Prokofiev & Shostakovich - Violin Sonatas | C-AVI AVI8553425

Prokofiev & Shostakovich - Violin Sonatas

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Label: C-AVI

Cat No: AVI8553425

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Chamber

Release Date: 18th September 2020

Contents

Artists

Natalia Prishepenko (violin)
Dina Ugorskaja (piano)

Works

Prokofiev, Sergei

Violin Sonata no.1 in F minor, op.80

Shostakovich, Dmitri

Violin Sonata, op.134

Artists

Natalia Prishepenko (violin)
Dina Ugorskaja (piano)

About

Prokofiev and Shostakovich were ambivalent toward one another. Prokofiev accused Shostakovich of "devouring everything" (the fact that the younger composer dared to incorporate the street genres of entertainment music into his classical compositions) and affirmed that Shostakovich had no gift for melody. Shostakovich, for his part, occasionally found Prokofiev's music too crude, too clearly illustrative.

Yet, in spite of the largely unfair criticism they directed toward one another, each one never let his counterpart entirely out of his sight, or, to be more exact, of his ears. Ever since the 1920s their music was featured on joint recital programmes. The young Shostakovich acknowledged Prokofiev's influence on certain of his own works. Prokofiev, when abroad, encouraged "chemical exchange between Russia and Europe" and promoted Shostakovich's works in particular, even expressing the wish that his younger colleague be allowed to perform abroad, too. But that was not to be.

This recording took place in the Studio 2 of the Bayerischer Rundfunk in Munich, in February 2016. Dina Ugorskaja pursued the finishing process of the master with great impulse and unbelievable energy during a time when her health was abating. This project will stay simply as a singular milestone.

Violinist Natalia Prishepenko came to prominence in three of the most prestigious international competitions: the Paganini in 1990, the Tokyo in 1992, and the Reine Elisabeth de Belgique in 1993. Following these successes, her solo career took flight. From 1994 Natalia Prishepenko was primaria of the Artemis Quartet for eighteen years, traveling the world celebrating success after success.

Pianist Dina Ugorskaja made solo appearances at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Liederhalle in Stuttgart, the Philharmonie in Cologne, the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Sala Verdi in Milan, and Radio France Auditorium in Paris. She was invited to perform at festivals including the Schubertiade in Feldkirch and the Kassel Music Festival. 2019 marked the 10th anniversary of her fruitful collaboration with the C-Avi Music label. Her recordings have been repeatedly nominated for the International Classical Music Awards and for the German Music Critics' Prize. Her last album with works by Schubert received the ICMA award posthum.

Reviews

This thoughtful coupling, one that might have been expected to initiate a whole series of recordings from the two Russian-born, German-resident artists, instead stands alone following the death last September of pianist Dina Ugorskaja. ... While neither [the Shostakovich Sonata’s] explosive cadenzas, for piano then violin, nor its dying tremors are one whit underplayed, Prishepenko and Ugorskaja find a wealth of fine detail in the shadows. The intimate studio acoustic works surprisingly well.  David Gutman
Gramophone Awards 2020
Gramophone Editor's Choice

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