Beffa, who recently began a two-year term as composer in residence for the National Orchestre de Toulouse in September, and already has created two musical versions of Pablo Picasso’s “Guernica,” studied composition at the National Conservatory in Paris, philosophy at Cambridge, and history at L’École Normale Supérieure, France’s most prestigious university, where he currently teaches.
Beffa also lays claim to a fascinating historical footnote: At the age of eight—with about two years of theory and piano lessons under his belt—Beffa played the young Mozart in Marcel Bluwal’s 1982 television mini-series “Mozart.”
Beffa’s two Masques—20 minutes of harmonically rich, melodically jazzy music in a quiet, sad way—give the Capuçons, to whom the music is dedicated, plenty of gently passionate rhapsodizing to do. Along with the transcriptions of seven of Bach’s Inventions and Bartok’s seven Hungarian songs, they make the disc very rewarding.
Although none of the music by Eisler, Klein and Martinu is particularly interesting (the recital ends with a sweet Fritz Kreisler bon-bon, in which they are joined by a third, piano-playing Capuçon), the brothers’ fine playing makes this release indispensable for string players looking for repertoire, radio stations looking for novelties, and reviewers needing to know what two of France’s most brilliant instrumentalists are up to.
The sound is a bit wooden when pushed but can be quite lovely at lower, more intimate levels. Adélaïde de la Place’s liner notes are good reading.
– Laurence Vittes
