The Naxos story is indeed an extraordinary one. With
a huge catalogue embracing both familiar and unfamiliar music, what
Naxos offers us (whether we be serious collectors, or simply dipping
our toes experimentally into uncharted waters) is hardly ever less than
a thoroughly adequate recording and performance, and (increasingly often)
a release which compares with the best, even in a hotly competitive
arena. As a rule, it is in music off the proverbial beaten track where
Naxos scores most consistently; in core repertory, their (often young)
artists don’t always command the maturity and experience necessary to
enable their music-making to stand comparison with the great performers
we associate with the major recording companies.
But there are notable exceptions. This new release
of the three Brahms violin sonatas – core repertory, to be sure; indeed,
music on many a musician’s desert island short list – deserves to be
mentioned in the same breath as any in the catalogue, and certainly
the Suk-Katchen, Perlman-Ashkenazy, Zukerman-Barenboim, Dumay-Pires
and Osostowicz-Tomes partnerships with which I am most familiar.
Ilya Kaler has already recorded extensively for Naxos,
most notably the Paganini Caprices and
(among others) the Glazunov, Dvořák and Shostakovich concertos:
also, nearer to home, an altogether splendid Brahms ‘Double’. He has
distinguished himself as a perceptive player with infinite technical
resource and considerable musicianship. Here, his playing (as
always) is impressively secure, ranging from the genuinely beautiful
(witness the intimate vocal lines of Op. 78’s opening movement) to the
restlessly passionate – as in the Presto agitato finale of Op.
108.
Fellow Russian Alexander Peskanov is a new name to
me, and I approached this new issue with interest but (if I’m honest)
modest expectations on account of it. I need not have worried. He is
a discreet and sensitive accompanist who plays supportively, completely
at one with his partner, and with all the poise and polish one could
want: so the singing music of the G major and A major Sonatas are a
joy to listen to. But he is also a very masculine player, who (where
Brahms requires it of him) brings real weight and authority to his role:
so the dark drama of the D minor Sonata is truly involving. With playing
like this, one can only look forward to hearing his commanding voice
and muscular articulation in (say) the great D minor or B flat Piano
Concertos.
With recording as clean and as natural as any, this
is an outstanding release. I give you my word that, if you put this
disc on your shopping list, disappointment is unthinkable!
Peter J Lawson
Ilya Kaler (violin) &
Alexander Peskanov (piano)