Nina Kotova & José Feghali: Brahms - Reger - Schumann
Nina Kotova is a Russian-American cellist. An internationally-recognized instrumentalist, Kotova is regarded as one of the finest talents of her generation. Today we are excited to share our remarks on Nina Kotova’s album featuring which features late pianist José Feghali, a laureate of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition; the album itself contains classic pieces from from Johannes Brahms, Max Reger and Robert Schumann and was released on September 10, 2021 via Warner Classics.
Starting off the album is Kotova and Feghali’s performance of Brahms’ Cello Sonata No.1 for Piano and Cello Op.38 in E minor which is comprised of three movements: “I. Allegro non troppo”, “II. Allegretto quasi Menuetto” and “III. Allegro”. From the outset, the exceptional partnership between Kotova and Feghali becomes clear to the listener as both of these expert musicians play their respective part perfectly. During the first movement, we are treated to beautiful lead trade-offs as the melody rises and falls in intensity. During the second movement we are treated to much of the same as Kotova’s cello and Feghali’s piano capture each subtlety of the movement. In the third movement, “Allegro”, the duo truly captures a spark of free-flowing energy, truly delighting the senses in a naturally upbeat way.
The middle portion of the album is made up of Max Reger’s Suite No. 2 for Solo Cello Op.131c/2 in D minor; throughout the four movements of this suite, we are treated to a magnificent solo cello performance that puts Nina Kotova’s depth of skill on a true display. Throughout the first movement, “I. Präludium: Largo”, Kotova dazzles with an emotive presentation, truly appealing to the senses. The soulful rendition of this suite continues during “II. Gavotte: Allegretto”, wherein Kotova weaves the melody in a breathtaking manner. “III. Largo” follows and throughout this movement Kotova captures an incredibly elegant atmosphere, turning in an undoubtedly sublime performance that I found to be absolutely spellbinding. Completing Reger’s suite is “IV. Gigue: Vivace”, an up-tempo and richly melodic piece; through Kotova’s cello, we are able to feel the true essence of this piece.
Robert Schumann’s Fantasiestücke for Piano and Cello, Op. 73 is up next and features the return of Feghali’s piano. “I. Zart und mit Ausdruck” introduces the suite, beautifully capturing the piece’s natural feelings of melancholy in a delightfully insightful way. “II. Lebhaft, leicht” is the piece that follows and its upbeat energy is captured in a picturesque fashion and is such a splendid display of positive energy by Kotova and Feghali. The fury-filled “III. Rasch und mit Feuer” is the next movement and is a truly remarkable piece; what is even more remarkable is how effortlessly Kotova and Feghali capture the frenzied energy that this difficult to master piece contains. Closing out the album is Schumann’s “Adagio and Allegro Op.70 in A flat” which is a perfect piece to truly encapsulate the partnership between Kotova and Feghali on this album; this piece’s beauty cannot be understated and the execution by these two musicians is of the highest quality.
A prevalent theme throughout the Brahms and Schumann sections is just how splendidly Kotova’s cello and Feghali’s piano performances pair together to bring the compositions to life in a refreshing, dazzling way. Through the Reger suite, we are treated to Kotova’s solo performances which highlight her talents in a different way than when she is pairing with Feghali. As a result, I enjoy the composition choices on this album a great deal as they allow for Kotova’s skills to shine in both solo and paired settings, allowing the listener to truly appreciate the immense depth of her skill as she seemingly effortlessly navigates these beautiful, lush soundscapes.
In addition to the album’s release, Nina Kotova also released an NFT featuring legendary actor Robert Redford and multimedia artists Sibylle Szaggars Redford and Thomas McBee. The NFT utilizes a blockchain that uses significantly less energy than normal NFTs and the NFT itself promotes sustainability. Kotova is taking a revolutionary step by combining crypto-art with music!
You can learn more about Nina Kotova and her works through her website and we have her new album embedded below via Spotify! You can also purchase the album through Amazon and Apple Music!
