[…] Crushing is a word that can equally apply to Prokofiev’s Cantata on the 20th Anniversary of the Russian Revolution, composed for the kind of forces (huge orchestra, brass band, choir, and even accordion ensemble) that threaten your hearing, as well as the economic solvency of any ensemble that tries to put it on. It shows up now and again on recordings, but none have the sheer dynamism of this one—and while the work is far from a masterpiece, this performance is so gripping that it leaves you little opportunity to exercise your judgment. […]

Four releases are self-recommending, though the obscure repertoire on three and the purely technological reasons for the rerelease of the fourth justify further recommendation beyond the praise I’ve already lavished in reviews.
Reger’s chamber music is thankfully well served on record (German listeners remain receptive), but Trio Lirico here demonstrate that there is always room at the top. Their accounts of the two string trios and the Second Piano Quartet are light and lively, bringing out all the Mozartian elegance, yet without diminishing Reger’s always expansive musical gestures. […]

Surveying the stakes of intelligent and insightful Beethoven string quartet cycles by gifted young players finds us with a plethora of recommendable choices, sets either completed or in the making by the likes of the Artemis, Casals, Elias, Belcea and Alcan Quartets and the immensely personable Quartetto di Cremona, whose consistently alert interpretations also enjoy the benefit of remarkably lifelike SACD sound. This or that significant textual detail might hold sway for some collectors whereas, in terms of interpretation, the Quartetto di Cremona parade a keen edge, with generally swift pacing, tension within rests and a wide range of instrumental colours. The opening Allegro of Op 18 No 5 has a bright, chirpy feel to it, whereas the parallel movement in No 6 really is a bustling con brio, which means that the music’s implied conversational opera buffa element takes a back seat. Op 95 opens to an Allegro that’s all but maniacal in its urgency, whereas Op 135’s Scherzo bounces along, a breezy preparation for an expressive but mobile account of the Lento slow movement. I was fascinated by the Cremona’s unusual voicing of Op 130’s Alla danza tedesca but a little disappointed that the Cavatina is tailed by the allegro-finale ‘rewrite’ rather than by the gnarled Grosse Fuge (which, incidentally, is magnificently played: you can find it on disc 3). Still, this is without question a set to reckon with. Even with the Takács Quartet (Decca) as overall leaders in the digital field I’d strongly recommend it, especially given the comparatively unfamiliar String Quintet (with the Emerson’s Lawrence Dutton as the extra viola player) as a welcome bonus, another engaging performance. […]

Die Geigerin Franziska Pietsch wuchs in der DDR auf und lernte im Westen, was Freiheit in der Musik bedeutet. [...] „Die Möglichkeit, mit der Welt eins zu sein. Für einen Augenblick absolut."

Bryan combines a dark, robust tone with jaw-dropping bravura, while Silvie creates an extraordinarily varied palette of keyboard colours that enhance her imaginative, nuanced phrasing. Together, they offer remarkably fresh approaches to familiar music, making their first two CDs so very special.

Bryan combines a dark, robust tone with jaw-dropping bravura, while Silvie creates an extraordinarily varied palette of keyboard colours that enhance her imaginative, nuanced phrasing. Together, they offer remarkably fresh approaches to familiar music, making their first two CDs so very special.

Ihre [Franziska Pietschs] aktuelle CD zeugt von stilistischer Treffsicherheit und manueller Brillanz.

Franziska Pietsch truly takes ownership of Bartók’s Solo Sonata. Her interpretation is prompted by the idea of his ‘explosive seriousness’, a notion that fans the flames of her performance, especially in the opening Chaconne and the Fugue that follows, where the voicing has an orchestral dynamism about it. The Chaconne leavens anger with moments of profound repose, always spinning the illusion that this isn’t Bartók’s music but Pietsch’s own, that we just happened to walk in while she was in the throes of spontaneous creation. That’s the effect but the truth is rather more subtle, a carefully wrought structure that’s never jemmied out of shape. The Melodia is beautifully phrased; the closing Presto a frenzied will o’-the-wisp where the quarter-tones are an integrated part of the narrative. So often they sound accidental rather than colouristic.

It’s fair to say that Bartók’s Sonata is the principal draw here but the second of Ysaÿe’s Solo Sonatas (dedicated to the great French violinist Jacques Thibaud) is also a work to reckon with, its opening ‘Obsession’ toying with Bach’s E major Prelude (Solo Partita No 3) while ghosting the ‘Dies irae’ chant, which dominates the rest of the piece. Again the cut and thrust of Pietsch’s playing makes a big impression, while the Bachian axis is nearly as evident in the single-movement Third Sonata, dedicated to that pre-eminent Bachian Georges Enescu. Here passion takes the upper hand and Pietsch never stints in that respect, nor in her masterful handling of chords.

Perhaps the lightest work on the programme is Prokofiev’s Solo Sonata which, as Norbert Hornig tells us in his useful booklet note, was composed in 1947 as an exercise in unison-playing for violin students. Of especial note is the folky third movement, where Pietsch focuses the spirit to perfection. Audite’s sound quality is extremely realistic so if the programme appeals, I wouldn’t hesitate. If it’s just the Bartók Sonata in digital sound you’re after then Pietsch is up there with Kelemen (Hungaroton, 5/13) and Ehnes (Chandos, 1/13), maybe even marginally more outspoken than either.

Wann immer Franziska Pietsch eine neue CD vorlegt, sei es als Solistin mit Orchester, mit ihren Streicherkolleginnen im ‘Trio Lirico’, bei Sonaten mit Pianist oder wie jetzt wieder als Solistin mit Werken für die Violine allein, darf man sicher sein, dass sie wieder eine beeindruckende Aufnahme zustande bringt. Und das drückt sich dann auch in immer sehr guten Bewertungen aus. Zu dem erfolgreichen Abschneiden trägt natürlich auch das Label Audite mit technisch hochwertig aufbereiteten Einspielungen bei.

Die Geigerin, deren Lebenslauf einen Bruch durch die politischen und dadurch ausgelösten familiären Umstände in der DDR hat, nimmt sich die Solowerke der beiden Komponisten in der Nachfolge der Kompositionen für die Violine solo von Johann Sebastian Bach vor, also Bartok und Ysaÿe. Als Brücke zwischen beiden Komponisten hat sie die Solosonate von Sergei Prokofiev gesetzt.

Wiederum findet sie auf der Basis ihrer technischen Meisterschaft einen persönlichen, die emotionalen Tiefen der jeweiligen Kompositionen auslotenden Zugang. Man mag vermuten, dass die erzwungene Unterbrechung der Entwicklung in der Jugend anfänglich ein Schock war, dass sich aber aus dieser Zeit der Besinnung eine besondere Sicht auf die Welt, vor allem die der Musik ergeben hat, die darauf Einfluss hat, dass ihre Interpretationen virtuoses Äußeres beiseiteschieben und sich ganz dem Zugang zur Musik widmen.
Violinist Franziska Pietsch’s account of solo works by Bartok, Ysaÿe, and Prokofiev is technically masterful, and very personal in its emotional depth.

Insgesamt gelingt es den Solisten auf dieser CD vorzüglich, die tief empfundenen Stimmungs- und Charakterbilder nuancenreich nachzuzeichnen. Die schöpferische Auseinandersetzung mit den verschiedenen Spieltechniken steht so immer wieder in reizvoller Weise im Mittelpunkt.