Reviews | RH-018 | GABRIELLA LENGYEL | Jenő Hubay’s last pupil

L’intitulé de cette belle petite boîte au livret aussi instructif qu’illustré de rares photographies prévient : elle fut la dernière élève de Jenő Hubay, son archet rapsode, aux sonorités évocatrices, à l’aigu de flûte, le dit assez, ce violon vient d’ailleurs et probablement de plus loin dans le temps que celui de sa quasi compatriote transylvanienne, Johanna Martzy : les portamentos, les glissandos, les attaques en dessous comme les pratiquait Szigeti, qui donnent un caractère expressionniste à ses phrasés, évoquent le violon du grand romantisme.

Paradoxe !, elle fut un égérie des modernes, et se dévouant d’abondance aux nouvelles œuvres de ses compatriotes Hubay et Bartók évidemment, Dohnányi, Weiner, Zsolt, Harsányi, Veress, Farkas, Kovach, et Arma qui, chez lui, dans le studio de musique de son pavillon me fit entendre sous son archet son Divertimento de concert que je retrouve ici lors d’un récital donné à Darmstadt avec Atty Lengyel, le frère de la violoniste. Au même programme, une Sonate de Ravel subtile jusqu’à l’étrange, et celle de Poulenc, acide, ravageuse, formidable.

On pourra glaner chez les Romantiques, plutôt qu’un Concerto de Brahms dirigé par Ansermet à l’OSR où elle parait inquiète, son intégrale des œuvres pour violon et piano de Schubert préparée spécialement pout la Radio de Bâle. Archet diseur, fantaisie, liberté, il sera une fois de plus passionnant de comparer son Schubert à celui de Johanna Martzy. Mais écoutez aussi sa Sonate en fa majeur de Mozart, avant de vous replonger dans les Modernes, en commençant par la Suite Op. 6 de Britten.

Que cet archet si affamé de répertoire – vous trouverez même la 10e Sonate de Richard Flury, le Poème automnal de Respighi – soit enfin illustré par une parution aussi soignée, quelle joie ! [JCH]

Gabriella Lengyel—that name, with its Hungarian overtones, rang a bell. It was under her bow that, as a child, I discovered Bartók's Duos on a Ducretet-Thomson LP, where she and Anne-Marie Gründer performed. What a thrill to find them perfectly remastered in the impressive box set that Emilio Pessina has dedicated to this forgotten violinist.

The title of this beautiful little box, with its booklet as informative as it is illustrated with rare photographs, is a warning: she was the last student of Jenő Hubay. Her rhapsode bow, with its evocative tones and flute-like high notes, clearly indicates that this violin comes from elsewhere, and probably from further back in time than that of her near compatriot from Transylvania, Johanna Martzy. The portamentos, the glissandos, the low attacks, as practiced by Szigeti, which give an expressionistic character to her phrasing, evoke the violin of the great Romantic era.

Paradoxically, she was a muse of the moderns, and devoted herself wholeheartedly to the new works of her compatriots Hubay and Bartók, of course, as well as Dohnányi, Weiner, Zsolt, Harsányi, Veress, Farkas, Kovach, and Arma, who, at his home in the music studio of his pavilion, let me hear his Concert Divertimento, which I rediscover here in a recital given in Darmstadt with Atty Lengyel, the violinist's brother. The same program also included a Ravel Sonata, subtle to the point of being strange, and Poulenc's Sonata, acidic, devastating, and formidable.

Among the Romantics, one might glean, rather than a Brahms Concerto conducted by Ansermet with the OSR (Orchestre de la Suisse Romande), where she seemed somewhat anxious, her complete recording of Schubert's works for violin and piano, prepared especially for Basel Radio. A bow that speaks volumes, a sense of fantasy, a sense of freedom—it will once again be fascinating to compare his Schubert to Johanna Martzy's. But also listen to his Mozart Sonata in F major before delving back into modern music, starting with Britten's Suite Op. 6.

That this bow, so hungry for repertoire—you'll even find Richard Flury's 10th Sonata and Respighi's Autumn Poem—is finally being showcased in such a meticulously produced release is a joy! [JCH]

16 March 2021 | Stephen Greenbank | MusicWeb International | G. Lengyel - Hubay’s last pupil 

Gabriella Lengyel was born in Budapest in 1920 and began learning the violin at the city’s Franz Liszt Academy at the age of only five. By fifteen she’d completed all the courses with distinction, obtaining a diploma in violin. She then went to Jenő Hubay and Edouard Zathureczky, who applied the finishing touches. [...]  In 1946 she clinched 2nd Prize in the International Long-Thibaud Competition, and two years later the Grand Prix at the Carl Flesch Competition in London. That same year she fled the Hungarian communist regime and settled in Paris, where she took up a teaching post at the Conservatoire. In 1950 she formed the Trio Lengyel with her two musician brothers Atty and André. She died in Paris in 1993. Throughout her career she worked with some of the most renowned conductors of the day, including Ansermet, Fricsay, van Beinum, Jochum, Solti, Enescu, Casals and Mengelberg. As far as recordings go, she recorded only three commercial LPs in Paris – two private releases for Voxigrave in 1951, and one for Ducretet-Thomson in 1953. Some of these are included in this collection. [...] In early 1953, the Duo Legyel set down in the studio of Schweizer Radio in Basel the complete works for violin and piano by Franz Schubert. They are to be found across CDs 4 and 5. These are some of the loveliest works in the repertoire and the Duo offer elegant, stylistic and idiomatic performances. In the three Sonatinas, touched by the influence of Mozart, they emphasize the youthful nature of the music. In the more mature Duo Sonata of 1817 the composer finds his own voice, with the work free of stylistic influences. The finale is particularly fine, here bristling with energy and joy. The Fantasie, Schubert’s masterpiece from 1827, is probably the most frequently performed and recorded of his violin and piano works. The central variation section, on the theme Sei mir gegrüsst, is characterful. In short, it’s a fully integrated performance and stands shoulder to shoulder with some of the very best recorded versions. [...] Those seeking off the beaten track repertoire need look no further, as there’s an ample selection here. Lengyel did much to champion her contemporary fellow Hungarian composers, and several are represented in the set. [...] This wonderful collection, approved by the violinist’s brother Attila (Atty) just a year before his death in 2018, preserves the legacy of this significant artist.  The 24bit 96 kHz restorations by Emilio Pessina are first-class and bring new life to these valuable aural documents. The documentation is superb, and the cache of photographs is an added bonus. This is a collection I wouldn’t like to be without.