Phil's Album Review:
Pianist Catherine Kautsky and violinist Wen-Lei Gu, both professors of music at Lawrence University, Appleton, WI, show a remarkable rapport, a deft sense of phrasing, and a keen awareness of subtle, almost imperceptible, changes in rhythm and mood, plus unfailingly beautiful tones that serve Brahms’ Three Sonatas for Violin and Piano to perfection. In the process, they characterize these sonatas to a degree that one seldom encounters in the recital hall or on recordings. All these qualities, and more, make their performances memorable even in very fast competition. In the course of her highly readable program notes, Kautsky has her finger on the unique differences that make these three sonatas what they are; namely, “an egalitarian approach to the two instruments, an essentially traditional approach to first movement sonata form, and a deep lyricism that capitalizes on the innate singing quality of the violin and challenges the pianist to match that cantabile sound.”. Indeed, the flow of the melodies, particularly in Sonatas 1 and 2, seems so spontaneous that it belies the hard work both artists must invest in making it sound deceptively natural and easy. Brahms actually quoted the melodies of two of his best, most nostalgic songs, Regenlied (Rain Song) and Nachklang(Distant Echo, or Remembrance) in Sonata No. 1 in G Major, Op. 78. We hear further echoes of his songs in the radiantly beautiful Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 100. They are: Wie Melodien zieht es mir leise durch den Sinn (Like melodies, it steals softly through my mind), Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer (Ever gentle were my slumbers), Auf dem Kirchhofe (In the Churchyard), and Komm bald (Come soon). The trick here is to make the out flowing of poetic sentiment in these works perfectly natural and avoid any cloying sweetness or declamatory postures in the process. To that end, the two partners must seem at times, as do Gu and Kautsky, to be one person, breathing together and instinctively anticipating each other’s moves. Particularly in the violin, the lyricism must occur as naturally as new blossoms bud forth in spring or the colors of sunset gradually deepen in an summer evening. Sonata No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 100, alone of the three, is filled with a prevailing mood of restless agitation. The development section of the opening movement sets the tone for this unrest in the piano’s unceasingly dominant pedal tone in the bass, with quarter-notes repeating one single pitch, while the pianist must rigorously adhere to Brahms’ marking sotto voce sempre. Not easy, that! In this sonata, the technical demands in the opening movement alone include a subito forte in the piano and bariolage bowing in the violin, plus considerable use of syncopated rhythms and off-beat accents. The Adagio allows the violin to take center stage with a softly glowing melody.Following a beguiling intermezzo, marked Un poco presto e con sentimento, the finale hurtles along with a breakneck frenzy that includes double stops in the violin and daring leaps in the piano. In the process of sonatas 1-3, we have moved almost Imperceptibly from tender lyricism to turbulent unrest.
这个CD是由钢琴家 凯瑟琳 考斯基 和小提琴家 顾文蕾演奏的。她们都是劳伦斯大学的音乐教授。两位音乐家展示出