{"id":39459,"date":"2024-02-23T10:36:54","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T09:36:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4d0cabe7-5ae3-4690-9d19-748d58881c75"},"modified":"2024-02-23T11:41:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T10:41:15","slug":"take-3-patricia-kopatchinskaja","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/take-3-patricia-kopatchinskaja\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 3 (Patricia Kopatchinskaja)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Paul Riley\n <\/p>

Published: Friday, 23 February 2024 at 09:36 AM<\/p>

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Take 3Works by Bart\u00f3k, Poulenc, Schoenfield, NichiforPatricia Kopatchinskaja<\/a> (violin), Reto Bieri (clarinet), Polina Leschenko (piano)Alpha Classics ALPHA77266:41 mins<\/em><\/p>

What with Patricia Kopatchinskaja reaching out to a lost homeland, Polina Leschenko nostalgically dreaming of heritage tomatoes and Reto Bieri finding himself drawn to \u2018the road less travelled\u2019, the musicians\u2019 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.<\/p>

Take 3<\/em> might be built around substantial trios by Bart\u00f3k 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<\/em> and imbues the Romanza<\/em> with supremely poised and heartfelt yearning \u2013 before taking the finale\u2019s \u2018con fuoco\u2019 marking at its word, whipping up a fearsome display of fiery glee.<\/p>

Sassy miniatures from Poulenc\u2019s incidental music to Anouilh\u2019s play L\u2019Invitation au ch\u00e2teau<\/em> interleave irresistibly delicious interludes along the way. Piquant palette cleansers, they range over the louche rubato and portamenti of the \u2018Mouvement de valse-h\u00e9sitation\u2019 and the frolicsome \u2018Follement vite et gai\u2019, delight in \u2018Tempo di Boston\u2019s insouciant charms and finally corner into a delicately seductive, impeccably judged haute-couture \u2018Tango\u2019; simultaneously a deconstruction and distillation that at the very end can\u2019t make up its mind between major and minor and extinguishes itself with a self-deprecating shrug.<\/p>

Framing it, the \u2018valse\u2019 and \u2018Tempo di Boston\u2019 are the perfect foil to Schoenfield\u2019s muscular Trio, completed in 1990 and giving the Chassidic traditions of Eastern Europe a gloriously heart-on-sleeve work-out. The \u2018Freylakh\u2019 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 \u2018March\u2019, 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 \u2018Nigun\u2019 inhabits the world of Bart\u00f3kian night-music, while the scabrous finale is a playfully energised \u2018Kozatske\u2019, a Cossack dance from Ukraine.<\/p>

The sheer chutzpah of the playing is jaw-dropping, yet if anything the performance of Bart\u00f3k\u2019s Contrasts<\/em> 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\u00a0clarinet\u00a0afforded unexpected vistas.<\/p>

Listening intently, Kopatchinskaja, Bieri and Leschenko bounce exuberantly off each other, generating a vividly characterised, conversationally sophisticated tour de force. It\u2019s 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<\/em> by Serban Nichifor, a showstopper garlanded with riotous shrieks, frenzied clapping and high spirits galore.\u00a0<\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n