Search - Hindemith, Britten, Kashkashian :: Lachrymae

Cool Penderecki

josh1000 | West Hollywood, CA USA | 03/29/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Kim Kashkashian is, I think, the best interpreter of contemporary viola music, and her performance of the Penderecki Viola Concerto has all of the ferocious, almost bizarre intensity that I have come to eagerly anticipate in her performances. The piece itself is one long movement that lasts over 20 minutes, and, while it undergoes a variety of tempo and textural transformations-- accentuated by Kashkashian, who takes generous liberties with the rhythms-- the mood stays almost uniformly dark and alienated. Like many modern pieces (it was written in 1983), there are plenty of odd effects and a full helping of orchestral exotica-- including practically every percussion instrument you can imagine. I am very fond of the piece, but it's not for everybody. Re: the other pieces on the disc, Britten's "Lachrymae" is strong, but somehow, Kashkashian's performance of Hindemith's "Trauermusik" doesn't stay imprinted in my memory. This is somehwat surprising, since her recording of the complete Hindemith sonatas is utterly brilliant. "Trauermusik" is very much in a Late Romantic idiom-- much more old-fashioned than Hindemith's other viola music-- and, while Kashkashian has put out good recordings of Schumann and Brahms, it seems her preferred cup of tea is edgy modern repertoire."