Live in Japan: Chopin, Franck, Debussy

What a recital this must have been! Individually, both Maisky and Argerich are among the best living players of their instruments: Maisky is a big-toned, full-blooded cellist and Argerich is a recklessly impulsive pianist blessed with a flawless technique. Together, Maisky and Argerich challenge each other to even higher heights, with Maisky singing like an operatic baritone and Argerich taking ever dangerous risks. 

And in this concert, Maisky and Argerich are at the top of their form, delivering performances that are, with one exception, among the most compelling ever recorded. Their Chopin sonata is far more passionate than any ever recorded: Maisky's playing makes the venerable Rostropovich performance seem restrained and Argerich's playing makes the piano part sound like the dazzling music it is, rather than a demure accompaniment to the cellist.

Their Franck sonata has more ardent sensuality than the Act I Love duet from La bohème, with Maisky making a most convincing case for the work as a cello sonata. Their encore, Chopin's youthful Polonaise brilliante, succeeds in making the piece sound like more than a virtuoso trifle. Only Maisky's overly Romantic interpretation of Debussy's cello sonata is less convincing and, even there, the brilliance of Argerich's performance cannot be denied. This is as exciting a cello/piano recital as has ever been recorded. --allmusic.com

French Impressions

Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk

“Denk identifies the use of colour as being key to the Frenchness of these pieces, and Joshua Bell is certainly not short of timbral variety in this exquisitely played recital. It even beats his compelling Franck disc of 20 years ago. The playing is more relaxed and Bell's delicious use of portamento is achingly beautiful. He is sensitively accompanied by Denk, who has a wonderfully deft touch, captured in excellent sound.” --BBC Music Magazine, March 2012 ***** 

“Joshua Bell plays with fire and finesse, with Denk a powerful ally. Franck's dark-light violin sonata, mysterious, ardent and far more than the sum of its parts when played as majestically as here, forms the centrepiece of this seriously beguiling disc. A first essential purchase for 2012.” --The Observer, January 2012

“Joshua Bell and Jeremy Denk, a notably well-matched team, give idiomatic performances of these three sonatas...They're especially adept in maintaing the flow of the musical narrative and, with it, the music's emotional flux....Bell is especially impressive in the moto perpetuo finale - not only thrillingly precise but full of colour and variety, too” --Gramophone Magazine, March 2012

“You’d be hard pressed to find a version of Ravel’s Sonata which offers as much fun as this one; you can visualise Joshua Bell winking as he negotiates the second movement’s insouciant smears and pizzicato notes...This is a great performance [of the Franck], especially in the steady Allegretto of the last movement...Sony’s sound is immaculate.” --The Arts Desk, 4th February 2012

Franck, Widor, Strauss: Works for Flute

No doubt a French cousin of Elmer, Emmanuel Pahud is always hunting that crazy transcription. What else is a flutist to do? There is only so much flute repertoire and one is, after all, obliged to play something composed after the death of Mozart. So like so many other loony tune flutists, Pahud has gone out hunting transcriptions of works originally conceived and executed for other instruments to add a little late Romantic meat to a diet otherwise consisting of Baroque bonbons and High Classical tonic water.

And what has Emmanuel Pahud bagged here? A warm-hearted transcription of Richard Strauss' early Sonata for violin and piano, a sweet-hearted transcription of César Franck's middling Sonata for violin and piano, and, lo and behold, a work originally conceived and executed for the flute, Charles-Marie Widor's ineffable Suite for flute and piano. As always, Pahud plays with a dazzling technique and a warm tone ideally suited for the red meat of Strauss, Franck, and Widor. With the able accompaniment of Eric le Sage, Pahud turns in a recording that is done to perfection. EMI's digital sound is so intimate you will swear that Pahud is breathing into your ear, a not altogether pleasant experience. --allmusic.com

Franck & Shostakovich: Violin Sonatas

“The Khachatryans, brother and sister, make a formidable team. The recording is exceptional, too: finely balanced and with a wide dynamic range. The sound is so beautiful that one wondered, at moments during the Shostakovich, whether a harsher, more direct sonority might paint this dark work's bleak sound-picture more accurately, though it must be admitted that this duo is able to give the maximum intensity and force (as they clearly do in the ferocious second movement) while maintaining top tonal quality.

At all events, this Shostakovich performance is extremely impressive, the technical difficulties seemingly of no account, and the vast design of the final passacaglia compellingly sustained with playing that ranges from precise and delicate, through mysterious and poetic, to the highest degree of force and energy (in the two solo variations).

There's outstanding playing, too, in the Franck, especially in the first movement, where the tonal range of Sergey Khachatryan's lyrical phrases gives them a powerful emotional pull. However, the performance as a whole doesn't quite fulfil this initial promise. The second movement lacks the passionate drive that some bring to it: it's a mistake, too, to allow the dynamic level to drop at the appearance of the soaring second theme – Franck only marks a diminuendo some bars later.
In the following Recitativo-Fantasia, the composer again provides many clues; by virtually ignoring his poco accels and molto lentos the Khachatryans miss a crucial improvisatory element. It remains an enjoyable performance, however – very accomplished sonata-playing.” --Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

Franck: Symphonic Variations & Piano Pieces

“The Prélude, Choral et Fugue has long been among the keyboard repertoire’s toughest challenges, and here its sturdy counterpoint, elaborate flourishes, ripe textures and serpentine harmonies are conveyed with impressive panache and interpretative seriousness by the young French pianist Bertrand Chamayou.” --The Telegraph, 21st May 2010 *****

“This is an outstanding release in every way. In fact, I cannot recall another that included all Franck's masterpieces for the piano on a single disc and in which, moreover, every performance goes straight to the top of recommended recordings.” --Gramophone Magazine, September 2010

“This is an intriguing collection of César Franck's five works involving a solo piano...[Chamayou] demonstrates that both the solo-piano Prélude, Aria et Final and Les Djinns, a compact symphonic poem for piano and orchestra based upon a Victor Hugo poem, deserve to be heard far more frequently.” The Guardian, 6th May 2010 **

MP3 320 · 162 MB