South American romantic violin sonatas

[Martin Eastick]

I recently came across this rather enticing anthology of various South American romantic violin sonatas, which may be of interest to some. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B089CRX5D6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_d_asin_title_o01?ie=UTF8&psc=1. Although I have tried to ascertain if there is an actual physical CD generally available, it would seem not, and therefore I have had to resort to the second-best medium of the download, with the unfortunate lack of liner notes. However, I do recommend the repertoire without hesitation. There is, of course, an alternative recording of the Soro, coupled with another of his sonatas, but I was especially struck here with the sonata by the Colombian composer Guillermo Holguin!

[Wheesht]

According to the pianist's website there does seem to be a CD, but getting hold of a copy seems impossible (or at least very hard). On the website of Radio Nacional de Colombia there is a review with YT links.
A translation of the review, courtesy of DeepL, reads as follows:

The first commercial recording of Guillermo Uribe Holguín's Sonata No. 1 is released (by Luis Daniel Vega).

The work of Colombian composers is systematically disregarded, which translates into ignorance and obscurity. In the phonographic field, the reality is discouraging: there are very few sound documents at hand to unravel the various stylistic transformations that the music of cultured tradition in Colombia has had since the beginning of the 20th century. Although the Government of Antioquia and the Centre for Musical Documentation -between the seventies and eighties-, the Banco de la República -with its collections Música y Músicos de Colombia, Compositores de Nuestro Tiempo and Retratos de un Compositor-, the Patronato Colombiano de Artes y Ciencias, the Círculo Colombiano de Música Contemporánea, the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and EAFIT or the A label. C.M.E have edited -or they did in their time- record productions that reveal part of the misty history, their commitment is incipient in relation to the impressive catalogue of original creation that has remained in the score.
Not even Guillermo Uribe Holguín (Bogotá, 1880-1971), one of the leading figures of academic music in Colombia, has escaped neglect. His importance, as Ellie Anne Duque warns us, "does not lie in the legacy of his musical work, since it is rarely heard and has not been the subject of valuable recordings, but in the importance of his actions at the institutional level. Without detracting from this last aspect, a sad axiom emerges from Duque's diagnosis: without records the creative work of our composers is condemned to oblivion.

The case of Uribe Holguín is regrettable because a large part of his prolific work - which includes symphonies, religious music, symphonic poems, orchestral concerts for soloists, incidental music, opera, piano music, songs, choral works and an enormous production of chamber music - remains unpublished. In his monographic article "Guillermo Uribe Holguín", published in 1970 by the Revista de la Universidad Nacional, Hernando Caro Mendoza, referring to the situation, underlines: "When all countries are concerned about the dissemination of their values, such a circumstance is at least unusual. It is to be expected that our cultural entities will abandon, albeit belatedly, this disdain towards the first Colombian composer and undertake the task of editing and disseminating an artistic production that honours the country and the hemisphere".

Decades later, Mendoza's claim is still unresolved, except for the notable exceptions of Música Sinfónica de Colombia Vol. 1 and Homenaje a Olav Roots -two records published between 2011 and 2014 by Radio Nacional de Colombia which contain some works by Holguín that used to rest in the archives of the Fonoteca de Señal Memoria-, a trio for violin, cello and piano included in the Legados collection. Chamber Music (2013) from the National University of Colombia and three individual pieces published in the A.C.M.E. compilations.

Recently the Argentinean label Acqua Records released a recording dedicated to Latin American music for violin and piano. It contains the Sonata No.1 (Op.7) that Uribe Holguín wrote in 1909. Conceived, coordinated and supervised by Gabriel Castagna -the famous Buenos Aires orchestra conductor-, this recording also presents works by composers Alberto Williams (Buenos Aires, 1862- 1952) and Enrique Soro (Chile, 1884- 1954). Regarding the reasons that motivated him to undertake the project, Castagna is categorical and succinct: "Due to their high quality, these three sonatas, although almost unknown to the general public, could be included in the universal repertoire within the short list that makes up the best works of the genre". Exaggerated optimism? Not at all. I wish this genuine devotion were more common in our paymasters.

Premiered at the age of 21 during his study season in Europe, the first of seven sonatas for violin and piano signified for Guillermo Uribe Holguín his triumph by acclamation over Vicent D'Indy, who was his mentor at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. Noble and balanced, in the words of Hernando Caro Mendoza, this early creation by the composer from Bogota oozes elements of late Romanticism and Impressionism, styles that permeate his abundant chamber music.

There is a previous version included in the tribute album to Olav Roots, performed by him in Estonia with Luis Biava. It happens that the recording was of restricted commercial circulation. That's why we celebrate - not without some embarrassing sentiment - that Acqua Records is making this sonata, which in the hands of American violinist Madalyn Parnas and Brazilian pianist Daniel Inamorato sounds lofty and perpetual, available at the click of a button.  It redeems, at least for half an hour, almost a century of indifference.

[eschiss1]

By Alberto Williams I've only heard one or two of his symphonies but would like to hear more; this is intriguing. Thank you.