Search - Prokofiev, Debussy, Janacek :: Sonata for Violin & Piano

Another out-of-print gem of some underrated works

John Grabowski | USA | 07/23/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I must admit I first noticed this album because of the eye-candy: a picture of cool, pouty Viktoria Mullova in a white camisole and tight leather jeans. (There's also a picture on the opposite side of her partner, the superb pianist Piotr Anderszewski. At least, I believe there is. Honestly, my eyes rarely make it over that far.) But I wouldn't have bought the album if the goods weren't delivered inside, and they are. Here are three great sonatas, and only the Prokofiev comes off a little disappointing, and only the first two movements at that, where there's neither enough dark energy nor steely edge. (Hear Richter/Oistrakh for a masterful reading of this sonata--unfortunately, any recording by the two of them that you can find will be in vastly inferior sound.) And even here, in the Prokofiev's second movement the counter-subject has a haunting quality that's quite compelling. The rest of the disc is superb too: the Debussy and Janacek sonatas have never quite become staples of the concerthall, but they are great pieces of salon music that deserve a larger place than they occupy in the repertoire. Both musicians here play with great sensitivity, if occasionally a bit too cautiously. (I'd like to hear them in live concert performances of these works. I know from experience Anderszewski takes more chances live than he does in the studio.) Still, there is a clarity and transparency here that does these works a great service. These works are bursting with colors, and the soloists here do a great job bringing them out. And in passages in the Prokofiev third movement and the Debussy second movement, there are moments that sound delightfully eerie and otherworldly. At the same time, the second movement of the Janacek is so down-to-earth and romantic that it's hard to believe the same musicians are playing the two works. The sound, typically per Philips, is excellent and very reallistic without spotlighting the instruments. This is a great recital program of works that are largely off the beaten path, though hardly avant-garde or obscure. Pity this CD is out of print. Shop around for it. Just look for Vicki in those leather pants..."