Patricia McCarty and her pianist partner Martin Amlin make beautiful music together in their performance of Schubert’s “Arpeggione” sonata, here set for viola instead of the instrument for which it was originally written–the guitarre d’amour, or “arpeggione”, a short-lived cello/guitar contrivance with frets and six strings, played with a bow. Today Schubert’s lovely piece is performed by both cellists and violists, and McCarty’s effort goes down as perhaps the warmest and sweetest sounding–certainly more so than Yuri Bashmet’s more coarse, gritty rendition (RCA)–yet it’s also a bit too mild of manner, its lines too smoothly sculpted, giving an overly facile quality to the interpretation that’s pretty and engaging but dramatically weak. More character, more edge, more depth, more contrast would be welcome–McCarty certainly has the technique but seems to make a conscious decision here to play this overtly romantic work as greeting card verse rather than serious poetry. Nevertheless, her tone is gorgeous, her command of the instrument impressive, and her well-practiced interaction with Amlin a pleasure to hear.
The Beethoven selections are charmers, especially the famous violin Romance in G, which, as most violists know, translates extremely well to the darker, richer realm of their instrument, and McCarty makes the most of every phrase. The Notturno, a viola/piano transcription of Beethoven’s early Serenade Op. 8 for violin, viola, and cello, presumably put together by his pupil Ferdinand Ries, is performed here in a version based on an edition originally issued in 1948 by Sidney Beck. Its seven sections, including a delightful “Allegretto alla Polacca” and suitably playful “Scherzo”, give the violist lots of good tunes and opportunities for showing off, and it’s here that McCarty really convinces us with her range of subtle expressive tricks and turn-on-a-dime technical prowess. The piano could have a bit more presence–or at least rounder, warmer treble–but overall the sound is well-balanced and the viola is generously presented in all its full-bodied glory.
