Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Hahn & Pierné: La sonate de Vinteuil Maria Milstein & Nathalia Milstein

• Gabriel Pierné (1863 - 1937): Sonate pour violon et piano en Ré Mineur, Op. 36:
• 1Sonate pour violon et piano en Ré Mineur, Op. 36: I. Allegretto09:06
• 2Sonate pour violon et piano en Ré Mineur, Op. 36: II. Allegretto tranquillo05:38
• 3Sonate pour violon et piano en Ré Mineur, Op. 36: III. Andante non troppo. Allegretto un poco agitato08:30
• Hahn Reynaldo (1874 - 1947): A Chloris:
• 4A Chloris03:23
• Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921): Sonate pour violon et piano No. 1 en Ré Mineur, Op. 75:
• 5Sonate pour violon et piano No. 1 en Ré Mineur, Op. 75: Allegro agitato06:41
• 6Sonate pour violon et piano No. 1 en Ré Mineur, Op. 75: Adagio05:46
• 7Sonate pour violon et piano No. 1 en Ré Mineur, Op. 75: Allegro moderato03:59
• 8Sonate pour violon et piano No. 1 en Ré Mineur, Op. 75: Allegro molto06:04
• Hahn Reynaldo: 7 Chansons grises:
• 97 Chansons grises: V. L’Heure Exquise02:36
• Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918): Sonate pour violon et piano, L. 140:
• 10Sonate pour violon et piano, L. 140: I. Allegro vivo04:53
• 11Sonate pour violon et piano, L. 140: II. Intermède. Fantasque et léger04:24
• 12Sonate pour violon et piano, L. 140: III. Finale. Très animé04:38
• Total Runtime01:05:38

Info for Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Hahn & Pierné: La sonate de Vinteuil

One of the most famous musical enigmas in literature, the fictional Vinteuil Sonata at the heart of Marcel Proust's magnum opus, In Search of Lost Time (À la recherche du temps perdu), is the inspiration for a new CD featuring sibling musicians Maria (violin) and Nathalia Milstein (piano).

Borletti-Buitoni Trust (BBT) Fellowship winner, Maria Milstein, held dear the idea of a recital based on the imaginary Vinteuil Sonata for some years and did not hesitate to make it a reality when awarded her BBT Fellowship in 2016. The Vinteuil Sonata is released on 27 October 2017 on the French Mirare label, supported by BBT.

There has been much speculation as to the origins of 'the little phrase' that bewitches Swann, the protagonist of the novel’s first volume. Where did Proust hear it? Or was it an amalgam of musical phrases he might have heard in the works of composers such as Saint-Saëns, Fauré or Debussy, performed in the Parisian salons of the Belle Époque that he frequented? Proust’s exquisite descriptions of the music and the elusive, ecstatic feelings it inspires continue to kindle the imaginations of performers to this day.

There is evidence that Proust once referred to Saint-Saëns as the composer behind the Vinteuil Sonata: a memorable 'petite phrase' occurs in the first and last movements of his Sonata for violin and piano No 1 in D minor, Op 75, exactly as Swann describes it. But, the same citation could be made in Gabriel Pierné's sonata, a work that Proust may also have heard.

The additional works on this Proustian CD are also in keeping with the novel’s literary contemplations of lost time. The spirit of Debussy's late sonata (the last major work he completed before he died) is very much that of a nostalgic reflection on a whole lifetime - the music, like words, searching for expression of intangible dreams, memories and desires. Finally, the two songs by Proust's intimate friend Reynaldo Hahn, complement the sense of the quest for expression of fleeting reminiscence without words (the voice is replaced in the transcription by the violin).

In conjunction with the CD, a two short films will be released online featuring the Milstein duo in this repertoire, filmed by UNIK ACCESS (sound: Franck Jaffrès, image: Bénédicte Banet). The CD will be launched at a recital on 22 September at the Via Aeterna Festival in Mont Saint-Michel, France and there are also discussions underway for a future theatrical staging of The Vinteuil Sonata.

Maria Milstein, violin
Nathalia Milstein, piano

Maria Milstein
Born in Moscow into a family of musicians, Maria Milstein studied in Amsterdam with Ilya Grubert, in London with David Takeno and at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo (Belgium) with Augustin Dumay.

Maria is a prizewinner of major international competitions both as a soloist and as a chamber musician, such as "Città di Brescia" and "Premio Rodolfo Lipizer" in Italy, the ARD Competition in Munich, the Lyon Chamber Music Competition and the Kersjes Prize in the Netherlands. In 2016, Maria is awarded the Fellowship of the Borletti Buitoni Trust.

Maria performs extensively across Europe in halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, BOZAR in Brussels, Musikverein in Vienna, the Philharmonie of Cologne and Cité de la Musique in Paris. She has appeared as a soloist with a.o. The Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Hague Philharmonic, the Brussels Philharmonic and Amsterdam Sinfonietta, and worked with conductors such as Vasily Petrenko, Giancarlo Guerrero, Michel Tabachnik, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Christian Arming and Reinbert de Leeuw.

A keen chamber musician, Maria formed the succesful Van Baerle Trio together with pianist Hannes Minnaar and cellist Gideon den Herder, one of the leading trios of its generation. After winning the ARD Competition and the Lyon Chamber Music Competition, the Trio made the ECHO Rising Stars Tour in 2014, peforming in famous concert halls all over Europe. The Trio already released two CD's, both praised in the international press, and is presently recording the complete works for piano trio by Beethoven for Challenge Records.

Maria's own debut CD « Sounds of War », recorded with pianist Hanna Shybayeva for Cobra Records and featuring Sonatas by Poulenc, Janáček and Prokofiev, received lavish reviews in the international press and won the Edison Klassiek Prize 2015 in the category “best chamber music album”. In October 2017 her second album “La Sonate de Vinteuil”, recorded with pianist Nathalia Milstein is released on the French label Mirare. ​

Maria plays on a violin by Michel Angelo Bergonzi (Cremona, ca. 1750), on loan from the Dutch Music Instruments Foundation, and holds a teaching position at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.

Nathalia Milstein
Born in 1995 to a family of musicians, Nathalia Milstein starts the piano at the age of 4 with her father Serguei Milstein. She enters his class in the Geneva Conservatory of Music in 2009, where she obtains her diploma with honours in 2012. In 2013, Nathalia enters the class of Nelson Goerner at the Geneva High School of Music.

In May 2015, Nathalia launches her international career by winning 1st Prize at the Dublin International Piano Competition. First female winner since the Competition's foundation, Nathalia gets engagements all over Europe and North America in the most prestigious halls, such as the National Concert Hall in Dublin, the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Wigmore Hall in London, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig.

Nathalia has won prizes at numerous competitions: she receives the First Prize at the « Flame » Youth Competition in Paris, the First Prize with distinction three times in a row at the yearly competition organized by the Geneva Conservatory of Music (2010, 2011 and 2012). In 2011, Nathalia receives the First Prize in the category « 16 and under » in the Fourth Manchester International Concerto Competition For Young Pianists, where she performs Chopin 1st Piano Concerto in E minor with the Manchester Camerata. In 2013, she is awarded the Second Prize in the Grand Concours International de Piano in Corbelin (France) and in May 2014, the First Prize in the category "Young Pianists" of the Adilia Alieva Piano Competition in Gaillard (France).

Recently, Nathalia was awarded the 2017 Young Soloist Prize by the Médias Francophones Publics.

Nathalia Milstein has followed masterclasses with renowned professors such as Elena Ashkenazy, Krzysztof Jablonski, Jean-Marc Luisada, Vladimir Tropp, Mikhail Voskressensky, Jan Wijn, Menahem Pressler, and Nelson Goerner.

Nathalia performs in France and abroad, giving solo recitals and chamber music concerts throughout Europe; she has also performed for the French television and the Dutch radio. For several years she has been playing in duo with her sister violinist Maria Milstein.

Nathalia Milstein is currently pursuing her Master's degree at the Geneva High School of Music in the class of Nelson Goerner.

Booklet for Saint-Saëns, Debussy, Hahn & Pierné: La sonate de Vinteuil