Customer Reviews

Duo Sessions [Germany]

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Five BRILLIANT Stars! Outstanding performances by Latvia's talented and award-winning Skride sisters: Baiba on violin and Lauma on piano. They perform lively and imaginative virtuosic versions of sonatas by Ludwig von Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Maurice Ravel. Recorded in 2006 at Rolf-Liebermann studios in Hamburg Germany while in their mid-20's, the Skride sisters are in splendid form showing the musical empathy developed over their life-long, globe-trotting association as duo artists, when not pursuing their solo careers. While the Ravel and Schubert sonata performances are excellent, the Beethoven "truth & beauty-like" sonata is in a class of its own. Technically challenging, rhythmically diverse, and yet lyrical, the talented Skride sisters execute this dynamic masterwork with nuanced & enthusiastic brilliance, made all the more admirable when one considers that Beethoven received complaints from a contemporary violinist of his time about the difficulty of the Allegro con spirito movement: but its 'rings of arpeggios' are no less challenging for pianists. This enjoyable recording will be an 'A plus' addition to any musical library and is Highly Recommended. Five MARVELOUS Stars! (Audio CD, 10 tracks; Total time: 58:50. Baiba Skride plays the 1725 "Wilhelmj" Stradivarius violin. Trivia: There is also a third Skride sister: Linda who plays viola. Skride is pronounced SKREE-da))