Lana Trotovšek, Boris Bizjak, and Maria Canyigueral: Prokofiev Milestones, Volume 1
SOMM Recordings

In coupling a six-part suite of Romeo and Juliet ballet material with three striking sonatas (one in two versions), this rewarding first volume of Prokofiev Milestones bodes well for future chapters. Performed in differing duet combinations by violinist Lana Trotovšek, flutist Boris Bizjak, and pianist Maria Canyigueral, the eighty-minute recording presents the composer's Sonata for Two Violins in C Major, Op. 56 in an arrangement for flute and violin as well as the Sonata for Flute and Piano in D Major, Op. 94 and the related Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano in D Major, Op. 94a (the latter transcription was created when Prokofiev answered the call for a violin version). As beloved as his orchestral works and ballets are, the trio's recording casts a powerful light on the composer's equally worthy chamber output.

Certainly Prokofiev is in good hands with the instrumental virtuosos on the recording. Each brings impressive credentials to the project, extensive educational backgrounds, ample experience as soloists and chamber musicians, and familiarity with traditional and contemporary repertoire. And with other recordings under their individual belts, their reputations precede them, as it were. The current project isn't the first time they've played together: Canyigueral and Bizjak co-released a CD, and the pianist's first recording with Trotovšek received a gold medal at the Global Music Awards. On Prokofiev Milestones, Bizjak's soaring, bright tone is a constant source of pleasure, and Trotovšek plays ravishingly throughout; both benefit greatly from Canyigueral's always-attentive accompaniment.

While there are many reasons for Prokofiev's enduring popularity, his singular melodic sensibility is certainly one. That's well-accounted for in the ballet suite, but it's also evident in the sonatas. The opening movement in the Sonata for Flute and Piano, first performed in 1943, is distinguished by a haunting introductory theme that lends itself especially well to the woodwind, as does the pastoral tone. The resonant “Moderato” with which it opens is positively bewitching, regardless of whether the section in question is wistful or mischievous. The dance dimension that forms part of the first movement is dominant in the rollicking “Scherzo: Presto” when the flute leads the acrobatic dance. Calm prevails during the “Andante,” with even a blues tinge seemingly seeping in, after which an animated finale brings the work to a roller coaster-like close.

Bizjak's arrangement of the Sonata for Two Violins (written in the summer of 1929) necessitated some adjustments—double stops or chords in the violin part became grace notes or arpeggios in the flute, for example—but the general character of the original is retained in the fifteen-minute transcription. After the flute and piano engage in a swaying to-and-fro during the “Andante cantabile,” the partners leap into action for the “Allegro,” with Trotovšek and Bizjak both turning devilish. Naturally the pace slows for the ponderous explorations of the third movement until the playful “Allegro con brio” caps the work with nimble folk-dance moves.

Different transcriptions of individual movements from Romeo and Juliet, Prokofiev's fifth ballet, have been created, but it's the suite for violin and piano Lidia Baich and Matthias Fletzberger published in 2012 that's performed by Trotovšek and Canyigueral here. While six excerpts can hardly account for the melodic scope of the full ballet, the suite does capture its character in microcosmic form. The arresting upward sweep of the “Introduction” is handled brilliantly by the two, as are the light-speed runs in “Juliet” and “Dance of the Couples.” Whereas the pounding “Dance of the Knights” exudes a suitably crushing power, the touching “Balcony Scene” is as romantic as one might hope. The suite concludes no less arrestingly with the vivacious “Mercutio – Fight – Tybalt's Death.”

Mere months after the debut performance of the flute sonata, violinist David Oistrakh, who attended the premiere, encouraged Prokofiev to adapt the work for violin and piano, the Sonata No. 2 for Violin and Piano the result. Enhancing its value is the fact that the version performed by Trotovšek and Canyigueral is, in fact, the first recording of the piece. In smartly placing the two treatments at the start and end of the recording, the work is able to breathe more and establish the versions as separate entities; had one followed the other, the urge to compare would have been strong. Hearing Trotovšek deliver the first movement's swooning melody earlier voiced by Bizjak proves as satisfying, even if the tone changes from one version to the other. The “Scherzo: Presto” loses none of its breeziness in the translation, nor are the serene “Andante” and “Allegro con brio” any less graceful and effervescent, respectively.

February 2024