Performer: Peter Nagy, Leonidas Kavakos
Composer: George Enescu, Maurice Ravel
Audio CD
SPARS Code: DDD
Number of Discs: 1
Format: FLAC (tracks+cue)
Label: ECM Records
Size: 346 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Sonate posthume for Violin and Piano (1897)
02. Impressions d’enfance for Violin and Piano, Op. 28 (1940)
03. Sonata No.3 for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op.25 (dans le caractère populaire roumain) – 1. Moderato malinconico
04. Sonata No.3 for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op.25 (dans le caractère populaire roumain) – 2. Andante sostenuto e misterioso
05. Sonata No.3 for Violin and Piano in A minor, Op.25 (dans le caractère populaire roumain) – 3. Allegro con brio, ma non troppo mosso
06. Tzigane – Rapsodie de concert for Violin and Piano (1924)
# Sonata for violin & piano No. 1 in A minor (“Posthumous”)
Composed by Maurice Ravel
with Peter Nagy, Leonidas Kavakos
# Impressions d’enfance, for violin & piano in D major, Op. 28
Composed by George Enescu
with Peter Nagy, Leonidas Kavakos
# Sonata for violin & piano No. 3 in A minor (“dans le caractere populaire roumain”), Op. 25
Composed by George Enescu
with Peter Nagy, Leonidas Kavakos
# Tzigane, rhapsodie de concert, for violin & piano (or orchestra)
Composed by Maurice Ravel
with Peter Nagy, Leonidas Kavakos
Recommended Without Reservation
This recording has given me more pleasure than just about anything I’ve heard in the last half year. The performances are superb, the unique repertoire makes an indelible impression. And it is engineered to demonstration-level standards. You won’t believe the variety of colors and gestures these two musicians coax out of their instruments, individually and collectively. It is obvious that they have a deep rapport with each other and a strong commitment to this music.
Although the Ravel selections are handled with aplomb, for me it’s really the works by George Enescu (1881-1955) that form the heart of this album. Listen once to his Sonata No. 3 “dans le caractere populaire roumain” and you’ll never get it out of your head. It’s Romanian folk music from the far hills, as remembered and interpreted by a master musician who could see it both from “within” and “without” — Enescu makes it feel both familiar and utterly mysterious. The Impressions of Childhood are equally complex, sophisticated yet charming. That was one clear-eyed child: there’s not an ounce of sentimentality in these memories of birds singing, a night storm, the little stream “at the bottom of the garden.” A wonderful CD.
excellent post! thanks!