Stephane Grappeli

This is a reissue of Donna Brown’s performances of beautiful songs by Debussy. They are settings of poems by Verlaine, Bourget, Banville, de Musset, Mallarmé and Peter. This soprano is known for the floating angelic quality of her voice and the intelligent musicality of her interpretations.

likely to divide listeners. Some may object to French players performing Austro-German music, while others will embrace the notion of musical internationalism. Others may object to first-rate Schubert being joined to second-rate Hummel, while others will enjoy the chance to hear an unfamiliar as well as a familiar work. After they hear it, however, most listeners will likely agree on two things. First, they will likely find that the French players do a marvelous job of breathing life into both these works.

By the time the 71-year-old Stephane Grappelli made this live trio recording with guitarist Joe Pass and bassist Niels-Henning Orsted Pedersen, his legacy as the greatest of all jazz violinists was firmly in place. Granted, that made him first in a fairly short line of colleagues - other than Joe Venuti and Stuff Smith, who else was there to consider? (Jean-Luc Ponty doesn't count.) But it's hard to imagine another player, regardless of virtuosity, ever conveying the same sense of swing and simple joie de vivre that Grappelli does with virtually every note. Nor does it hurt that his accompanists on this album are among the finest in their fields; Orsted Pedersen plays with a solidity and rhythmic power that are enough to make you forget the absence of a drummer, while Pass slides effortlessly between unobtrusive chordal backup and bravura soloing…

Ulysses and Monteverdi: passion and action at the heart of musical drama. Penelope sings of her endless wait, her hope to see the king of her heart again, while her suitors besiege her to take her hand and the throne. The return of Ulysses to Ithaca after twenty years of wandering brings the drama to a close. Travelling incognito disguised as an old man, he arrives at the palace for the contest that Penelope has arranged: whoever manages to bend Odysseus' former bow will have the hand of the queen. The old man in rags presents himself to the court, and achieves his revenge… Stéphane Fuget conducts this masterpiece, using every instrumental spell to fulfil his great ambition: to restore to Monteverdi's music and singing all of it's ornaments and colors, thanks to a magnificent cast and their passionate support.

When pianist Oscar Peterson and violin player Stephane Grappelli stepped on-stage or into the studio together they really did make magic. Both performers were pioneers on their respective instruments, and both had a real French connection, with Peterson hailing from Montreal, and Grappelli of course, having been born in Paris.

The genre of the mélodie accompanied Fauré like a kind of personal journal. This music voluptuously – and sometimes vehemently – encompasses the meanderings of the soul: dreams, nostalgia, reflections or mirages . . . Stéphane Degout and Alain Planès take advantage of the iridescent tones of an 1892 Pleyel in their interpretation of some of his finest song cycles, including the testamentary L’Horizon chimérique.

When pianist Oscar Peterson and violin player Stephane Grappelli stepped on-stage or into the studio together they really did make magic. Both performers were pioneers on their respective instruments, and both had a real French connection, with Peterson hailing from Montreal, and Grappelli of course, having been born in Paris.

Pianist Oscar Peterson and violinist Stephane Grappelli meet up for this Scandinavian concert. The "backup" crew (guitarist Joe Pass, bassist Niels Pedersen, and drummer Mickey Roker) isn't too bad either. In addition to a closing blues (which is highlighted by tradeoffs from Peterson and Grappelli), the quintet performs five veteran standards with creativity and swing.