Denise Djokic: Barber, Martinu, Britten
Release date: 2002-04-16
Label: Sony Classical
Catalog #: SK080743
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Denise Djokic: cello
David Jalbert: piano
In their debut recording, Denise Djokic and David Jalbert present three major cello works of the 20th century. Beginning with Samuel Barber’s Cello Sonata, one of the composer’s earliest chamber compositions, one can easily note the romantic and lyrical influence of Brahms. The rhythmically intense and driven Sonata No. 1 of Bohsulav Martinu provides a stark contrast and thrilling introduction to the first of three cello and piano sonatas of this prolific composer. To end the disc, Djokic plays Benjamin Britten’s Third Suite for Cello, the final suite of Britten’s set, rooted in Russian folk themes and inspired by the composer’s long-standing friendship with the great cellist Mstislav Rostropovich.
2002 East Coast Music Award, Classical Recording of the Year
Tracklisting
Samuel Barber - Sonata for cello and piano op. 6
2 II. Adagio – Presto
3 III. Allegro appassionato
B. Martinu – Sonata for cello and piano no. 1
4 I. Poco allegro
5 II. Lento
Benjamin Britten - Third Suite for cello, op. 87
7 I. Introduzione: Lento
8 II. Marcia: Allegro
9 III. canto: Con moto
10 IV. Barcarola: Lento
11 V. Dialogo: Allegretto
12 VI. Fuga: Andante espressivo
13 VII. Recitativo: Fantastico
15 Passacaglia: Lento solenne
Reviews
Denise Djokic plays with seemingly natural ease, and her glowing warm tone and honest musical interpretations draw the listener into her complete commitment to the music.
̶ The Strad, August 2001
In Martinu’s beautiful First Sonata…the colours of intensity flow one into another from beginning to end…with the final ‘Allegro con brio’, to which the two musicians bring an uncommon energy. But it is probably in Britten’s Third Suite for Cello op. 87 that we can truly judge the art of Denise Djokic. This long work in nine movements plays on the sonorities, the atmospheres and the contrasting forms the flow of which, to be clear, demands a master bow in all the registers of the instrument. The cellist meets this challenge convincingly, from the mournful tone of the “Introduzione: Lento” to the final lament of the imposing “Passacaglia: Lento solenne” that makes up one third of the Suite. An artist to watch!
̶ La Scena Musicale, February 2003