COMPOSERS: Prokofiev
LABELS: Erato
WORKS: Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor; Violin Sonata No. 2 in D; Five Melodies, Op. 35b
PERFORMER: Vadim Repin (violin); Boris Berezovsky (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 0630-10698-2
These are formidable accounts of the violin sonatas and Melodies and, were it not for DG’s identical coupling from Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich, this amazing disc would warrant unreserved commendation. Even so, only in minutiae of dynamic shading and rhythmic pointing (essential qualities, given Prokofiev’s constant juxtapositions of irony and acerbity) is Repin less viscerally responsive than Kremer. Pianist Boris Berezovsky constantly impresses in his handling of the titanically difficult accompaniments, though one need only hear Argerich to sense just what’s missing in terms of aphoristic insight. But these are passionately assured readings by the young Russians, whose playing is amply and truthfully reproduced by fine Erato engineering. Michael Jameson
Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor; Violin Sonata No. 2 in D; Five Melodies, Op. 35b
These are formidable accounts of the violin sonatas and Melodies and, were it not for DG’s identical coupling from Gidon Kremer and Martha Argerich, this amazing disc would warrant unreserved commendation. Even so, only in minutiae of dynamic shading and rhythmic pointing (essential qualities, given Prokofiev’s constant juxtapositions of irony and acerbity) is Repin less viscerally responsive than Kremer.
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 3:07 pm