This is a lovely, well-programmed recital, inspired by Proust and that writer’s “unprecedented ability to express in words the psychological effects of music on the heart and soul.” Hence the choice of composers Proust knew and loved. This is certainly not the first disc to be so inspired: Steven Isserlis and Connie Shih offered a disc entitled Proust’s Salon on BIS, released in 2021 and reviewed in Fanfare 45:2.

Proust was present at many of Ysaÿe’s performances, and so the inclusion of the lovely Poème élégiaque is perfect, as is the decision to follow it immediately with the Franck Sonata, which underlined the similarities in harmonic language. The Ysaÿe, written 1892–93, is a beautiful, evocative piece that asks the violinist to tune the G-string down a tone, taking it almost into viola territory and certainly enhancing the lower end’s huskiness. The original version of this piece is that heard here.

Miriam Davis, who studied with Philippe Graffin, has a sweet tone and a sure sense of line. She is joined by her regular partner since 2019, Michal Bulychev-Okser, and the two do indeed show great rapport. The piano part of the Ysaÿe hints at the difficulties of the Franck, and Bulychev-Okser in turn hints that it will be no problem for him. The reference recording in modern times of this piece is Alina Ibragimova and Cédric Tiberghien on Hyperion (reviewed Fanfare 42:5); I find Davis’s more throaty, full-bodied approach more convincing, for all of Ibragimova’s fervent playing in the faster moments.

The Franck Violin Sonata is one of the great violin sonatas (and was a wedding gift for Ysaÿe, underlining its appropriate placement here). The recording supports the piano well in this piece; Bulychev-Okser’s fine legato and his pearly treble are both well reproduced. The players refuse to languish unnecessarily, a vital component of this performance’s success, yet they conspire to create the perfect ambience. Few pianists manage the second movement as well as Bulychev-Okser, and he rivals Alexander Zakin in the classic Stern/Zakin account originally issued on CBS (coupled with the Debussy Violin Sonata). Here in Davis and Bulychev-Okser’s hands, the music bends lithely with the wind but never loses direction. Davis’s upper range is nicely sweet, too. The two musicians explore the depth of the “Recitativo-Fantasia”; the music is freely expressive and, more than anything, warm. The finale is perfectly paced, absolutely Andante poco mosso as Franck asks. This is an exciting experience, and a refreshing one, lighter than many and all the better for it.

Debussy’s final work, the Violin Sonata, is elusive and magical. In an inserted quote about the piece in the booklet, Davis suggests the piece is linked to the composer’s love of cats, and that it contains “unmistakably feline characteristics in its phrase shapes, languid transitions between notes, sudden variations of mood indolent sensuality, playfulness….” This is a lovely idea, but the point is the performance, full of half-lights and moments of illumination. It takes real maturity and years of study to understand this music, and this pair seems to have mastered it. The capricious gestures of the “Intermède” and the glistenings of the finale are superbly done. If you require the late sonatas together, though, go for the Harmonia Mundi set that includes a fine performance of the Violin Sonata by Isabelle Fauset and Alexander Melnikov.

Finally, there comes Chausson’s Poème, written in response to a request from Ysaÿe. At nearly a quarter of an hour this is no mere makeweight or encore, but a full-fledged statement. Davis’s violin sings beautifully while delivering one-instrument counterpoint. Teasing at times, her cadenza passage shines, itself a poem from the heart within a Poème. There are various versions of this piece (for violin/orchestra and violin/string quartet/piano), but Bulychev-Okser’s main achievement is to convince the listener that, at least while in progress, the violin and piano-only option is the one to go for. Beautifully varied, expressive but again without distension, this is simply wonderful.

This is a lovely disc: a wonderful conception, beautifully realized. Davis and Bulychev-Okser persuade the listener fully that their approach of carefully considered, nonindulgent interpretation is absolutely the right way in this music. Recommended.