Description:

Violinist Patrizia Kopatchinskaja, who has now earned a reputation as a prodigy, was partnered on her debut album released in 2008 by composer-pianist Fazil Say, who was also called a prodigy at the time. The two have continued to work together since then, and their reputation as a great duo is firmly established. The two, who describe each other as "a pianist with the indomitable spirit and energy of a volcano" and "a transformable violinist who naturally brings out a different character and a new story each time he performs," recorded three sonatas by Bartók, Brahms, and Janácek, each with a completely different character. The music spun by these two personalities, sometimes leaning on each other, sometimes battling with each other, is unique, with an intoxication that cannot be experienced anywhere else, and a fierceness that sends sparks flying. The highlight is Bartok, which Kopatchinskaja describes as "truly wonderful from beginning to end," and the tension-filled exchanges in the last movement are exceptional. (C)RS