Sonata No 3 in A, Op 69 - Beethoven
Sonata in F, Op 6 - Shostakovich
Three Secular Dances (1994) - Mario Lavista
Pampeana No 2 (1950) - Ginastera
Le Grand Tango - Piazzollo
The "Piatti" Stradivarius cello used by Carlos Prieto is in worthy hands. An ugly sound or an unmusical phrase was inconceivable during Monday's recital. Gentleness ruled in Beethoven's Sonata; the music, unforced, sang with the naturalness of a self-renewing source. Somewhat to my surprise, the gritty, thwarted lyricism and controlled frenzy of Shostakovich's Sonata were in no way diminished by the players' restrained approach; the piano playing of Edison Quintana sounded even better than before.
Carlos Prieto introduced the Latin-American pieces in the second half of the programme: the Dances by his compatriot, the Mexican composer La vista, the rhapsodic Pampeana by the Argentinian Ginastera, and Le Grand Tango by Ginastera's pupil, Piazzollo. It was easy to comprehend why Piazzollo was regarded as a traitor to the tango by traditionalists, but the greater the treason the more interesting the music.
