Selected Review Quotes

lera auerbach 24 preludes for violin and piano & oskolki

  • It is hard to pinpoint these enticing miniatures because they are so varied stylistically, the idiom changing from spare and aphoristic to intensely dissonant. The program notes make a poetic comparison with Japanese teacups, remarking that Auerbach’s Preludes “possess the fragility, and at the same time the edge and roughness, of small broken porcelain fragments.” At times the sense of time stops; at other times there are abrupt disjunctions ad sudden turnarounds. The new recording puts a greater emphasis on the music’s angularity and contrasts, with a more percussive and muscular approach. Accents here are also somewhat more incisive. This disc adds two new preludes marked P.S. that are a rethinking, or postscripts, of Preludes Nos. 8 and 22, which are being given world premiere recordings, along with 10 Oskolki (Fragments of Childhood) from 2001, which are also receiving their first recordings. …this is an absorbing recording, one I anticipate returning to often. The recorded sound is natural and well balanced. …the compelling performances of compelling music.

    Five stars: Dramatic performances of compelling works for violin and piano Fanfare Magazine, Henry Fogel, May-June, 2022

  • Auerbach’s 24 Preludes impress me as a tragic song cycle (Schubert’s Winterreise comes to mind), but without words. And as in the Schubert, the pianist in Auerbach’s work is not a mere accompanist, but an equal collaborator with the violinist/narrator. In the new Hännsler recording, the members of the Avita Duo fulfill their roles in splendid fashion. Their technical excellence, emotional intensity, and unity of purpose are never in doubt. Violinist Moeller and pianist Nosikova are also able to move from one emotional state and/or musical style to another in seamless, convincing fashion. These same attributes may be found in the duo’s premiere recordings of the 10 Oskolki (Broken Pieces), works that embody much the same world as the Preludes. The recorded sound has a wonderful immediacy and richness.

    Five Stars: Avita Duo’s riveting performances of music by Lera Auerbach Fanfare Magazine, Ken Meltzer, May-June, 2022

  • In her excellent booklet notes for this release, Viviana Ramos refers to Lera Auerbach’s 24 Preludes as possessing “the fragility, and, at the same time, the edge and roughness, of small. broken porcelain fragments.” It is a telling analogy. The Avita Duo of Katya Moeller and Ksenia Nosikova (mother and daughter) add to a relatively large discography of performances of the Preludes by such names as Gidon Kremer, Vadim Gluzman, and Daniel Hope. The Avita Duo loses little in comparison with those accounts: this is fresh, committed playing, always powerful and concentrated, and superbly recorded. There is a tensile strength to Moeller’s playing that is matched by the grounded, earthy piano of Ksenia Nosikova. Both players have the strength of technique to hover on the point of audibility but to offer total control of sound output (something put to stunning use in the violin song of Prelude No. 23). There is a sense of wholeness to their interpretation, also, plus the recording is excellent, with a true sense of perspective.

    Five stars: Phenomenal instrumentalists in the service of music that is clearly of huge consequence Fanfare Magazine, Colin Clarke, May-June, 2022

  • The Avita Duo has recorded a gripping performance of this music. Lera Auerbach’s 24 Preludes are rapidly becoming standard violin repertoire. The Avita Duo offers a worthy, unique interpretation of these works and a fine introduction to the Oskolki.

    I recommend this recording highly. Fanfare Magazine, Myron Silberstein, May-June, 2022