I maintain that the
greatest music comes from the pen of
the greatest composers even if that
music is unfamiliar for the most part
to the listening public. The Naxos record
label, never missing a trick in the
niche marketing of uncommon repertoire,
have released a new recording of two
of Shostakovich’s least familiar compositions.
Here we have the viola sonata op. 147
and a world premiere recording of a
transcription of the cello sonata op.
40 arranged for viola. Having said all
that, I have been able to research a
list of well over a dozen versions of
the viola sonata that have all been
available in recent years. However these
versions seem to come and go from the
catalogue very quickly and currently
this Naxos new release is only the third
version available from one of the major
UK on-line retailers that I checked-out.
Acknowledged as being
one of the strongest works in the rather
narrow viola repertoire the sonata op.
147 was Shostakovich's last composition
and one that I consider to be a masterpiece
of late-twentieth century chamber music.
Composed in 1975 at the end of Shostakovich’s
life when his health was in deep decline,
the viola sonata strongly reflects the
composer’s acknowledgement of the proximity
of death. Shostakovich drew on many
influences to create this starkly beautiful
and moving work. Those influences include
the works of Alban Berg and Richard
Strauss, with the devotional quotations
from Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata
being the most familiar.
I recall the German
Violist Tabea Zimmermann saying that
when she performed the work she knew
that she was going on a long journey
which includes physical suffering and
that she has to get fully involved.
On this wonderful Naxos recording violist
Annette Bartholdy and pianist Julius
Drake take the listener on an eventful
journey with total engagement and are
more than equal to the physical and
emotional demands of this sparse and
haunting work. There are few notes in
the score but soloist Bartholdy makes
them say so much, especially in the
achingly painful and bleakly poignant
fifteen minute Adagio that concludes
Shostakovich’s lifelong musical output.
Of the alternative versions of the viola
sonata that I have heard, the digital
recording from violist Yuri Bashmet
and Mikhail Muntian on RCA Victor Red
Seal/BMG 09026 612732 is generally considered
to be the finest but this searching
and compelling Naxos recording with
its dramatic restraint is more than
its equal.
Anxious to expand the
chamber repertoire for the viola, Swiss
born soloist Annette Bartholdy has prepared
a transcription of Shostakovich’s cello
sonata of 1934. This is the world premier
recording of Bartholdy’s arrangement
although there have been other versions
transcribed for viola made by the dedicatee
of the cello sonata, Viktor Kubatsky
and another from viola teacher Yevgeny
Stakhov.
The cello sonata of
1934 was composed by Shostakovich during
a period of artistic freedom and particular
creativity with its first performance
that December coming over a year before
the notorious Pravda attacks on the
composer’s opera Lady Macbeth of
Mtsensk as ‘chaos instead of music’,
which changed the course of what was
permissible in Soviet music. The sonata
is one of the composer’s most appealing
and lyrical works and a long way off
from the dissonant and experimental
scores that he was to be so harshly
criticised for. The duo’s expressive
and compelling performance fully upholds
the sonata’s rich melodic interest and
is particularly impressive with the
technical demands of the trio in
the second movement Allegro.
The duo of Bartholdy
and Drake are outstandingly well-matched
and seamlessly balanced. This recording
will certainly enhance the growing reputation
of violist Annette Bartholdy while Julius
Drake continues to impress and must
be one of Britain’s best kept secrets.
Naxos engineers have produced a well
balanced recording with a vivid and
most natural sound. The music of Shostakovich
is extremely well served by this release
and the viola sonata is undeniably a
masterpiece. Effortlessly beautifully
playing.
Michael Cookson
Annette Bartholdy (viola) 