Viola Recital: Maxim Rysanov

…Rysanov makes out an excellent case for taking up the Franck A major Sonata, his arrangement judiciously steering a middle course between the violin and cello versions, but gaining an extra... — BBC Music Magazine, August 2007, 5 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 26th Mar 2007
Catalogue No: AV2111
Label: Avie
Length: 68 minutes

BBC Music Magazine

August 2007

Chamber Choice
Gramophone Magazine

June 2007

Editor's Choice

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Brahms: Sonatensatz - F.A.E. Sonata, Scherzo in C minor

Work length5:20

Maxim Rysanov, Evelyn Chang

Glinka: Viola Sonata in D minor

Work length15:14

Maxim Rysanov, Evelyn Chang

Allegro

Track length9:42

Adagio

Track length5:32

Enescu: Konzertstück for viola & piano

Work length9:01

Maxim Rysanov, Evelyn Chang

Bridge: Pensiero / Allegro appassionato

Work length7:11

Maxim Rysanov, Evelyn Chang

Pensiero

Track length4:25

Allegro appassionato

Track length2:46

Franck, C: Violin Sonata in A major

Work length27:12

Maxim Rysanov, Evelyn Chang

I Allegretto ben moderato

Track length5:56

II Allegro

Track length8:07

III Recitativo - Fantasia

Track length7:02

IV Allegretto poco mosso

Track length6:07

Tabakova: Whispered Lullaby

Work length4:30

Maxim Rysanov, Evelyn Chang

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“My rival has arrived!” Yuri Bashmet on Maxim Rysanov

Maxim Rysanov is re-defining the art of viola playing for a new generation. This Ukrainian-born, London-based artist is, quite simply, one of the world’s finest and most charismatic viola players. “Romantic expression”, says Rysanov, is the thread that unites the half-dozen works on his solo debut disc with Taiwanese pianist Evelyn Chang. Spanning the better part of two centuries, all of the works on this recording stem from a particular romantic – or romanticized – perspective. And if anyone can coax the kaleidoscopic aspects of romance out of the viola it’s Maxim Rysanov, whether in Brahms’ vivacious FAE Sonata, Enescu’s robust Concert Piece, or Glinka’s delicate Sonata. The two movements by Frank Bridge exhibit the composer’s own skill on the instrument, to which Franck’s Sonata lends its romantic ardour perfectly. The disc’s “encore” is an enchanting miniature written for Rysanov by Bulgarian-born, London-based Dobrinka Tabakova.

Recorded at Potton Hall, Suffolk, 7 - 9 August 2006

Reviews

August 2007

…Rysanov makes out an excellent case for taking up the Franck A major Sonata, his arrangement judiciously steering a middle course between the violin and cello versions, but gaining an extra degree of richness of tone in the upper registers. The other items are no less striking. ...Rysanov and Chang achieve wonderfully veiled colours in both the Glinka Sonata and Dobrinka Tabakova's haunting Whispered Lullaby.

2010

If you have the initial impression that this is a motley collection of pieces, lacking focus, do think again. For one thing, it makes an effective recital programme, the items setting one another off, leading up to the major work (Franck) and concluding with a perfect encore (Tabakova).
And the playing, in its technical command and imaginative grasp, is outstanding. One feels that Maxim Rysanov has a very special relationship with his Guadagnini viola, delighting in bringing out the particular qualities of its different registers – husky lower notes, brilliant high ones which, however, retain weight and intensity. He's well matched by the energy and vitality of Evelyn Chang's playing, strikingly so at the start of the CD (Brahms). On the following tracks (Glinka), she shows very different qualities; sparkling passagework and elegant lyrical expression, and she's equally convincing with the impressionistic sonorities of the Enescu.
Throughout the disc, the attention is constantly grabbed by powerfully expressive duo playing. Rysanov appears as a true virtuoso in the Enescu and in the second of the Bridge pieces, yet he's able to scale down his performance for the intimate, dreamy Tabakova Lullaby, and in the Glinka he brings a subtly individual quality to each melodic phrase. And there's a strong sense that Chang and Rysanov really enjoy playing together.

June 2007

One feels that Maxim Rysanov has a very special relationship with his Guadagnini viola, delighting in bringing out the particular qualities of its different registers - husky lower notes, brilliant high ones which, however, retain weight and intensity. He's well matched by the energy and vitality of Evelyn Chang's playing, strikingly so at the start of the CD (Brahms).

Viola Recital: Maxim Rysanov

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