CLASSICAL STARS MULLOVA & LABEQUE IN A SPLENDID 'PERIOD-JUMP
RBSProds | Deep in the heart of Texas | 08/19/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Five OUTSTANDING Stars!! These are splendid, elegant, and sometimes blazing performances of four classical violin/piano masterpieces by the prodigiously talented Russian-born violinist Viktoria Mullova & French-born master pianist Katia Labeque of "the Labeque sisters" piano duo fame, among her other notable musical endeavors. As the CD cover photo indicates, these talented highly individualistic musicians virtually meld into one musical persona for these performances, creating a formidable duo that has played these pieces many times before in public. This celebrated recording is the first documentation of their 'duo excellence' playing the 'period-jumping' singular music of Igor Stravinsky, Franz Schubert, Maurice Ravel, and Clara Wieck Schumann for those of us not fortunate enough to have seen them perform publicly.
The 'Pieces De Resistance, the best of the best, begin with the elegant "Allegro Moderato" and the fiery non-stop "Tarantella" movement of Stravinsky's "Suite Italienne" which is beautifully played by Mullova and Labeque in this work that continued Stravinsky's elaboration on the Commedia delArte "Pulcinella" character, originally in his famous opera. Schubert's "Fantasie" gets a very elegant reading with the duo showing their great familiarity with this marvelous piece: this version is played with 'relaxed intensity' and splendid pacing and has become my favorite version. In their blazing interpretation of Ravel's wonderful expression of the 20th Century, the "Sonata for Violin and Piano in G Major", the "Perpetuum mobile" movement captures the frenetic pace of the century and surprisingly near the end we hear echos of "Rhapsody in Blue" by George Gershwin, a close friend whom Ravel greatly admired. "The Blues" movement is another great expression of Ravel's desire to use some of the popular music forms of the times and Mullova is marvelous in her soulful arco passages and her pizzicato cadences against Labeque's declarative bluesy phrases. And finally a stupendous, very emotional reading of Clara Schumann's "Romanze for Violin and Piano", especially the mid-performance low note crescendo of Mullova's violin, which closes out the recital. In all, a totally enjoyable vituoso recital by this wonderfully empathetic musical duo and it deserves My Highest Recommendation. Five ENJOYABLE Stars!!
(This review is based on an iTunes download. BTW, Labeque's name is misspelled in the product hyperlink.)"
Step aside, let the ladies drive...
John Grabowski | USA | 03/12/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"You do get the impression when you look at this CD that that's what they said: two women play, a rarely-heard woman composer is included. A woman writes the liner notes (excellent ones they are), a woman did the art direction for the CD, and a woman owns the record label. You wonder why Oprah isn't plugging this the way she did Simone Dinnerstein.
But Dinnerstein, to me, was about as exciting as sleeping gas. This recital is magnetic, on the other hand. I can imagine the conversation:
KLB: They want us to record some Mozart sonatas.
VM: Did they really say that?
KLB: No, they actually said they wanted us to record Moe-zart sonatas.
VM: That's what I figured.
KLB: [Bleep] it, let's do our own album, and load it with pieces we love that aren't recorded enough, if at all.
VM: Let's cross centuries and styles, but have the music link from piece to piece tonally, so what we play seems like one complete coherent thought that spans the gamut.
KLB: I agree. I hate albums that feel obligated to pair Ravel with Debussy, or the Schumann piano concerto with the Grieg Piano Concerto, or Schubert with...Schubert.
VM: You know what I really hate? Brahms symphony albums. The filler piece is ALWAYS the Haydn Variations!!
KLB: You know it, girl.
What we have here is a very intelligently-programmed album of some pieces that may not be as familiar as they should be. They seem to flow into one another with a special logic, one that eschews concerns for time and style but pays attention to mood and tonality. Admittedly I'm not too familiar with these works, so my judgment is a little less sure-footed than usual, but that's only because they are simply not programmed as often as they should be, and that's a shame. The Stravinsky, the most familiar piece, is a delight and spans several styles itself, sort of the album in microcosm. The Ravel is a blast and should be heard more often; the bluesy interlude is unique and a joy. I wish they'd gotten a little more unhinged here, a little more spontaneous and free, but this is still a very enjoyable performance. The Schubert is the real standout work, however. It's unusual for him, strongly atmospheric, almost avant-garde, with a bent towards virtuosity--unusual for him. Don't expect the typical gay song-like character. I agree with Dan Davis in his Amazon editorial review when he says it doesn't contain the mystery and drama in the recordings by Joseph Szigeti and Adolph Busch, and it would not replace them in my collection. However, it's a welcome performance in its own right. The Clara Schumann encore is a wisp that's gone before we're even really sure it's there, a brief coda to this adventurous and original recital. It seems to flow seamlessly from the Ravel.
Admittedly, there are times I'd like to have heard the sparks fly a little more. They can be too cautious, a little too concerned with not messing up instead of taking chances. Still, this is a refreshing album that just goes to show, being it is on the Lebeque sisters' own indie label, what could be accomplished in classical music if the artists had more control and the marketers were tied to chairs with duct tape. Highly recommended, and I hope there's more to come.
"
The Schubert Fantasy is the stand-out in this rather short,
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 04/21/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This impressive CD follows up on several similar recitals made for Philips before Mullova switched to Onyx. As an artist-driven label, Onyx has attracted star talent and offers them good sound as well as greater liberty over what they want to play. I'm not sure that Mullova puts her best foot forward in Stravinsky's witty Suite Italienne, adapted from Pulcinella. When set for cello, the transcription has a droll mournfulness missing form the violin version. Also, Mullova's talent, deep as it is, doesn't extend to humor, and tis is a rather plain-faced reading, not to mention that the music itself is slight.
The next work, however, is an undoubted masterpiece, and she is quite impressive. Schubert's late Fantasy in CD doesn't call upon any Paganini-like fireworks; it's often so simple that it can be played by a reasonably adept student. But its mood is enigmatic and requires all the subtlety a musician can bring to it. Especially lovely is the third movement, the longest, which is a set of variations on the haunting song "Sei mir gegrusst," expressive of joy and melancholy finely merging. Of the three versions that I know (the other two being Gideon Kremer's and Isaac Stern's), this one is the most mysterious and nuanced. Mullova's partner, Katia Labque of the duo piano sisters, plays with surprising finesse. The Fantasy seems to arrive from another world, with the violin keening a long melody while the piano part ripples with rewnikia. The simplicity of the writing calls forth from Mullova an inward-looking reading that I found captivating.
Very early in her career Mullova recorded the Ravel Sonata in G, which must be a favorite. It's a piquant work that hides a soul beneath apparent frivolity, as was Ravel's wont. The first movement is like a shimmering moto perpetuo with a second theme close to Debussy. the second movement, marked 'Blues,' begins with doublte-stopped pizzicatos and moves into a Stephane Grappelli-like jazz mode out of a cabaret; the piano imitates a tom-tom drum but soon finds its own angular jazz dance. The third movement is actually marked Perpetuum mobile and sounds like Flight of the Bumblebee taking a detour into Paris. The program ends with a two-minute Romanze by Clara Schumann that is a Rosetti lyric set to music; more a page from a remembrance book than anything substantial.
At just over 52 min., this isn't a generous offering, and the only two works I cared about were the Schubert and the Ravel. Even so, Mullova's is effortless in its accomplished artistry."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1