Jack Liebeck - Works for Violin and Piano
Another young violinist who knows what he wants to say and how to say it
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: (Amedée-)Ernest Chausson, Sergey Prokofiev, Eugène (Auguste) Ysaÿe, Camille Saint-Saëns
Genre:
Chamber
Label: Quartz
Magazine Review Date: 11/2004
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 70
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: QTZ2002
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 2 |
Sergey Prokofiev, Composer
Jack Liebeck, Violin Katya Apekisheva, Piano Sergey Prokofiev, Composer |
(6) Sonatas for Solo Violin, Movement: No. 3 in D minor (Ballade) |
Eugène (Auguste) Ysaÿe, Composer
Eugène (Auguste) Ysaÿe, Composer Jack Liebeck, Violin Katya Apekisheva, Piano |
Poème |
(Amedée-)Ernest Chausson, Composer
(Amedée-)Ernest Chausson, Composer Jack Liebeck, Violin Katya Apekisheva, Piano |
Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 1 |
Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer
Camille Saint-Saëns, Composer Jack Liebeck, Violin Katya Apekisheva, Piano |
Author: Rob Cowan
Jack Liebeck, who is still only in his mid-twenties, knows how to bow a singing line, most notably here in Chausson’s Poème, where his bright, intense sound captures both the passion and (towards the end of the piece) the repose of this endearing work. I would say that Jascha Heifetz provided Liebeck with the interpretative template for Saint-Saëns’s First Sonata, which would have been of precious little use had his own technique been less secure, or his ability to suspend a tranquil line in the crystal-cool Adagio less focused than here. It’s a wholly excellent performance, sweet-toned, elegant, and in the closing Moto perpetuo, riding high on a mounting wave of excitement.
Ysaÿe’s Third Solo Sonata allows for an especially wide range of colours and nuances, its many double-stops in need of secure intonation, which Liebeck delivers. Pianist Katya Apekisheva, a fine player in her own right, is probably at her most imaginative in Prokofiev’s Second Sonata which, on this showing, draws nearer to the weightier First Sonata than one might have expected. Although it is essentially a lighter, more carefree piece than the First, there’s plenty of room for darker colours: Liebeck is especially impressive in the wide leaps at the centre of the Scherzo and the emphatic dancing motives of the finale. All in all, an impressive calling card for a significant talent, one of several younger players who seem to be signalling a renaissance in the forgotten art of personalised violin playing. Long may it thrive.
Ysaÿe’s Third Solo Sonata allows for an especially wide range of colours and nuances, its many double-stops in need of secure intonation, which Liebeck delivers. Pianist Katya Apekisheva, a fine player in her own right, is probably at her most imaginative in Prokofiev’s Second Sonata which, on this showing, draws nearer to the weightier First Sonata than one might have expected. Although it is essentially a lighter, more carefree piece than the First, there’s plenty of room for darker colours: Liebeck is especially impressive in the wide leaps at the centre of the Scherzo and the emphatic dancing motives of the finale. All in all, an impressive calling card for a significant talent, one of several younger players who seem to be signalling a renaissance in the forgotten art of personalised violin playing. Long may it thrive.
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