There is a lot to be said for Hee-Young LIm and Nathalia Milstein’s approach to Rachmaninov. Composed in the aftermath of the disaster of the premiere of Rachmaninov’s First Symphony, the Sonata for Piano and Violoncello, Op. 10 was dedicated to Anatoli Brandukov (1859-1930).
There are so many characteristics of Rachmaninov here, but somehow in essence: the “Dies irae” is hinted at rather than explicit; harmonic machinations are recognisably of Rachmaninov, and yet part of a larger Romantic stream. Seasoning, if you will:
The performance by Hee-Young Lim and Nathalia Milstein is emphatically lyrical. Some might find the recording a trifle recessed, but it certainly supports their reading. And the second movement, the Scherzo, emerges as a ball fo potential energy, Milstein’s fingerwork all a=-sparkle, Lim’s cello singing against cascades of arpeggios:
Unsurprisingly, it is the Andante that is the highlight. It has an almost pastoral interiority (reminding me of the G-Major Prelude of Op. 32):
The finale is more playful than anything: this is lovely, refreshing Rachmaninov, a world away from over-sentimentality, and all the better for it.
… so to Prokofiev, and the magnificent Cello Sonata in C, Op. 119. Again, there is a certain restraint here, and I’m not sure it works as well as Alexander Ivashkin and Tatyana Lazareva’s Chandos performance on an all-embracing all-Prokofiev disc that should be in every collection (here’s my review of the Chandos):
The Moderato has a clear objectivity that some might say contradicts the “acid” in the music; and yet it is a valid reading entirely consistent with Lim and Milstein’s approach. Milstein offers some absolutely ravishing piano sonorities:
Only the finale seems overly-muted, fine for the Andantino central section, less so for the flanking Allegro ma nnon troppos. The mystery isn’t totally there, either. Again, Ivashkin is magnificent:
Finally, in the manner of an encore, the famous “Vocalise,” originally the (non-verbal) song, Op. 34/14, perfectly suited to Lim and Milstein:
The disc is available at Amazon here; Ivashkin’s Prokofiev is here. Streaming below, except for iDagio here:
