Violist Esther Apituley is a celebrity in her native Holland, regularly appearing on television and in concert, both as soloist and leading her Amsterdam Viola Quartet. On her second Challenge Classics release, Viola Voilà, Apituley strives for a more reflective mood and slightly more conventional program than with her debut Violent Viola. Pianist Rië Tanaka provides accompaniment in the Schubert "Arpeggione" Sonata, Piazzola's Le Grand Tango, and in short pieces by Drigo and Fauré, the latter drawn from literature for the ...
Read More
Violist Esther Apituley is a celebrity in her native Holland, regularly appearing on television and in concert, both as soloist and leading her Amsterdam Viola Quartet. On her second Challenge Classics release, Viola Voilà, Apituley strives for a more reflective mood and slightly more conventional program than with her debut Violent Viola. Pianist Rië Tanaka provides accompaniment in the Schubert "Arpeggione" Sonata, Piazzola's Le Grand Tango, and in short pieces by Drigo and Fauré, the latter drawn from literature for the violin. Apituley is heard without accompaniment in the Vieuxtemps and Stravinsky works, and with the Amsterdam Viola Quartet in her own Hydropath and in an arrangement of Cage's ubiquitous Dream to which Tanaka adds a few notes here and there. Throughout, Apituley's playing is rich, authoritative, and confident, and in general, Viola Voilà is a delight to listen to based on Apituley's energy alone. Her original piece Hydropath is an interesting attempt to combine a minimalistic...
Read Less