Claudio Bohórquez / Péter Nagy BRAHMS Opus 38 & 99

Brahms - Opus 38 & 99 – a completely new and extraordinary interpretation by the inspiring duo with cellist Claudio Bohórquez and Péter Nagy. The new recording will raise a new star in the Brahms music heaven just today on the occasion of the lunar eclipse of the century. The sonatas for piano and cello by Johannes Brahms, Opus 38 and 99 are masterfully played and interpreted by two musical personalities who make the sonatas shine in a new light:

The German-born cellist Claudio Bohórquez with Peruvian-Uruguayan roots, who is one of the best in his field, makes the virtuosity of the cello sound as Brahms himself would have loved it. For his favourite instrument he has written many moving melodies and compositions, some of which are played on this recording. In the Hungarian pianist Péter Nagy, Bohórquez has the perfect partner at his side who captures the timbre of his homeland with feeling. This becomes particularly clear in the Hungarian dances, which are contrasted - as an encore, so to speak - with the two sonatas.

Especially for the connoisseurs of these Hungarian dances, which have become a success story and are recognized by almost everyone, the true mastery of the duo becomes apparent: in the arrangement by Alfredo Piatti in the version for cello and piano, the dances shine in a completely new, inspiring light. In any case, the mastery of Bohórquez over the special strings of his instrument becomes more than clear here. And one can be glad that this is a discography premiere, which should lead to further recordings. Brahms is consciously the beginning, back-to-the roots to the beginnings of his cellist career. After 30 years as a cellist, Claudio Bohórquez now sees the ideal moment to record his music after he has reached a certain personal maturity thanks to profound life experience, knowledge and personal development. (Berlin Classics)

Leonidas Kavakos / Péter Nagy MAURICE RAVEL Sonate Posthume - Tzigane GEORGE ENESCU Impressions d'enfance - Sonata No. 3

Leonidas Kavakos, the outstanding Greek violinist, makes his ECM debut on this disc, as does the comparably gifted Hungarian pianist Péter Nagy, in a programme that explores the musical-historical relationship between Ravel and Enescu.

Increasingly regarded as one of the most insightful musicians of his generation, Kavakos first attracted attention via his spectacular successes in international music competitions, taking first prizes in both the Sibelius and Paganini competitions. From the outset, however, it was clear that  he had more than virtuosity at his disposal, and the depth of his musicality was already evident.

Born in Athens into a musical family with strong traditions in folk music, Kavakos began studying violin with his father, continuing his studies at the Greek Conservatory with Stelios Kafantaris. An Onassis Foundation scholarship enabled him to attend master classes with Joseph Gingold at Indiana University, and he made his concert debut at the Athens Festival in 1984. Major debuts at the London BBC Proms and international festivals in Edinburgh, Salzburg, Ravinia and the Hollywood Bowl, were followed by invitations to play with orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Orchestre de Paris, Gothenburg Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In May 2003, Kavakos made his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.

An active chamber musician, Kavakos has been the Artistic Director of his own chamber music cycle in the Megaron, Athens since 1992. He regularly appears at chamber music festivals with partners including Natalie Gutman, Nobuko Imai, Kim Kashkashian and Mstislav Rostropovich. The Camerata Salzburg recently appointed Kavakos their Principal Guest Artist (a post they created especially for him) and he has toured extensively with this ensemble, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Several further recordings for ECM have already been made. Scheduled for release early in 2004 is an album of music by Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian in which Kavakos is the soloist in the Violin Concerto (also on this disc are Kim Kashkashian, Jan Garbarek, the Hilliard Ensemble, and the Munich Chamber Orchestra under Christoph Poppen). A Kavakos CD with music of Bach and Stravinsky is also in preparation.

A child prodigy, Péter Nagy was admitted at the age of 8 to the Special School for Young Talents of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music, Budapest. His teachers were Ferenc Rados and Klára Máthé. In 1975 he became a regular student of the Liszt Academy, and in 1979 he won the first prize in the Hungarian Radio Piano Competition. He graduated with distinction from the class of Prof. Kornél Zempléni in 1981.

Nagy has appeared as  a soloist with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra and the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. As a chamber musician he has performed at major festivals, including Aix-en-Provence, Athens, Davos, Edinburgh, Stockholm, Helsinki, and the Marlboro Music Festival.

The duo of Kavakos and Nagy has toured in the USA, Spain, Greece, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia and Hungary. In addition to the works on the present recording, they have also recorded Stravinsky’s Duo Concertante and Suite Italienne for future release on ECM New Series. Nagy has also accompanied violist Kim Kashkashian in recitals in Europe and North America.

In 2001, Péter Nagy received the prestigious Liszt Award. (ECM Records)

Tanja Becker-Bender / Péter Nagy BÉLA BARTÓK The Works for Violin and Piano

“Anyone who met Bartók and was aware of the primordial rhythmic power of his music was sur- prised by the slender, fragile form of the man. He had the outward appearance of a delicate, sensi- tive scholar,” wrote the Swiss conductor Paul Sacher. Born in the small Hungarian town of Nagyszentmiklós (now Sânnicolau Mare in Romania), Béla Bartók was an exceptional phenomenon in many respects. It was around 1905 that he first heard Magyar peasant music, and it impressed him deeply. From then on, he began collecting old songs and dances from Hungary and Romania on his trips (later also from Slovakia, Serbia, Bulgaria and the Arabic countries). He had the country peo- ple perform them and wrote them down himself. In the process, he discovered age-old folk music which had quite a different sound than the syn- thetic folklore propagated in the cities, which had been influenced by Franz Liszt (Hungarian Rhapso- dies) or Johannes Brahms (Hungarian Dances).

“Simple, frequently rough, but never stupid,” was the impression made by this peasant music on Bar- tók. He also found “no indication of chords stereotypically connected to the major-minor tonal system.” This folk art “which, despite its emphatic power, was entirely free of sentimentality and superuous ornamentation,” became a fundamental part of his expressionistic tonal language. One might say that Bartók drew only “from the clearest springs”, as the end of his Cantata profana (1930) so eloquently avows. Tanja Becker-Bender and Péter Nagy therefore undertook an intensive study of this sort of folklore and its instrumental techniques before making this recording.

Kavakos / Chailly / Gewandhausorchester BRAHMS Violin Concerto - Hungarian Dances BARTÓK Rhapsodies

To hear Leonidas Kavakos play the Brahms Violin Concerto is to be newly apprised of the work’s reputed difficulties. Not that Kavakos struggles with the solo part—far from it. But he presents the myriad double-stops, compound-chords, and wide leaps with such clarity and vividness that your ear is drawn to these effects more than usual. Yet for all this, Kavakos’ rendition is a thoroughly musical one, fully cognizant of Brahms’ structure and overall symphonic plan. Riccardo Chailly’s cleanly articulated, tersely-romantic accompaniment makes an apt foil for his soloist, as do the clear textures and lean string sound he evokes from the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.

That Kavakos would choose the warhorse Joachim cadenza at first seems at odds with his interpretive stance, but his fresh approach proves otherwise. By sculpting each phrase so inventively, Kavakos rivets your attention and at times gives the impression that he’s improvising. In the songful slow movement (which showcases beautiful playing by the Leipzig winds) Kavakos soothes without sounding saccharine, while the finale crackles with life, thanks in part to the violinist inserting a bit of gypsy flair into the famous “Hungarian” tune.

This Hungarian flavor, albeit of a more rustic variety, carries over to Bartók’s Rhapsodies for violin and piano, which Kavakos and pianist Péter Nagy dispatch with jaunty bravura and folksy style. These same characteristics lend the more cosmopolitan Brahms Hungarian Dances a certain authenticity that the orchestral versions lack.

The recording places the orchestra slightly to the rear in the acoustic, but produces a satisfying full sound in louder passages (although the violin is oddly more prominent when playing with the orchestra than with just the piano). This is a fine modern Brahms Violin Concerto that can hold its own in a crowded catalog. (Victor Carr Jr)