Franck, Grieg, Janáček: Violin Sonatas, CD review
Vadim Repin (violin), Nikolai Lugansky (piano). Rating: * * * * *
By Geoffrey Norris
It seems slightly superfluous of DG to have stuck a label on the front of this CD with a quote from Vadim Repin saying: “This recording documents two people who love this music.” One might hope that would generally be the case.
It raises the question as to how many artists record music that they hate, or at least music for which they have no particular liking. But it is no surprise to find that two such compelling artists as Repin and Nikolai Lugansky demonstrate in this trio of sonatas not only their love for the music but also their stylistic and emotional insight, their broad spectrum of colour and the way that they work so closely and instinctively together.
In fact, the Repin quote is put back into context in a longer and telling interview with both artists printed in the accompanying booklet, doing service for the usual notes on the specific works in the programme. They start their recital with Janáček’s Violin Sonata, begun at the outbreak of the First World War and reaching its definitive form in 1921. Grieg’s Second Sonata in G major follows, and then the César Franck Sonata in A major.
The sensibility of each work, and the fluctuations of temperament that they harbour, are conveyed with impressive focus and immediacy, whether it be the anguished blend of urgency and inwardness in the Janáˇcek, the clarity and freshness of the Grieg or the Romantic brooding and fiery red-bloodedness of the Franck.
Repin’s and Lugansky’s subtlety of expression is a major factor in making this so outstanding, so ravishing and so spine-tingling. Both musicians give of their utmost and, when the musicians in question are Repin and Lugansky, that makes for something exceptional.
