(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Summer is the time for music festivals, especially chamber music festivals. In Norway we now have at least three major festivals – in Risør, Stavanger and Oslo. In addition, there are smaller festivals that have appeared in recent years, including the Lofoten International Chamber Music Festival. Today begins the Oslo Chamber Music Festival, which lasts until 21 August.
Talent Scouts Argerich
If you do not go to these festivals, but still want to experience the interaction that arises in the special festival atmosphere, you can go for the purchase of a new CD that has come on EMI these days. It contains recordings from the Lugano festival in Switzerland over the last three years. At this festival, one of the world's greatest musicians, the Argentine pianist Martha Argerich, has started her own "Martha Argerich project", which aims to bring out new talents.
The new release is a triple CD, where the first CD is devoted to Russian music. It starts with two piano transcriptions for two piano works by the orchestra, the first by Prokofjeff's first symphony, the second by Tchaikovsky nutcracker-suite. They are brilliantly performed by Argerich and Yefim Bronfman and by Argerich and Mirabela Dina respectively. The next work is Shostakovich's second trio for piano violin and cello, a kind of death mass for a close friend. The performance is at a level that can be compared to any other, which is also expected when Argerich's fellow musicians here are violinist Maxim Vengerov and cellist Gautier Capuçon.
Brahms' third sonata for violin and piano initiates the second CD. Here is also Vengerov on violin, and he is accompanied by Lilya Zilberstein on piano. They play beautifully and romantically, though with a bit of exaggerated rubato, which tends to make Brahms' structure, with its many syncopated phrases, harder to grasp. Then follows Schubert's lyrical first trio for piano, violin and cello, performed by Bronfman in collaboration with the brothers Renaud and Gautier Capuçon on violin and cello, respectively.
In the following piano quintet by Schumann, performed by Argerich, Dora Schwartzberg, Renaud Capuçon, Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg and Mark Dobrinsky, there is a bit of rough play and impure tones, but in this case it is only as if it were on a live recording of a passionate interpretation. Only in Schumann's first sonata for violin and piano does the technical and violinist Géza Hosszu-Legocky play it with Argerich. But this, too, is a quivering and passionate interpretation, and it saves it.
The latest work is Dvorak's second piano quartet, played by the Capuçon brothers and the brethren Lida Chen with Walter Delahunt on piano. It is good to hear this work, which is not so often performed, as it contains a lot of beautiful music and has a simple, rustic charm.
This release is consistently characterized by a high mood and a lot of passion, and it is far from indifferent interpretations one gets. I highly recommend it, especially if you can't get to any festivals.
Rare pearls
If you haven't had enough chamber music with the Lugano release, you can go for another excellent double CD that came from EMI recently. Benjamin Britten's three string quartets for some reason are not recorded very often. The more gratifying it is, therefore, that when a new recording comes to them, it is of very high quality.
The first quartet was written in 1941, when the composer was 28 years old. The second quartet came in 1945, and was written to mark the 250th anniversary of Henry Purcell's death. The last movement in this quartet is one chacony, which is a tribute to Purcell. The last quartet was written the same year that Britten died, in 1975, and is the most serious and meditative. It contains quotes from the composer's opera Death in Venice. The CD ends with Three divertimenti for the 1936 string quartet.
This new release is the Belcea quartet. Not for nothing has this ensemble received very good mention for most of their work, and they are once again proving their strengths. Technically, they have perfect intonation and create a uniform and unified sound image. They convey in an excellent way the various mood shifts in this music, from the joking and parodic to the caring and sad. Highly recommended!
