Todd
New member
Well for me at least. Maybe. (Okay, it was a 2005 release, but I cant hear everything.) The disc in question is a live recording of a 1992 recital given by the great Rudolf Firkusny and the great Josef Suk on Supraphon. Things get off to a splendid start with Dvoraks Sonatina for Violin and Piano. While I generally dislike the use of the word idiomatic to describe music making, here it seems appropriate. Both artists sound totally at home playing the music, dashing off the Dvoraks melodic writing with flair and not a little passion. I dont recall hearing this work before, and Messrs Firkusny and Suk make me wish I had.
Things only get better with what is probably the finest version of Janaceks Violin Sonata that Ive heard. Again, both artists seem totally at home playing the music, and they shed new light on the piece. The first thing one notices is how fast the piece is. The duo bring the piece in at under thirteen minutes. At first glance that seems to promise a fast, fast, fast version that leaves something out. Its more complex than that. While the piece definitely sounds fast at times, it never sounds remotely rushed. Rather, during swift episodes, the duo create immense tension and notable emotional intensity. Theres room for more, though. The playing is the most flexible Ive heard, with abrupt changes in tempi, wide dynamics, and both artists bringing unique insight to their playing. Firkusny is my favorite Janacek pianist, and his long familiarity with the composers work is evident throughout. His phrasing, his accenting, his tonal palette all sound just right. As right is Suks fiddling. His sound is rich, his vibrato at times prominent, and his quieter, more inward playing at just the right times makes the whole thing sound just that much better. The piece is at times haunting, sorrowful, tragic, romantic, and always intensely passionate. It is definitely more involved and moving then, say, Viktoria Mullova and Piotr Anderszewskis technically brilliant but cool take on the work, and more masterly and assured than Jana Vlachova and Frantisek Malys recording. Only Andras Schiff and Yuuko Shiokawa offer a version that is almost as compelling, though for different reasons. Those two artists are more reserved and introspective, except in the searching Adagio. Anyway, this surely forms the heart of the disc.
Or does it? After some Czech music played for a Czech audience, the duo turns to German core rep. First up is Brahms last Violin Sonata. Im generally not wild about Brahms violin sonatas, though this is probably my favorite of the bunch. Furkusny and Suk remind me why. They play in impassioned fashion throughout. It is gripping and one simply cannot divert ones attention for even a moment. It sounds rich and beefy, but never opaque or heavy. Both artists play with notable vigor. Had I not known that Mr Firskusny was an octogenarian at the time, I wouldnt have guessed he was. It is glorious Brahms playing. I think I may even like it more than the version by Messrs Casadesus and Francescatti.
The disc closes with Beethovens Op 96 Violin Sonata in what for me is the relatively weakest performance of the bunch. (That means its merely excellent.) The textures remain light throughout, especially in the first movement, and Firkusnys piano playing is a model of clarity. Theres a generally buoyant feeling, and the whole thing grooves just a bit and moves jauntily along and finds the duo working very well together, with each the very clear equal of the other. (I wonder how often they played together.) It lacks that little extra something that Casadesus and Francescatti bring and Haskil and Grumiaux for that matter but make no mistake, this is chamber music making of the highest order.
To cap it all off, the sound is admirably clear and neutral. Firkusny is stage left, Suk stage right, in what sounds like a not overly-miked recording. Thinking back, I cant really decide if it is my disc of the year so far, what with Jacek Kaspszyks King Roger and Robert Silvermans Beethoven cycle under my belt, but it surely rates as one of the best new discs Ive heard this year. A peach of a disc.
Things only get better with what is probably the finest version of Janaceks Violin Sonata that Ive heard. Again, both artists seem totally at home playing the music, and they shed new light on the piece. The first thing one notices is how fast the piece is. The duo bring the piece in at under thirteen minutes. At first glance that seems to promise a fast, fast, fast version that leaves something out. Its more complex than that. While the piece definitely sounds fast at times, it never sounds remotely rushed. Rather, during swift episodes, the duo create immense tension and notable emotional intensity. Theres room for more, though. The playing is the most flexible Ive heard, with abrupt changes in tempi, wide dynamics, and both artists bringing unique insight to their playing. Firkusny is my favorite Janacek pianist, and his long familiarity with the composers work is evident throughout. His phrasing, his accenting, his tonal palette all sound just right. As right is Suks fiddling. His sound is rich, his vibrato at times prominent, and his quieter, more inward playing at just the right times makes the whole thing sound just that much better. The piece is at times haunting, sorrowful, tragic, romantic, and always intensely passionate. It is definitely more involved and moving then, say, Viktoria Mullova and Piotr Anderszewskis technically brilliant but cool take on the work, and more masterly and assured than Jana Vlachova and Frantisek Malys recording. Only Andras Schiff and Yuuko Shiokawa offer a version that is almost as compelling, though for different reasons. Those two artists are more reserved and introspective, except in the searching Adagio. Anyway, this surely forms the heart of the disc.
Or does it? After some Czech music played for a Czech audience, the duo turns to German core rep. First up is Brahms last Violin Sonata. Im generally not wild about Brahms violin sonatas, though this is probably my favorite of the bunch. Furkusny and Suk remind me why. They play in impassioned fashion throughout. It is gripping and one simply cannot divert ones attention for even a moment. It sounds rich and beefy, but never opaque or heavy. Both artists play with notable vigor. Had I not known that Mr Firskusny was an octogenarian at the time, I wouldnt have guessed he was. It is glorious Brahms playing. I think I may even like it more than the version by Messrs Casadesus and Francescatti.
The disc closes with Beethovens Op 96 Violin Sonata in what for me is the relatively weakest performance of the bunch. (That means its merely excellent.) The textures remain light throughout, especially in the first movement, and Firkusnys piano playing is a model of clarity. Theres a generally buoyant feeling, and the whole thing grooves just a bit and moves jauntily along and finds the duo working very well together, with each the very clear equal of the other. (I wonder how often they played together.) It lacks that little extra something that Casadesus and Francescatti bring and Haskil and Grumiaux for that matter but make no mistake, this is chamber music making of the highest order.
To cap it all off, the sound is admirably clear and neutral. Firkusny is stage left, Suk stage right, in what sounds like a not overly-miked recording. Thinking back, I cant really decide if it is my disc of the year so far, what with Jacek Kaspszyks King Roger and Robert Silvermans Beethoven cycle under my belt, but it surely rates as one of the best new discs Ive heard this year. A peach of a disc.
