MusicWeb International‘s Jazz Critic, Marc Rochester has a new review for Piet Koornhof and Albie van Schalkwyk‘s Frolov and Friends recording:
“Frolov was a violin virtuoso, and these pieces are far more challenging than they sound. It is a huge tribute to Koornhof that he makes them all sound so effortless, coaxing the often sentimental and lyrical ideas from the instrument and fighting shy of excessive outbursts of virtuosity (although we get some pretty spectacular displays of technical brilliance in the superficially innocuous Caprice and the breathlessly energetic Scherzo, both of which sound, as do so many of Frolov’s original compositions, as if they could quite easily have come from the pen of Fritz Kreisler). Albie van Schalkwyk proves a delicately supportive pianist throughout, happily sliding into the background in order for the violin to grab all the limelight. If the ghost of Kreisler seems to haunt Frolov’s original compositions, it is Cuba which dominates the arrangements. … The political links between Soviet Russia and Communist Cuba are also celebrated by the inclusion of six sentimental melodies by one of Cuba’s revolutionary leaders, Juan Almeida Bosque … [and] Frolov’s deeply sympathetic arrangements and Koornhof and Schalkwyk’s deliciously poised performances help allay the more … syrupy elements.”
—Marc Rochester, MusicWeb International
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