Beethoven - Violin Sonata 9 'Kreutzer' [Kubota/Kuyumjian]
This is only the second time i've played this disc, and already it's developing into a real little treasure, Kubota is nice and passionate, as good as others i've heard, maybe she makes the violin 'scream' a bit in louder passages, but she really gets into the music, this is a Japanese issue, i found this on Ebay, discs like this are almost impossible to get in the West, there's a treasure trove of stuff just waiting to be discovered.
Takumi Kubota is Japanese, she recorded this disc in 1996, so already almost twenty years old, not something recent, the front booklet cover is a marvel [by Tai Tsutomu], it's a truly glorious upper body shot of Kubota playing her violin, the most gorgeous light from the left, and clear precise focus, i like the lettering too, this is how booklet photos should be done!.
The first two movements were magic, i think the middle movement variations just pip it, endless inventiveness, here's a synopsis with all the variations,
Theme [0:00-2:58] - The theme is a fairly lazy affair, first introduced by the piano, and the piano and violin keep taking it in turns presenting this simple theme, Kubota / Kuyumjian present it a little slow, but very nobly.
Variation 1 [2:59-5:18] The first variation is a little imp, darting here and there, mainly lopsided piano, with odd notes by the violin, i love Kuyumjian's piano work here, he gets the rhythm right, the genius of Beethoven shines through.
Variation 2 [5:18-7:29] Now it's time for the violin to shine, and the piano to drip drop notes here and there, it's a little disjointed on purpose,
Variation 3 [7:30-10:31] Almost an intermezzo break, a bit of a lament.
Variation 4 [10:32-13:30] The violin starts to use pizzicato here, and both Kubota and Kuyumjian are on their toes, i think the violin and piano try to imitate each other at certain points, it's a dazzling variation, and even within it has lots of variety.
Variation 5 [13:29-16:] What sounds like some sort of coda or epilogue at first, branches out into a meditative fifth variation [14:16+], trills on the violin, there's a sort of finality to the whole thing [14:45+], piano and violin are in contemplative mood.
Here's Joshua Bell and Yuja Wang playing this movement on YouTube.
Takumi Kubota is Japanese, she recorded this disc in 1996, so already almost twenty years old, not something recent, the front booklet cover is a marvel [by Tai Tsutomu], it's a truly glorious upper body shot of Kubota playing her violin, the most gorgeous light from the left, and clear precise focus, i like the lettering too, this is how booklet photos should be done!.
The first two movements were magic, i think the middle movement variations just pip it, endless inventiveness, here's a synopsis with all the variations,
Theme [0:00-2:58] - The theme is a fairly lazy affair, first introduced by the piano, and the piano and violin keep taking it in turns presenting this simple theme, Kubota / Kuyumjian present it a little slow, but very nobly.
Variation 1 [2:59-5:18] The first variation is a little imp, darting here and there, mainly lopsided piano, with odd notes by the violin, i love Kuyumjian's piano work here, he gets the rhythm right, the genius of Beethoven shines through.
Variation 2 [5:18-7:29] Now it's time for the violin to shine, and the piano to drip drop notes here and there, it's a little disjointed on purpose,
Variation 3 [7:30-10:31] Almost an intermezzo break, a bit of a lament.
Variation 4 [10:32-13:30] The violin starts to use pizzicato here, and both Kubota and Kuyumjian are on their toes, i think the violin and piano try to imitate each other at certain points, it's a dazzling variation, and even within it has lots of variety.
Variation 5 [13:29-16:] What sounds like some sort of coda or epilogue at first, branches out into a meditative fifth variation [14:16+], trills on the violin, there's a sort of finality to the whole thing [14:45+], piano and violin are in contemplative mood.
Here's Joshua Bell and Yuja Wang playing this movement on YouTube.
