MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2024
60,000 reviews
... and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             


Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

Acte Prealable Polish recordings

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

TROUBADISC
Troubadisc Weinberg- TROCD01450

All Troubadisc reviews


FOGHORN Classics

Alexandra-Quartet
Brahms String Quartets

All Foghorn Reviews


All HDTT reviews


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews



all tudor reviews


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW


Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos reviews

Chandos recordings
All Chandos reviews

Hyperion recordings
All Hyperion reviews

Foghorn recordings
All Foghorn reviews

Troubadisc recordings
All Troubadisc reviews



all Bridge reviews


all cpo reviews

Divine Art recordings
Click to see New Releases
Get 10% off using code musicweb10
All Divine Art reviews


All Eloquence reviews

Lyrita recordings
All Lyrita Reviews

 

Wyastone New Releases
Obtain 10% discount

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing

 

 

 

alternatively
CD: AmazonUK AmazonUS

Leonid NIKOLAYEV (1878-1942)
Sonata for violin and piano, Op.11
Sergei PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Sonata for Violin and Piano No.2 in D Major, Op.94
Alfred SCHNITTKE (1934-1998)
Suite (Sonata) in the Old Style, for violin and piano
Chavdar Parashkevov (violin), Natasha Kislenko (piano)
rec. Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall, Fresno, CA, USA, February 2010
CHAVDAR MUSIC [no number given] [60:25]

Experience Classicsonline



While there are many recordings of Prokofiev’s violin sonata and several of Schnittke’s this is the first time I’ve come across the violin sonata by Leonid Nikolayev. He was a professor at the Leningrad Conservatory where his pupils included Shostakovich, Maria Yudina and Vladimir Sofronitsky. Shostakovich regarded him highly, dedicating the Piano Sonata no.2 to his former teacher and speaking warmly of him. The Violin Sonata, written in 1903 is a rewarding work of great beauty. Its opening movement has the main theme introduced at the very outset. This is both dramatic and anxious until the piano calms things down somewhat. This happens on several occasions while the violin seems determined to return to its agitated state each time. The slow movement is quite gorgeous with an achingly heartfelt melancholy tune dominant throughout. The third and final movement is a wonderfully flashy tarantella that belies its Russian origin, the music dancing its way to an exciting conclusion.
 
Prokofiev is one of those composers whose music is immediately recognisable. His second violin sonata is no exception with his typically fascinating tunes refusing to follow the path you expect. Originally written for flute and piano it was David Oistrakh who suggested to Prokofiev that he turn it into a violin sonata. This he did with remarkably little revision. It is difficult now to imagine it as anything else. Rich melodies abound in the first movement while the second is witty in that puckish way for which Prokofiev was famous. The third movement reverts to reflective mode with a bittersweet melody that has the violin trying to reach upwards in an almost imploring way. The finale marked Allegro con brio is happy for the most part but still has introspective overtones.
 
If the name of Alfred Schnittke means ‘difficult’ or ‘ultra modern’ to you then this work will show you another side of his personality. It is, as the title says, in the Old Style and bears none of Schnittke’s famous morbidity. On the contrary, it is exuberant and effervescent and fairly bubbles along. The suite is a reworking of Schnittke’s music from several films. It’s mainly in the neo-classical and baroque styles. The whole work is full of fun and shows Schnittke had another side to his rather morose appearance. It is highly inventive and convincingly ‘classical’. The suite is divided into five ‘movements’ taken from three films. These are entitled Pastorale,Ballet,Minuet,Fugue,Pantomime. It is delightful. The work has seen the piano part successfully transposed for harpsichord, string orchestra and percussion ensemble.
 
Chavdar Parashkevov is a Bulgarian violinist whose virtuosity is in no doubt if this disc is anything to go by. He had the distinction of having his 2005 disc Moto Perpetuo which he recorded with pianist Vessela Gintcheva played aboard the space shuttle Atlantis during its mission to the Hubble telescope! He is currently a member of the Houston Grand Opera and Houston Ballet Orchestras. The disc is from Chavdar Music which is obviously his own creation. Unusually there is no catalogue number or details of timings of the works. His pianist here is Russian Natasha Kislenko who is a member of the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra and a talented and worthy partner.
 
As a disc of violin sonatas this is extremely enjoyable and does great service to the three works and especially in introducing a wider audience to the sonata by Nikolayev.
 
Steve Arloff 


 


EXPLORE MUSICWEB INTERNATIONAL

Making a Donation to MusicWeb

Writing CD reviews for MWI

About MWI
Who we are, where we have come from and how we do it.

Site Map

How to find a review

How to find articles on MusicWeb
Listed in date order

Review Indexes
   By Label
      Select a label and all reviews are listed in Catalogue order
   By Masterwork
            Links from composer names (eg Sibelius) are to resource pages with links to the review indexes for the individual works as well as other resources.

Themed Review pages

Jazz reviews

 

Discographies
   Composer
      Composer surveys
   National
      Unique to MusicWeb -
a comprehensive listing of all LP and CD recordings of given works
.
Prepared by Michael Herman

The Collector’s Guide to Gramophone Company Record Labels 1898 - 1925
Howard Friedman

Book Reviews

Complete Books
We have a number of out of print complete books on-line

Interviews
With Composers, Conductors, Singers, Instumentalists and others
Includes those on the Seen and Heard site

Nostalgia

Nostalgia CD reviews

Records Of The Year
Each reviewer is given the opportunity to select the best of the releases

Monthly Best Buys
Recordings of the Month and Bargains of the Month

Comment
Arthur Butterworth Writes

An occasional column

Phil Scowcroft's Garlands
British Light Music articles

Classical blogs
A listing of Classical Music Blogs external to MusicWeb International

Reviewers Logs
What they have been listening to for pleasure

Announcements

 

Community
Bulletin Board

Give your opinions or seek answers

Reviewers
Past and present

Helpers invited!

Resources
How Did I Miss That?

Currently suspended but there are a lot there with sound clips


Composer Resources

British Composers

British Light Music Composers

Other composers

Film Music (Archive)
Film Music on the Web (Closed in December 2006)

Programme Notes
For concert organizers

External sites
British Music Society
The BBC Proms
Orchestra Sites
Recording Companies & Retailers
Online Music
Agents & Marketing
Publishers
Other links
Newsgroups
Web News sites etc

PotPourri
A pot-pourri of articles

MW Listening Room
MW Office

Advice to Windows Vista users  
Questionnaire    
Site History  
What they say about us
What we say about us!
Where to get help on the Internet
CD orders By Special Request
Graphics archive
Currency Converter
Dictionary
Magazines
Newsfeed  
Web Ring
Translation Service

Rules for potential reviewers :-)
Do Not Go Here!
April Fools






Error processing SSI file