Hidden Flame in Bloomington, MN

Violinist
Yoshika Masuda
and pianist
HyeJin Kim
offer this album "of compositions by women as nothing other than masterpieces by truly great composers," and the program lives up to this claim. The three
Romances, Op. 22
, by
Clara Schumann
, have probably come closer to the mainstream repertory than any of the other pieces, while other works are quite rare;
Reena Esmail
's
One Word Makes a World
here receives its world premiere. Probably the biggest find is the
Great Dramatic Sonata "Titus et Bérénice"
of
Rita Strohl
, which has been recorded just once before. It is not the public-virtuoso extravaganza the title might suggest but an artful incorporation of programmatic material into a classical four-movement framework. The opening
Romance, Op. 23
, of
Amy Beach
is also an accomplished late Romantic work, given an appropriately clear and not overwrought reading by
Masuda
and
Kim
, who have a good chamber music rapport. The program concludes with
three little pieces
by
Nadia Boulanger
, who is not an unknown figure, but many listeners will be delighted to find these; sample the marvelously serene second piece, "Sans vitesse et à l'aise" ("Without speed and at ease"), and with the
Sicilienne
Maria Theresia von Paradis
; the latter doesn't quite fit the agenda here (it is thought to be a forgery by
Samuel Duskin
), but it makes an attractive conclusion. A highly listenable addition to the growing body of recordings of music by women. ~ James Manheim