MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2023
Approaching 60,000 reviews
and more.. 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


Support us financially by purchasing this from

Sergei PROKOFIEV (1891-1953)
Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, op. 80 (1938) [27:57]
Violin Sonata No. 2 in D major, op. 94a (1943) [23:30]
Alexandra Conunova (violin)
Michail Lifits (piano)
rec. Bremen, Germany, 2017
APARTÉ AP171 [51:29]

These excellent duo sonatas find Prokofiev at the height of his considerable powers.
The First dates from 1938, just a few years after the composer returned permanently to his homeland, while the Second is from 1943, when, along with other artists, he was evacuated away from the theatre of war to Perm in the Urals.

The Sonata No. 1 derived from an unusual intention: ‘The idea of writing a piece for violin and keyboard came to me after I heard the D major Sonata of Handel.’ For this reason there is a baroque design of four movements - slow, fast, slow, fast - while in the early stages the violin is allocated Bachian arpeggios that the dedicatee, David Oistrakh, described as resembling 'the wind in a graveyard'. This particularly atmospheric image is beautifully conveyed by Alexandra Conunova, while the recorded sound supports the subtlety of her playing.

The second movement could hardly be more different, as the unequivocal description Allegro brusco tells us. Now Conunova and her pianist Michail Lifits adopt the required aggressive tone, which is offset in due course by the lyrical lines of the third movement Andante. The finale, by contrast, is a veritable tour-de-force, and the performance is notable for its rhythmic intensity.

The Sonata No. 2 was also associated with Oistrakh, who suggested to the composer that he should adapt his new Flute Sonata for the violin. This provenance indicated music, whose personality is rather different from its predecessor, and like the contemporary Quartet No. 2, the Sonata incorporates elements of folksong. Prokofiev said: 'I wanted to write a sonata in delicate, fluid classical style.'

The essentially flowing nature of the musical inspiration is well conveyed by these artists, recalling Oistrakh's observation that the music was transcribed from the flute to the violin 'with speed and efficiency'. Melodic invention is combined with rhythmic momentum, and this characteristic brings out the best in the partnership of Conunova and Lifits.

The sonatas are presented in a nicely designed folder, with full notes that are neatly presented. If there is a caveat it is an important one: unlike the majority of its competitors, this issue offers rather less music. For example, in their equally successful and award-winning performances Alina Iragimova and Steven Osborne (Hyperion CDA67515) offer the bonus of the Five Melodies, Opus 35b, fifteen additional minutes of music.

Terry Barfoot
 



Advertising on
Musicweb


Donate and keep us afloat

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical
All Naxos 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