Kyung-Wha Chung & Radu Lupu Sonatas For Violin & Piano 180g Import LP

Analog Planet Rated 11/11 Music, 8/11 Sonics!

Violinist Kyung-Wha Chung and pianist Radu Lupu perform sonatas for violin and piano by Franck and Debussy. Recorded at Kingsway Hall, May 9-12, 1977.

I enjoyed this record enormously. Why I liked this new issue so much is primarily because Kyung-Wha Chung and Radu Lupu do not sound like two internationally famous soloists flung together in a recording studio just for an afternoon. They not only play into each other's hands like a true, long-attuned duo, but also appreciate the very special intimacy of style (without any suggestion of muted ardour) inherent in chamber music. In Franck's Sonata the music itself seems to generate the ideal tempo for them and in this movement I also preferred their more restrained rubato in the first quasi lento episode so that its resur-gence a few bars later (Tempo 1, Allegro) can emerge the more emphatic. The natural 'speaking' eloquence of the newcomers seems to me more truly Franckian. I also think the greater clarity of their recording is all to the music's good. Neither instru-ment sounds too close to the microphone. (Regarding the Debussy), I would suggest the new issue of this sonata as the easi-est to live with, catching all the music's moon-struck fantasy and wheedling melodic charm without self-conscious pursuit of either.

For us analog devotees who don't have an unlimited vinyl budget, you can rest assured that this reissue from Analogphonic will bring excellent AAA sound to what is one of the if not the definitive recordings of this marvelous repertoire. Is it an audiophile marvel like some of the Living Stereos or Deccas from 20 years prior? Perhaps not, but this recording is no sonic slouch either and vastly improves upon the original release thanks to an excellent remastering job by John Webber at Air Studios in London. The real reason to buy this album, however, is the chance to hear two masters pour their heart and soul into a performance of such substance and quality that few, if any performers, living or dead, can match.