Moment muisical No. 3 in F Minor; MENDELSSOHN: Song Without Words, Op.
109; POPPER: Mazurka; CHOPIN: Nocturne in E-flat Major; GRANADOS:
Intermezzo from Goyesca; FAURE: Apres un reve; Papillon; SAINT-SAENS:
The Swan DEBUSSY: Minuet; KODALY: Capriccio fro Cello Solo; DAVIDOV: At
the Fountain; RACHMANINOV: Vocalise; RIMSKY-KORSAKOV: Flight of the
Bumble Bee – Miklos Perenyi, cello/ Zoltan Koscis, piano
Hungaraton HCD 12574, 54:53 (Distrib. Qualiton) ****:
Having owned the LP incarnation of this disc, the beauties of which
first brought Miklos Perenyi’s formidable artistry to my attention, I
seized the opportunity to audition the CD. Recorded 23-27 January 1985
and edited by pianist Zoltan Koscis, the program displays the
many-faceted musicianship of both participants, not the less of whom is
Koscis, recently the recipient of the Kossuth Prize, Hungary’s highest
state decoration. A few highlights of this remarkable album will
suffice: the long, molded line for the Rachmaninov Vocalise; the
absolutely beguiling approach to the Granados Intermezzo with Koscis‚
and Perenyi’s marcato, pizzicato filigree just before the huge
cantilena; the Bach-inspired virtuosity of the Kodaly Capriccio; the
incomparable arioso of the Mendelssohn. Perenyi’s teacher was Miklos
Zsamboki, himself a pupil of David Popper, so the etude-like character
of pieces like Faure’s Papillion and Popper’s own Mazurka pose no
hurdles for Perenyi. The popular encores – the Chopin, Saint-Saens, and
even Rimsky-Korsakov – betray no fatigue, mechanical or affective. An
instant keeper, this disc pairs two kindred spirits.
–Gary Lemco
