Tasmin Little Plays Franck, Faure & Szymanowski Tasmin Little & Piers Lane

• César Franck (1822 - 1890): Violin Sonata in A Major, M. 8:
• 1 Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major, M. 8: I. Allegretto ben moderato 06:43
• 2 Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major, M. 8: II. Allegro 08:02
• 3 Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major, M. 8: III. Recitativo 07:44
• 4 Franck: Violin Sonata in A Major, M. 8: IV. Allegretto poco mosso 06:14
• Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924): Romance for Violin and Piano in B-Flat Major, Op. 28:
• 5 Fauré: Romance for Violin and Piano in B-Flat Major, Op. 28 07:16
• Karol Maciej Szymanowski (1882 - 1937): Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 9:
• 6 Szymanowski: Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 9: I. Allegro moderato 09:23
• 7 Szymanowski: Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 9: II. Andantino tranquillo e dolce 07:28
• 8 Szymanowski: Violin Sonata in D Minor, Op. 9: III. Finale. Allegro molto, quasi presto 05:10
• Romance for Violin and Piano in D Major, Op. 23:
• 9 Szymanowski: Romance for Violin and Piano in D Major, Op. 23 07:32
• Nocturne and Tarantella, Op. 28:
• 10 Szymanowski: Nocturne and Tarantella, Op. 28: I. Notturno. Lento assai 05:41
• 11 Szymanowski: Nocturne and Tarantella, Op. 28: II. Tarantella. Presto appassionato 05:27
• Total Runtime 01:16:40

Info for Tasmin Little Plays Franck, Faure & Szymanowski

The indefatigable duo of Tasmin Little and Piers Lane returns with a unique recorded programme at the centre of which stand the violin sonatas of Szymanowski and Franck.

Their joined expert musicianship reveals the intimacy and magic of these passionate, lateromantic works. The album encompasses the folk like yet technically demanding Romance, Violin Sonata, and Notturno e Tarantella by Szymanowski, here more inspired by the German and French romantic tradition than by his native Polish one, as well as Franck’s highly original Violin Sonata and Fauré’s Romance.

It follows a much-lauded set of Schubert’s complete works for violin and piano (Album of the Week in the Mail on Sunday), and also marks the eightieth anniversary of Szymanowski’s death. Tasmin Little will continue her tribute to the composer with a concerto album this autumn and with a series of concerts of his music, which will take her around the world.

"In a performance alternately as gutsy and subtle as this, [the Szymanowski is] completely riveting. The folk-inflected central movement brings some almost Rachmaninovian writing for the piano, which Lane projects superbly, and [the] energy overflows into the highly-strung Romance, before the more oriental world of the Notturno and the crackling virtuosity of the Tarantella – a long way from the calm of the Franck which started the CD" (BBC Music Magazine)

"Warmth, tonal bloom, agility and a feeling of oneness with the instrument that spins the illusion that for the duration [Little] is the violin. These are wholesome, red-blooded performances, direct and deeply satisfying, with no lack of imagination" (Gramophone Magazine)

"I greatly enjoyed this recital and hope that this team will give us more, such as, for example, the Fauré sonatas (she has already recorded the first, with Martin Roscoe), and Szymanowski’s Mythes, his finest work for this combination." (MusicWeb International)

Tasmin Little, violin
Piers Lane, piano

Tasmin Little
Tasmin has played with many of the world's greatest orchestras in a career that has taken her to every continent of the world. In addition to her regular solo performances, she has play/directed orchestras such as Royal Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, London Mozart Players, English Chamber Orchestra, Norwegian Chamber, European Union Chamber Orchestra and Britten Sinfonia. In 2007/08 she joined the London Mozart Players as soloist and director in a tour of the UK which also featured her UK conducting debut.

As a concerto player, Tasmin's performances in the 2010/11 season took her twice back to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam where she performed violin concerti by Loevendie and Prokofiev. Other performances in 2010/11 include concerts in Australia, New Zealand and Slovenia, London’s South Bank Centre as well as a Festival at Kings Place, London, entitled 'Tasmin Little and Friends: Violin Journeys'.

In 2008, Tasmin made her sixteenth appearance at the BBC Promenade Concerts in the Royal Albert Hall, London, in a performance of the Concerto for Violin and Horn by Dame Ethyl Smyth. She continues to champion seldom-performed repertoire, and has received critical acclaim as one of the few violinists to have mastered Ligeti's challenging violin concerto. Her 2003 tour with the Berlin Philharmonic and Sir Simon Rattle, during which she performed the concerto at the Proms, Berlin Philharmonie, the Salzburg Festival, New York's Carnegie Hall and Philadelphia's Kimmel Center, received unanimous critical acclaim ('the technical command was glorious' The Guardian; 'very beautiful' Berliner Morgenpost; 'a major violin talent' Philadelphia Inquirer; 'a formidable soloist' New York Times). In 2007 she returned to the work with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam.

In 2006, Tasmin was Artistic Director of her hugely successful 'Delius Inspired' Festival, which was broadcast for an entire week on BBC Radio 3 in July. An exciting range of events, ranging from orchestral concerts and chamber music to films and exhibitions, also reached 800 school children in an ambitious programme designed to widen interest in classical music for young people. She was Artistic Director of Spring Sounds Festival from 2008 until 2010.

Her discography reflects her wide-ranging repertoire and includes twenty-five recordings, ranging from Bruch and Brahms to Karlowicz and Arvo Pärt. In March 2009 she released the disc 'Partners in Time', her follow-up to The Naked Violin, and in Autumn 2010 her long-awaited recording of the Elgar violin concerto was released on the Chandos label to unanimous critical acclaim. The recording celebrated the 100th anniversary of the concerto’s premiere and included a re-creation of a special version of the accompanied cadenza.

Tasmin is an Ambassador for The Prince’s Foundation for Children and the Arts, is a Fellow of the Guildhall of Music and Drama, is President of ESTA (European String Teachers Association), an Ambassador for Youth Music, and has received Honorary Degrees from the Universities of Bradford, Leicester, Hertfordshire and City of London. In 2009, she received a prestigious Gold Badge Award for services to music.


She plays a 1757 Guadagnini violin and has, on kind loan from the Royal Academy of Music, the 'Regent' Stradivarius of 1708.

Booklet for Tasmin Little Plays Franck, Faure & Szymanowski