Alexander Labko, violinist - info?
Dave Gomberg
recommended to me a new CD containing the Ravel violin
sonata and the Medtner violin sonata #3 performed by Vadim
Repin and Boris Berezovsky on Erato 0630-15110-2. I waited
in vain for it to appear here. (As far as I can tell, this CD has
not yet been released in the US.) I eventually asked him to get me
a copy and send it. He did and it was well worth the wait.
I, as I expect is true of many of us, was pretty much of ignorant
of Medtner's violin music (there are the other two sonatas and
three noctures (op 16) and two each canzonas and Danzas
(op 43), of which I am now aware. After listening to the Repin/
Berezovsky third sonata, I went looking for recordings of the
first two sonatas. Because they were available a while back at
Berkshire, I obtained two sets. One is by Alexander Shirinsky
and Dmitri Galynin. These are decent, but undistinguished
performances from 1992. The other is by Alexander Labko and
Evgeni Svetlanov from 1968 on Russian Disc 11017 (sonatas
1 and 3 plus op 16#3) and 11019 (sonata 2 and Medtner's
Piano Quintet in C major, op posth with the Boridin Quartet
and Svetlanov). I have no idea why we don't know more about
Labko (and as usual, the Russian Disc "notes" are useless).
These are simply wonderful performances of some very interesting
and enjoyable music.
I have poked the web using various search engines to no avail.
If there is anyone out there who can shed any light on this
mystery violinist, I'd appreciate your help. And, in the unlikely
case that someone knows of other recordings by Labko, I'd
certainly like to know that, too.
Thanks,
Dave Gomberg
PS If anyone is moved to purchase either or both of the
Russian Discs, they are listed at everycd.com for $9.50 each.
Sorry, but Berkshire doesn't have them listed at the moment.
John Gavin
I dearly love the Medtner Violin Sonatas (the 3rd "Epic" being my
favorite.) While I usually try not to purchase duplicate recordings of
the same works, I made an exception in the case of these wonderful
sonatas. I acquired every version out there. These included Eric
Parakian, Galyanin, Mullova, Labko, Repin, and I even found a very very
rare David Oistrakh recording of the 3rd Sonata.
After listening intently to all (not a chore, by any means), I strongly
feel that Labko and Svetlanov are the clear winners, by a wide margin.
Labko is indeed a wonderful violinist, - he plays with the authority of
a Heifetz, plus a deep probing musicianship. He and Svetlanov play like
masters. I have never come across any other recordings featuring Labko,
and several months ago, I inquired on these boards about him, but got no
response.
Regarding a few of the other performances, I found Repin/Bersovsky to be
technically fleet, but the cumultive effect of their playing is just too
notey. An admirable effort, and perhaps when there two young players
ripen with age, they will give a great performance of the "Epic" Sonata.
They do however give an excellent Ravel Sonata on the same CD. The
Oistakh / Goldenweiser recording was extremely disappointing to me -
they simply get lost in the notes....and lose the line. This makes the
Labko/Svetlanov all the more cherishable for me.
An interesting note - Medtner himself recorded with First Violin Sonata
with a British violinist. Hope it comes out some day!
Eric Schissel
ASV... I have a few recordings of the sonatas but I forget which labels.
My personal preference is for sonata 2 (sonata 1 seems to me not as
interesting as I'd like, sonata 3 is that very-rare-thing (imho!!!!), a
Medtner failure (well, minor failure) (imho!!!!)) while sonata 2 has what
I once described here as a contagious happiness in its outer movements,
catchy syncopations in secondary themes, a wonderful variations slow
movement, and a great winding-up. Thankfully, there seem to be a few more
recordings of these sonatas coming out every once in a while. Hopefully
an excellent violinist will pair with Marc-Andre Hamelin and record them
for Hyperion. Just an I-wish. Even if it's just 1&2. (I'd prefer 1&2
alone- easier on the wallet- but if anyone can convince me of 3, it would
be Hamelin with a sufficiently great violinist, so long as they work
together well.)
-Eric Schissel
--
schi...@lightlink.com
http://www.lightlink.com/schissel ICQ#7279016
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