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Café Momus – the Online Journal of Classical Music
04. 09. 2008.

Artist to be born
(Dance of the Elves – Ildikó Szabó’s cello disc)

Dance of the Elves
Works for Cello and Piano

Ildikó Szabó – cello
Ágota Lénárt – piano

Hungaroton
HCD 32592

I have wondered several times – and probably not alone – what makes a man a true artist. Being talented is surely not enough. Once a dear friend of mine said that talent makes up about ten percent, the rest is diligence and luck. Nevertheless, I believe that having something to say also does no harm.

Ildikó Szabó, a cellist only fifteen years old cannot complain. She is lucky because she was born in the best place, a musician’s family and she is most certainly hard-working, otherwise she would not be able to to play all these technically demanding pieces on the recording. She has nothing to complain about with respect to skills either, but whether she will or will not become an Artist, I think at this moment nobody could tell yet – although we may guess.

The majority of the compositions on the album belong to the great success pieces of the cellist repertoire. Even the very first, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Bumble-bee, demonstrates Ildikó Szabó’s tempestuous technique and this remains throughout the whole disc; the young lady is a magnificent cellist. None of the virtuoso parts provide her much challenge, her scales sound clearly and punctually, every single sound is audible and rhythmically perfect. The Swan by Saint-Saëns touches the heart – it does not tell us anything new, but it does not need to, we are happy and satisfied to hear the well-known, sweet tunes.

For me the first real musical experience was Bartók’s Rhapsody. The young artist starts to talk to us through her instrument, in a beautiful voice with lots of emotions, at some points with girlish gentleness, at others more energetically, almost with a manly strength, but never violently. I think performing the piece like that at such a very young age is a huge achievement.

The next composition on the recording is Kodály’s Lyrical Romance, which is delivered with moving, unstrained ease and then hearing Popper’s Dance of the Elves, our jaws fall open. Following this, we can listen to one work each from Tchaikovsky, Davidov, Dvořák, Cassadò, Schumann and Popper.

Ágota Lénárt is a splendid companion of the young cellist. Her harmonizing is remarkably musical, accommodating and in the meanwhile provides huge support.

Reaching the end of the disc, I am not only convinced of Ildikó Szabó’s extraordinary skill and exceptional instrumental musicality, but, for my greatest joy, also of her possession of emotions and important ideas to express and the ability to express them with the help of her instrument. So let us keep track of her! It is possible that she will emerge to be a real Artist before our very eyes.

Johanna

Translated by Susan Kapás

www.momus.hu/article.php?artid=4832

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