Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Sonata no. 3 for violin and piano in D minor, op. 108 (1888) [19:28]
Cesar FRANCK (1822-1890)
Sonata in A major for violin and piano (1886) [26:11]
Patrycja Piekutowska (violin); Anna Miernik (piano)
rec. May, 2014, European Krzysztof Penderecki Centre for Music, Poland.
DDD
DUX 1128 [45:39]
Patrycja Piekutowska is a former student of Tadeusz Gadzina and Igor
Oistrakh. As well as this pair of sonatas by Brahms and Franck, she has
recorded a great deal of music by Polish composers such as Penderecki (review), Bacewicz, Szymanowski and Lutoslawski (review). It is obvious from even such a brief
biographical sketch that she is a considerably-equipped player, something
that is apparent from the first few bars of this recording. So how does this
disc match up to the fierce competition it faces?
The Brahms impresses from the rather introverted opening phrase as a
serious interpretation. Piekutowska's tone production is silvery rather than
warm, and a touch hard at anything above forte on the E string. I found
myself wanting more variation of bow weight than was on offer. She makes up
for these niggles in the slow movement, however, in which she produces a
lush sound from the G string and beautifully clean double-stopping. The
Un poco presto, although full of feeling, is one of Brahms' more
veiled movements, emotionally. I didn't feel that Piekutowska was quite
across the nuances of this music. She launches the finale in an impassioned
style, which I enjoyed, but the bowing in the development section struck me
as a bit hefty. Anna Miernik was mostly restrained in the piano part, but
gives her playing some well-judged weight from time to time. Albeit that the
violin has most of the melodic material, this is a true duo sonata, and
Miernik does much more than just accompanying her partner. She is well
balanced with Piekutowska, the sound being natural and fairly full.
For comparison I played the Hungarian violinist Gyorgy Pauk's recording
with Roger Vignoles. Their recording of the three violin sonatas is part of
the Brilliant Classics box set of the complete Brahms chamber music (review). As with most Brahms sets, they fit all three
on one disc. The length of their partnership comes across in the
conversational style of playing, and the unforced way in which the music
unfolds. Pauk brings more tonal warmth and variety of bow pressure to his
phrasing than Piekutowska, and the sense of discovery is also palpable.
The Cesar Franck sonata I thought more successful; Piekutowska brings more
variety to her bowing and delineates the long phrases with sensitivity. The
tempo is steady throughout, rather too much to give this most romantic of
sonatas any real sense of abandon. The slow movement takes off somewhat in
the middle section with some nicely shaded tone and carefully built phrases.
There is a mood of contained exaltation in the finale. Overall, however, I
felt the music was being too carefully managed to permit much emotional
involvement, an impression I had also in the Brahms.
Arthur Grumiaux's recording of the Franck features rapt phrasing and
constant subtle dynamic variation (review). The aristocratic Belgian player avoids major
disturbances to the pulse of the slow movement, but brings a controlled
ardency to the playing that suits the emotional fullness of the work.
Heifetz also coupled this work with the Brahms op. 108, the latter in a
memorable duo with William Kapell. The Naxos disc (review) on which this work is available also includes
a Franck sonata with Rubinstein, and a good Kreutzer sonata with
Moiseiwitsch. That Piekutowska's playing can be judged by these standards
says a lot for her, and I would like to hear her in the contemporary
repertoire that she has recorded. Unfortunately I don't think she is quite
there as far as these sonatas go. This disc is well recorded, but the short
playing time and the somewhat over-managed interpretations make it
unrecommendable.
Guy Aron
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