Complete Sonatas For Piano & Violin by Ludwig van Beethove Performer:
Alexander Melnikov (Piano),
Isabelle Faust (Violin)
Period: Classical Release Date: 09/08/2009 Format: FLAC
The musical sleight of hand
used by these expert players to focus the very different character of
each sonata is in itself cause for wonder. Though quite different as
musical personalities – Faust, subtle and quietly formal; Melnikov, a
master of the meaningful pause – the combination of the two fires a
laser between the staves. Fleetness and elegance are very much to the
fore in the Op 12 set, beauty of tone, too, especially in the First
Sonata.
The Spring Sonata is lyrical and playful, the opening as easy-going as
anyone could wish, the Adagio like a song without words, Faust’s tone
warming but relatively restrained, Melnikov a discreetly
supportive partner. The more dramatic sonatas are muscular yet very
light on their feet. The A minor, Op 23, is Sturm und Drang with a
vengeance, and both players make a point of (metaphorically) pursing
their lips: in fact, you sometimes feel that what isn’t being expressed
outweighs what is. Of the three Op 30 sonatas, the kernel is the C
minor, where Faust and Melnikov strike a perfect balance between fire
and ice. Their little "freedoms” are very telling but although the
shaping of phrases is obviously the product of considered teamwork, you
never feel that they’re playing safe. Cautious Beethoven makes for a
very passionless partnership, and there’s no sense of that.
For many, the success of any recorded Beethoven violin sonata cycle
rests on the effectiveness of its Kreutzer, and again Faust and Melnikov
make the grade with oodles of drama and well judged tempi: nothing is
too fast for comfort or too slow to get airborne. The Kreutzer shares
its silver-disc space with a documentary DVD which is both musically
revealing and entertaining – but I shan’t let on and spoil the fun!
Airy, well balanced sound provides a realistic aural context for what
may well prove the leading Beethoven violin sonata cycle of the decade,
certainly one that respectfully challenges conventions so that even
collectors wedded to their Kreisler, Grumiaux, Heifetz, Oistrakh, Kremer
and Szigeti cycles stand to learn and be musically stimulated. A
marvellous set.
-- Rob Cowan, Gramophone
This is
as fine a set of Beethoven violin sonatas as has ever been recorded. It
has everything: excitement, character, explosive contrasts, subtle
shadings, and the long cantabile line that Beethoven demands — and it's
superbly recorded as well. Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov form a
true partnership, playing off of each other and imbuing the music with a
genuine, conversational quality that's very fetching. There are so many
examples of this, but perhaps the most winning is the give-and-take
opening of Op. 30 No. 3, in which the players seem to surprise each
other with each rhythmic exchange. Indeed, keenly sprung rhythms give
this set much of its special distinction, whether in the dazzling first
movement of the "Kreutzer" sonata, or the lilting ländler in the scherzo
of Op. 96.
Lyricism and an effortless, singing cantabile also permeate the music,
and these interpretations. The opening of the "Spring" sonata seldom has
sounded so fresh and natural, while the finale of Op. 12 No. 2 is truly
"piacevole" without ever turning "bore-vole". Five of these 10 sonatas
have slow movements that are marked either "espressivo" or "cantabile",
and that's exactly what Faust and Melnikov offer, without ever turning
sticky or drowning the music in excessive sentiment. There's a clarity
to the phrasing here, a sharpness of focus and an understanding of
Beethoven's large musical paragraphs that's very much part of the
expressive point. The bottom line: this is a great set, and if you love
these works, you must hear it.
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