Okay, so the title Violent Viola is a little silly and the gatefold cover that opens to reveal the names of the composers scrawled across the performer's naked back is a bit much. But listen to the disc, listen to Dutch violist
Esther Apituley perform works by Bach,
Ravel,
Britten,
Stravinsky, and Dowland, among others, with the kind of charismatic intensity and full-frontal virtuosity that had heretofore been the exclusive property of violinists and cellists, but which, through the power of her personality and the strength of her will,
Apituley boldly claims for herself and her instrument. In this recital,
Apituley appears in a variety of contexts: as a soloist in
Hindemith's angularly expressive Sonata for solo viola, as a partner with a pianist in
Ravel's mournful Kaddisch and
Britten's bereft Lachrymae, as member of a viola trio in the deeply nostalgic anonymous Song from Georgia, and as leader of the Amsterdam Viola Quartet in Dowland's heartbroken Burst forth my tears and If my complaints could passions move.
Apituley even appears once as a composer in the gracefully sensuous Pizzicato, also played by the viola quartet. Clearly a major musical talent,
Apituley's disc is an immensely impressive debut recording -- but it's hard to guess how she'll top the title and the gatefold cover. Challenge Classics' sound is rich, warm, and flattering to the performer.