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New hi-rez Prokofiev Violin Sonatas with Pouty Lips

Posted by Chris from Lafayette (A) on July 3, 2014 at 17:05:32

Released for download on the Hyperion web site day before yesterday and available on CD next week in the US, this new recording of Prokofiev's music for violin and piano features state of the art SQ and amazing, virtuosic performances by Pouty Lips partnered this time by Steven Osborne (rather than by Cédric Tiberghien as on her earlier recordings).



As with last summer's recording by Ibragimova and Tiberghien of the Schubert music for violin and piano (and in connection with our recent discussion of the Franck Sonata below), the balance on this new Prokofiev release is very realistic and does not favor the violin. As I've already suggested, the performances are virtuosic to the extreme, with imaginative control of pacing, dynamics and balance. In fact, the only thing I question is the very opening of the G-major Sonata (the one transcribed from the Flute Sonata) which Osborn plays in, to my mind, an excessively articulated (some would say "notey") manner while the violin floats that beautiful opening melody. But later on in the movement, his machine-gun repeated notes will really open your ears!

As also mentioned, this 24/96 2-channel download really does sound state-of-the-art in capturing the realistic depth of the piano and the tonal nuances of the violin. I did a spot-check spectrograph of the last movement of the G-major Sonata, and it looks great too: very clean with with musical signals up to about 30 KHz and no noise bands or ultrasonic noise dusting. I also have the 24/96 download of the F-minor Sonata with JJ (on Decca), the spectrograph of which (in the last movement) shows musical signals to about 42 KHz, with a similarly noiseless background. (I'd probably attribute this difference to the choice of microphones used in the two recordings, and the difference only amounts to a couple more notes up the scale in a region which we can't hear in any case!) I know the G-major Sonata much better than I know the F-minor Sonata. Otherwise I'd try to do a "battle of the babes" shootout comparison in the latter work!



In the PDF of the booklet, Ibragimova is shown using Sennheiser headphones while listening to playback. So as far as the babe violinists are concerned (in their audiophile headphone preferences), we have one vote for Stax (Lisa) and one vote for Sennheiser (Pouty Lips). Stay tuned - more votes will no doubt arrive in due course!

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