Flute and Cello Rarities
Heitor VILLA-LOBOS (1887-1959)
Bachianas Brasileiras No.6 [9:22]
Eugène BOZZA (1905-1991)
Contrastes I [10:29]
Image for Solo Flute, Op.38 [5:10]
Sigfrid KARG-ELERT (1877-1933)
Chaconne for solo flute, Op.107 No.30 [4:12]
Georg Philipp TELEMANN (1681-1767)
Canonic Sonata, TWV40:120 [5:24]
Minako TOKUYAMA (b.1958)
La Vie du Papillon [6:32]
Atsumori [5:27]
Nocturne [7:52]
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Duett mit zwei obligaten Augengläsern, WoO.32 [9:06]
Atsuko Koga (flute)
Georgiy Lomakov (cello)
rec. 2019, Gasthof zur Ratte, Leipzig
GENUIN GEN20700 [63:37]
What constitutes a rarity? That might seem a fairly silly question, and in that music for flute and cello duet is in itself fairly rare, it might be argued that the three pieces recorded here for that duo combination are, by their very nature, rarities. The Beethoven “Eyeglass Duet” (originally for viola and cello) is probably about as rare as any Beethoven work can be, especially in this 250th anniversary year. Otherwise, both the Villa-Lobos Bachianas Brasileiras No.6 and the Telemann Canonic Sonata (even if a false trail is led here by moving it from F major to D major and incorrectly identifying it on the cover and in the booklet notes as TWV40:119) are well enough represented in the recording catalogues and both are relatively familiar to those who haunt the rarefied world of chamber music. That leaves just the Bozza Contrastes as a flute and cello novelty, although the musical language is so familiar, it seems almost perverse to describe it as a rarity. Of the five works here for unaccompanied flute, the Bozza Image is a fairly standard piece in the flautist’s repertory, Tokuyama’s three pieces are not so much rare as hitherto unheard – these are listed as World Premiere Recordings - leaving just the Karg-Elert Chaconne as a rarity.
Semantics aside, this is an intriguing programme, superbly played by Japanese flautist Atsuko Koga, who also provides the spoken introductions in both German and Japanese, to each of the seven tiny sections of La Vie du Papillon, the last of which seems to be based on the old German song Hänschen klein (“Lightly Row”). Her playing has an infectious buoyancy which elevates even the rather ponderous Karg-Elert Chaconne into something quite delicate. Sigfrid Karg-Elert is a name far better known to organists than to other members of the musical community, and organists generally associate his music with convoluted chromaticisms and textural opaqueness; elements not easy to conjure up with just a solo flute to hand. This Chaconne is drawn from a set of 30 Caprices intended, not for public consumption, but for technical improvement. Naxos released all 30 of them on their two-disc set of Karg-Elert’s complete music for flute (8.573269-70), and since then the Chaconne, which closes the set, has been picked up by several flautists as a recital piece. Koga revels in the displays of technical bravura which evolve gradually over the course of the piece.
Koga’s duo partner is Ukrainian cellist Georgiy Lomakov. While it might seem slightly disappointing that he does not have his own moment in the limelight as soloist, he is the perfect foil to Koga’s brisk and airy style of playing. The Telemann, usually played by two recorders, works surprisingly well in this arrangement for flute and cello, largely because Lomakov is not only such an unassumingly agile player, but because he has that special ability to tune into Koga’s wavelength and match her phrasing and articulation to a tee. In the Beethoven, Lomakov is on more solid cello territory, and is highly eloquent as he adds depth to counter Koga’s high flute – an instrument which does not quite convince as a suitable substitute to the viola of the original.
Marc Rochester
