From shadow to light, this is the emotional curve of Sergei Prokofiev's Sonatas for violin and piano, published in the 1940s. this was an intense period of creation for the Russian musician who was also working on his ballet Cinderella and his Fifth Symphony.
The violinist Alexandra Conunova, winner of the prestigious Tchaikovsky competition in 2015, and the pianist Michael Lifits are engaged in reading these two Prokofiev scores. A true synthesis of his style, these sonatas are characterized by a formal classicism subverted by a flamboyant virtuosity. Their lyricism, gnawed by the tasty and biting irony of a modern language, fruit of a critical vision of the world, is all the more poignant.
This recording reveals her as a major artist…There’s a wealth of detail to savour in these performances…Conunova grabbed my attention from the first bars of Prokofiev’s First Sonata, employing a hoarse, beseeching tone… Remarkably, she and Lifits sustain this level of involvement and imagination…I can’t recommend their freshly considered, vividly recorded interpretations highly enough
Alexandra Conunova is highly attuned to this music and she has a fabulous pianist who understands the dark undertones of the first movement of the first sonata. Her shadowy yet beautifully haunting sound in the Andante is remarkable (she plays a 1735 Santo Serafino), the scampering finale driven by infernal energy. Michail Lifits again excels, and the rapport between the two is remarkable. The recording is excellent.
Works Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 80 Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 2 in D major, Op. 94a
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