For interesting repertoire, excellently played and gorgeously recorded, this disc will be hard to beat. Once again I feel compelled to express my wonder that there’s simply so much good music coming out these days on so many labels–little known works beautifully presented by incredibly talented artists that deserve the widest possible exposure. This disc in particular should get a lot of radio play, as it contains a wide range of moods and styles for flute, viola, and piano in various combinations, half of the program being French, the other half Russian.
The program begins with Maurice Duruflé’s very modal and very French Prélude, Récitatif et Variations for flute, viola, and piano, a substantial 11-minute movement that will enchant anyone who loves the Requiem or the other choral works. Reynaldo Hahn receives diverse coverage in the form of the Romanesque (for all three players) and then Deux pieces for flute and piano, intelligently arranged so as to bracket Ronald Brautigam’s sensitive performance of Portraits de peintres for solo piano, based on poems by the composer’s companion, Marcel Proust. The music might best be described as soft-edged Poulenc: it’s light but never frivolous, and it’s totally charming, especially as played here.
As you might expect, the Russian half of the program turns a bit more serious. Mieczyslaw (Moyse) Weinberg’s Trio for flute, viola, and harp (here played with the optional piano part) at times recalls his friend Shostakovich, particularly in its central slow movement, with its spare lines and sense of desolation, and it features a curious tune that sounds exactly like a prominent theme from the closing scene of Janácek’s The Makropoulos Case. We can but wonder. The finale, though, is bubbly and brilliant.
Tatiana Nikolayeva was a composer as well as a pianist, and evidently a very talented one too. Her Trio for flute, viola, and piano consists of eight delicious little vignettes imaginatively arranged and each very thematically memorable and attractive. I’d like very much to hear more of her work.
As suggested above, the performances are simply terrific. Sharon Bezaly plays with her characteristically firm tone and flawless virtuosity. Brautigam cultivates an attractively light touch and really strokes the keyboard with harp-like delicacy in the Weinberg. Nobuko Imai remains one of today’s very finest violists. So what more could anyone want? Unfortunately the collection has no catchy album “title” (but then again, happily, the collection has no silly album “title” either), which may make it even harder to find than usual. But do seek it out–the music amply rewards the effort. [3/4/2004]
