’s hard not to be seduced by Rowland’s sultry toned, long lined lyricism in the premiere recordings of Craig White’s arrangement of three Debussy Preludes… When it can be hard these days to differentiate between the top violinists individual sounds, Rowland truly sounds like nobody else “ Charlotte Gardner, Gramophone

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE: “ There is a palpable sense of enthusiastic collective music- making from violinists Francesco Sica and Asia Jiménez Antón de Vez, violist Joel Waterman and cellist Maja Bogdanovic. The Concert ’s vast emotional sweep is conveyed with a natural awareness of the ebb and flow of its intense passions. The slow movement is expertly paced, from the tightly-controlled supplication at the opening via the climax’s fervent outpouring to enervating subsidence at its exhausted conclusion. Rowland’s ability to sustain an arching melodic line with searing intensity is evident both here and in the Franck, while Kudritskaya’s finely judged pianism impresses no less. The Sonata is beautifully played with plenty of character, with delectably veiled tone from both players in the first movement. Three Debussy Preludes in generally effective arrangements by Craig White provide a palate cleanser between Chausson’s and Franck’s rich offerings. “ Steph Power, BBC Music Magazine 

IRISH TIMES: ***** “ A French Connection: Chausson, Debussy, Franck – Alluring arrangements and sensual delivery” “On his new recording, Rowland revels in the work’s luscious embroidery, its extended phrase-lengths, and the side-stepping effects of its Franckian chromatic harmony. The musicians dream as well as surge, and give the second movement its full measure of sweetness.Meanwhile, three Debussy Preludes are played here in alluring violin and piano arrangements by Craig White. And in Franck’s Violin Sonata (like the Chausson, a piece written for the great Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe) with pianist Natacha Kudritskaya, the players conjure up a glowing, rounded tone that often creates a lovingly cushioned sensuality.”  Michael Dervan, Irish Times