Famous in the USSR and used to playing to huge audiences
there, the Bekova Sisters made a stir when they came to UK a decade
or so ago. It was sad that they attracted only a few to the Purcell
Room for an adventurous programme; the sort which attracts a critic
and deters the punters. They are very accomplished players, individually
and as a trio, the latter format only for their encore, a delectable
arrangement of a Waltz from Prokofiev's War & Peace.
Rachmaninov's sonata for cello and piano should really
be described as for piano and cello (as too the Beethoven Op 5 sonatas).
Alfia Bekova's tone is a little on the small side for complete
projection of this major statement, but her sister always ensured that
she remained audible. There was a similar problem with Contrasts,
the clarinet too dominant most of the time; otherwise, neatly played
and very enjoyable provided you kept your eyes on the violinist to augment
what reached the ears; it is important in preparation to have a neutral
extra person to advise on balance difficulties. Catch is a nice
quartet piece which rings the changes on various possible combinations
of the four instruments, but as once before I found myself unconvinced
by the walking-around the hall antics required of the clarinettist;
it goes just as well invisibly on CD! (EMI
7243 5 69699 2 6)
Peter Grahame Woolf
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