Monday 21 February 2011

Patricia Kopatchinskaja comes from Moldova, the daughter of two folk-music parents, and seems to be inheriting the mantel of Gilles Apap as an enfant terrible of the violin. I listened to her new CD with interest, since it is based upon folk and pseudo-folk music of Moldova and Romania. When Kopatchinskaja tackles Enescu's third sonata, Ravel's Tzigane and Dinicu's hora staccato, they are certainly different. She brings a folk-fiddler's freedom and wildness to the violin parts and the result is extraordinarily refreshing. Enescu's sonata was written in a pastiche folk idiom ("dans le caractère populaire roumain") and the playing of Kopatchinskaja -- and the pianist Mihaela Ursuleasa -- brings out the folk roots quite brilliantly. We are a long way from Joshua Bell (or André Rieu). Ravel's Tzigane Hungarian gypsy imitation also comes over well, with Daddy Kopatchinsky playing the piano part on a cimbalom -- novel, but in character and a pleasant change.

The CD also contains some attractive horas and doinas from Moldova and Romania played by the Kopatchinsky family (Mother plays the violin and viola). The couple of bits by Ligeti and Kurtag can be skipped over, and the bit by someone called Jorge Sanchez-Chiong should be skipped over, even though it only lasts one minute and four seconds -- about one minute too long, for me.

Pavel Sporcl made an excellent CD of gypsy pieces, and that is a CD I listen to regularly. When violinists play folk music with which they have a special empathy, the results are often most enjoyable. I'll keep Kopatchinskaja's CD near to hand and it will probably be my first choice when I want to hear Enescu's third violin & piano sonata.

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