|
Viktoria Mullova and Katia Labeque have been long time recital partners, and for those who cannot wait to hear them at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in December, this CD would be a good place to start.
The disc features Mullova particularly in scintillating form, and playing in an imaginative set of works.
The two musicians have played this programme many times, and will be doing most of it again in December (along with Bartók's zany Hungarian Folk Dances). Both know the music well, and play with great feeling throughout.
Stravinsky's 1933 Suite Italienne is taken at fast but flexible tempi, and the phrasing is fluid. In the first movement, Mullova's ability is already apparent. Her bowing is sharp, her vibrato caresses tones, and above all, she possesses a vast stylistic range that she is not afraid to use.
The Larghetto is gorgeous – poignant but not sentimental, or even particularly sad. In her instrument, Mullova finds the most deathly pianos and choking vibrations (take the first recap. of the opening theme), yet imbedded in every bar is a subtle warmth. The emotional release in the movement's central section is not just heralded by Stravinsky's key modulation, but also by the flowering of the violin's tone.
As the piece progresses it becomes apparent that, while Mullova will shape melodic lines with precision, the emphasis here is on the dance rhythms. Her bristling Tarantella, giggling Scherzino and all-hell-breaking-loose Finale provide giddy exhilaration, but they also display a problematic graininess of timbre. In the Scherzino, the double stopping is bowed so furiously that it crackles under the strain and forces a quite unpleasant tone.
On this note, here and throughout the CD, pianist Labeque's sound is not quite up to scratch. There is not much wrong with her playing, but the tone of the piano is flabby and flaccid. In the first movement of Schubert's Fantasie, the crispness of Mullova's high melodic line draws attention to its slightly dreary sound. This Romanticised haze may at least provide an atmospheric accompaniment, but in moments of complexity, it is scarcely appropriate.
Labeque herself offers many interesting ideas. In the Stravinsky Scherzino, her emphasis on the piano's bass staccato line creates an exciting, Bach-esque counterpoint between high violin and low piano. Less good are her arpeggiated runs and speedy sequences at the end of Schubert's Allegretto, which hardly sound like the grand climax that they should. And the shimmering piano opening of the Fantasie does not shimmer at all.
The Schubert overall retains a high level of performance. Mullova's sometimes rough tone is less fitting here: the high E in the Andante molto is dangerously poised, while in the fourth movement recap of movement one, the sequence of ascending leaps up the octave make for some unpleasant shrillness, particularly on the final high B. But these are blips on a high-quality reading, which takes much joy in every bar of music. The Andantino's monumental set of variations is especially wonderful.
Mullova is also completely at home in Ravel's Sonate pour violon et piano with its immensely catchy jazz rhythms. Glissandi are perfectly judged, syncopation is spot on and there is some wonderful tremolo in the first movement. With Labeque's sprightly reading on which to rest her playing, Mullova's Perpetuum mobile in the Allegro is superbly sustained.
To end the CD with the moving Db Major Romanze by Clara Schumann shows the confidence that these two possess, and makes a splendid end to a splendid CD. The piano's poor tone is soon forgotten, and it is all too easy to ignore Mullova's slightly grotty fast bowing given her otherwise startling technique. Let us hope that the Queen Elizabeth Hall has a full house on 2 December, for these two deserve one.
 | 
more 