Marina Marsden
Marina Marsden plays violin with passion, fire and a spiritual tone. Her programmes pair early Grieg and Nielsen sonatas with Sculthorpe's lonely Irkanda I, Christian Heim's Transformation written for her, and the intimate chamber music of Margaret Sutherland.
Strong, communicative and risk-taking, she keeps her vivacity even under the studio microphone. With pianist Robert Chamberlain the rapport is plain: the Grieg and Nielsen leap out with sheer exhilaration, full of the joy of life. Sculthorpe's unaccompanied Irkanda I is thoughtfully done, bird calls and all; Heim's peppy rhythms engage; Kreisler's Caprice Viennois is played with skill and affection. In Margaret Sutherland she finds a warm, rounded sound sensitive to every mood, from the rhapsodic Violin Sonata to the haunting World and the Child for mezzo and string trio. Wonderful phrases arrive on inaudible bow changes. Technique is faultless, yet the playing always serves the music's fire and intimacy, whether Brahms or Australian chamber works.
Marina Marsden appears on
Homage to Brahms
A handsome recital paying homage to Brahms, with two-piano variations, late Intermezzi, the G major Violin Sonata, and the complete Liebeslieder Walzer.