Kopatchinskaja/leschenko: Deux

Alpha Classics

You’d expect nothing less than explosive creativity from the word go from the ultra-exuberant Moldovan firebrand violinist Patrcia Kopatchinskaja; nor is that expectation denied in her new duo release with pianist Polina Leschenko, an equal in virtuosity and charisma. They open with Poulenc’s punchy 1940s’ Violin Sonata, written during the German occupation, and given both blood-curdling ferocity and sensuous bittersweetness in this compelling performance. The end journey is a sizzling coupling of Bartók’s Sonata No2 and Ravel’s hair-raising tzigane. The gypsy verve is teased big time out of both, Kopatchinskaja’s playing of the Bartók oozing colour and energy, her Ravel raising the electric charge to maximum. The only pause for breath in this thrilling tour de force is Leschenko’s whimsical execution of Delibes’ Coppélia Waltz in an ornate transcription by Dohnányi.