After tackling Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Schoenberg, and Hindemith, Ulf Wallin and Roland Pöntinen now focus their attention on the late-romantic English composer Edward Elgar. ‘Mot d’amour’, which takes its title from one of his early compositions for violin, presents a substantial part of Elgar’s output for violin and piano, spanning his entire career.
Best known for his symphonic and choral works, Elgar is also the composer of chamber works that, although few in number, achieve a high standard. The Violin Sonata, a mature composition contemporary with his two other major chamber pieces, is regarded by Elgar connoisseurs as one of his masterpieces. Inspired by Brahms’s sonatas, Elgar’s own, composed in the peaceful surroundings of his rented countryside cottage, is a work of wide expressive range and emotional impact, with every superfluous note eliminated from the overall design.
As for the other pieces that appear here, they show a lighter side of the composer, sometimes playful, sometimes melancholic. Unashamedly belonging to the genre of salon music, these works testify to Elgar’s versatility, his melodic gift, and his ability to turn a seemingly light genre into a vehicle for secret emotion—often charming but always devoid of sentimentality.
