Take 3
Works by Bartók, Poulenc, Schoenfield, Nichifor
Patricia Kopatchinskaja (violin), Reto Bieri (clarinet), Polina Leschenko (piano)
Alpha Classics ALPHA772
66:41 mins
What with Patricia Kopatchinskaja reaching out to a lost homeland, Polina Leschenko nostalgically dreaming of heritage tomatoes and Reto Bieri finding himself drawn to ‘the road less travelled’, the musicians’ prefatory liner note musings for this head-turning album are bathed in whimsy. Not exclusively so the playing, however, which can affectionately embrace the whimsical to the manner born, but equally bristles with spellbinding virtuosity, compelling insight and crests a lifeforce carrying all before it.
Take 3 might be built around substantial trios by Bartók and Paul Schoenfield; but other configurations apply, notably in a reading of the Poulenc Clarinet Sonata that nails the sadness that lurks behind the bittersweet Allegro tristamente and imbues the Romanza with supremely poised and heartfelt yearning – before taking the finale’s ‘con fuoco’ marking at its word, whipping up a fearsome display of fiery glee.
Sassy miniatures from Poulenc’s incidental music to Anouilh’s play L’Invitation au château interleave irresistibly delicious interludes along the way. Piquant palette cleansers, they range over the louche rubato and portamenti of the ‘Mouvement de valse-hésitation’ and the frolicsome ‘Follement vite et gai’, delight in ‘Tempo di Boston’s insouciant charms and finally corner into a delicately seductive, impeccably judged haute-couture ‘Tango’; simultaneously a deconstruction and distillation that at the very end can’t make up its mind between major and minor and extinguishes itself with a self-deprecating shrug.
Framing it, the ‘valse’ and ‘Tempo di Boston’ are the perfect foil to Schoenfield’s muscular Trio, completed in 1990 and giving the Chassidic traditions of Eastern Europe a gloriously heart-on-sleeve work-out. The ‘Freylakh’ unites Klezmer traditions with a hint of Poulenc at his most devilishly mischievous, and its unstoppable momentum comes with a garnish of coruscating keyboard panache. Following is an enigmatic ‘March’, still in thrall to Klezmer influences but assailed by an undercurrent of leering menace seasoned with sardonic street-wisery. Enrapt and sensuous, the disquieted and disquieting ‘Nigun’ inhabits the world of Bartókian night-music, while the scabrous finale is a playfully energised ‘Kozatske’, a Cossack dance from Ukraine.
The sheer chutzpah of the playing is jaw-dropping, yet if anything the performance of Bartók’s Contrasts raises the bar even higher. Nodding to Hungarian and Romanian dance models, the work was initially proposed by violinist Joseph Szigeti but in the event commissioned by Benny Goodman, whose jazz clarinet afforded unexpected vistas.
Listening intently, Kopatchinskaja, Bieri and Leschenko bounce exuberantly off each other, generating a vividly characterised, conversationally sophisticated tour de force. It’s capped by a finale overflowing with impish snap, crackle and pop. All in all, chamber music at its most vivaciously invigorating and life-enhancing. Cue a party! Inviting violinist Ilya Gringolts and double bassist Ruslan Lutsyk, they sign off with Klezmer Dance by Serban Nichifor, a showstopper garlanded with riotous shrieks, frenzied clapping and high spirits galore.