Search - Richter, Kagan :: Sviatoslav Richter, Volume 10: Haydn: Piano Sontata No. 39 / Brahms: Violin Sonata No. 1 / Shostakovich: Violin Sonata, Op. 134

Admirable performances!

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 09/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Richter's most outstanding feature was the extraordinary range, depth and full commitment of his repertoire, no matter what he performed, his executions are provided of total dynamism and solemn brightness without lack of expression, a powerful fingering, eloquent tune and faultless phrasing.



This album presents us the remarkable Soviet violinist Oleg Kagan, one of the most prominent soloists of his generation, not enough known in the West, but thanks to the notable efforts of labels as Olympia or Russian disc, we may appreciate the tonal range and warmth expressiveness of this master.



Brahms Sonata is played with faster tempo than usual but after the first minute you realize why the reason is. Loaded of noblesse and sheer lyricism this performance is one of the most interesting available records in the market. Kagan never incurs in the well known tendency to play with excess of vibrato, so the melody flows organically with much more naturalness, charm and virile sumptuousness.



Shostakovich's Sonata Op. 134 is played with robust and elegiac limpidness, austerity but filled of that bitter élan and mercurial éclat. Both players ensoul the score until unpredictable limits., giving so a round assertion of the work as few times I have ever listened.



Recommended. without restrictions.

"