Search - Bela Bartok, Jeno Jando :: Bartók: Violin Sonatas Nos. 1 & 2; Contrasts

Worthwhile addition to a Bartok chamber music collection

gnox | Manitoulin Island, Canada | 10/04/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Bartok's two sonatas for violin and piano have never seemed to me quite up to the standard of his quartets and the solo violin sonata. But that's about the highest standard there is, so never mind -- the performances here are quite good. The sound is ideal in Contrasts, but in the two sonatas the balance is off: Gyorgy Pauk's violin is somewhat dominated by the piano (in terms of volume, that is, certainly not the quality of the playing). This could have been fixable by adjusting the balance if the engineers had split the two instruments more between the two channels, but unfortunately they opted for a more realistic representation of the sound, as if the two were together on stage and sharing the microphone. In this case I could wish that realism had been compromised. Anyway, this is well worth the price and this rendition of Contrasts is as good as any."

Fine performances

G.D. | Norway | 05/11/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Bartok's violin sonatas are, as so many of his mature works, endlessly fascinating. They are not Bartok at his most immediately approachable - in particular, perhaps, the first sonata - resembling in that respect the piano sonata, say, but there is no doubt that these are masterpieces, nor that repeated listening will reveal them as such to those who are willing to give them some concentration. Perhaps the more aggressive first sonata is the strongest of them, but the more rhapsodic, slightly gentler second sonata is still a formidable work.



Gyorgy Pauk plays with a warm tone and unwavering ability to hold the line, thoughtful and secure. He is followed by fine, straightforward and unfussy playing from Jeno Jando. If one were in a really critical mood, one might perhaps point out a certain lack of aggression in this performances, even though there is power and fire aplenty. Perhaps, but on the other hand the night music of the Adagio of the first sonata, for example, is truly excellently done.



The coupling is a more than decent performance of Contrasts, and although I have to agree with the other reviewer that the recording is a little unbalanced, I didn't find it sufficiently objectionable to ruin the experience. I am in the end not sure that Pauk and Jando will outrank, say Tetzlaff and Andsnes, but this is a truly competitive release and an excellent introduction to these marvelous works at a very reasonable price."