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‘Classical CD of the week’ "Vivaldi" - Katona Twins with the Carducci String Quartet The brilliant Katona Twins mingle the familiar (a Double Concerto and the solo D major Concerto RV93, with its dreamy Largo) with rarities such as a pair of trio sonatas, both marked by Vivaldi's characteristic melancholy lyricism and raw, percussive energy. They also throw in a mildly agreeable, sub-Bachian sonata, originally for two lutes, by the famous lutenist-composer Silvius Weiss. While none of the music here stretches the Katonas' formidable virtuoso technique, their performances, crisply supported by the Carducci Quartet, could hardly be bettered for charm, zest, wit and colouristic flair. The Daily Telegraph. September 2007 Golden Ear Award Peter and Zoltan Katona, in addition to genetic material, share a fabulous guitar technique and highly refined musical instincts, applied here to a disc devoted to the Argentinean composer and tango master Astor Piazzolla. The readings are dramatically taut, alternately delicate and assertive, with exceptionally clean passage work and crystalline harmonics. There are stretches of exquisite beauty, as with the haunting "Milonga" movement of Homenaje Lieja. The ten-minute title track (Le Grand Tango), though played by the brothers alone, is practically symphonic in scope. This is a beautifully made guitar recording, with loads of detail and startling dynamics, close-up but without much sound of fingers sliding on strings. Picked notes and strummed chords are characterized with extraordinary verisimilitude; so are percussive knocks on the body of the instrument and scrapes on the strings. Every aspect of the Katonas astounding virtuosity is here to savour. The Absolute Sound, December 2004 "This latest Album from the Katona Twins fully sustains the high standards set by their previous three releases for Channel Classics....whatever the medium the Katonas and colleagues demonstrate a natural feel for the idiom, as witness the deliciously sultry 'Milonga in Re' or 'Le Grand Tango', a gripping ten-minute exposé ....The seductively spacious and forceful recording, with guitar 'noises off' thankfully kept to a minimum, assumes even more authority and believability when the SACD track is activated. Highly recommended." International Record Review, June 2004 "A beautifully played disc of very different arrangements of Piazzolla's music. ...in the hands of Peter and Zoltán Katona it proves a vibrant triptych, the vigorous outer movements encasing a warm-hearted Andante. ...The redistribution of the bandoneon to a second guitar part works very neatly and the reduction of the accompaniment to a string quintet gives the music - dynamic and lyrical as in the Tango Suite - a chamber music intimacy. The same is true of the other pieces.....cleaner lines, slightly more pace, more refined in tonal palette yet still possessing the original's combination of elegance and earthiness. A rare achievement." Gramophone, September 2004 "... the beauty of the glassy second movement and the brittle clarity of the final chase...... leaves you wanting more: the brilliant Katona twins are clearly capable of it." (Cheltenham International Music Festival, Concerto by Michael Berkeley) The Times, 6. July 2004 The Katona Twins demonstrated perfect technique and harmony in a fast tremolo with smooth flowing passages. The Preludes and Fugues by Tedesco were compelling and played with unique interpretation. Their polyphonic style, when interpreting the three movements of the Trio Sonata in G minor, created an excellent impression with a perfect balance of tempo and sound. Their style is personal with a unique clarity of feeling. I forecast a bright future for them. Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Gendai Guitar, December 2002 “Now we have the Hungarian duo of the Katona twins, possessed of the technique most others can only dream of. Their needle-sharp unanimity of thought and attack is such that listening ‘blind’ one might wonder how one player could possibly have so many digits…..Both (Concierto Madrigal and Tonadilla) have been recorded several times but never better than here.….these magnificently played versions should keep the Rodrigo aficionados happy enough.This is a stunning disk…” Gramophone, February 2002 “Guitar recital was par excellence. Judged by high standards, this was a wonderful recital in which the twins have formed a partnership that is a superb combination of virtuoso technique, musical understanding and complete rapport.It is clear that being twins they have an extra understanding which enables them to maintain an ensemble that is impeccable even in fast moving music. I will simply sum it up by saying that the standard of excellence throughout was a great delight. Do not miss them.” Belfast Telegraph, February 15, 2002 Few guitar ensembles can match the special qualities of the Katona Twins Guitar Duo. ….their displays of technique, but above all of musicianship, set standards which rose above the guitar ensemble’s limitations in repertoire. ……the Katona Twins achieved as almost orchestral diversity of sound. Middle parts, bass and upper parts were distinguished by colour and tone, and this astonishing independence of time was complemented by natural rhythmic drive. IRISH TIMES – 5TH MARCH 2002 " ..young guitar duo, winners of the 1999 Concert Artists Guild Competition, virtuosos who play with an almost eerie unanimity of style and considerable charm.” New Yorker, 25. June 2002 "Two masters of their trade. With music by Vivaldi and Handel the guitarists Peter and Zoltan Katona took their audience on a beautiful summer walk. They aroused a shivering enthusiasm with their interpretations of contemporary works from Spain and South America.” Frankfurter Rundschau 04.06.2002 “Ear-splitting applause for Peter and Zoltan Katona. What the twin brothers Peter and Zoltan Katona offered …. to a wide audience, really surpassed any expectations. They offered non-stop powerful guitar music of the best quality. The Katona Twins are two exceptional guitarists, who uniquely understand how to kiss awake the six slumbering strings of their instruments.” Neue Westfälische Zeitung 01.06.2002 The young Hungarian twins put on a varied, technically dazzling show…. displaying flawless co-ordination in their dynamics and phrasing… making their two instruments breathe with the spirit of one. Anyone who enjoys classical guitar, in short -- and, indeed, anybody usually left indifferent by the instrument -- should hasten to see the Katonas. They're extraordinary. The Savannah Morning News, USA, 10. March 2001 The Katona Twins music making was absolutely breathtaking ...an extremely delicate, rich and sensitive interpretation of all the works in program. These young charming musicians moved the audience to an extreme….they played and felt the music in perfect unity. This harmony fascinated the audience. München Merkur, Germany, 08.03.2001 "a memorable concert by an outstanding pair of young artists... beautifully matched in every respect, playing intelligently and with feeling....the duo played with accuracy and spirit. With their consistently high level of playing and cooperation, the Katonas are a pair to watch." St. Louis Post-Dispatch,USA, May 2, 2001 "Not since the advent of the Assad brothers have I been so impressed by a guitar duo. These Hungarian twin brothers have everything one might wish for. Forget about guitars, just buy this disc for the musical delight it offers - and waste no time in doing so!" Gramophone Magazine, CD Scarlatti - Händel, April 2000 [The twins] have presence onstage that is both confident and reassuring….The music pulses through them with no affectations, just pure energy and feeling. The Katona’s artistry and technical power transcends the guitar’s traditional limitations and they produce magnificent music.…utterly absorbing and imbued with an entirely fresh conviction that could only be pure Katona…Finally the Piazzola Double Concerto…..with these two magnificent guitarists, the concerto heaved its lungs on great gasping waves of harmony. The Katonas deserve every accolade bestowed upon them…their music is spreading its wings and reaching out…they bring to it a joyous sound that you really must hear. Classical Guitar Magazine, London, Wigmore Hall, June 2000 The Katona Brothers play so precisely and well together that in this discipline, their music takes on a supernatural quality.Two souls and bodies understanding each other in a telepathic way, so that the music can bubble and roar, suddenly exploding and then evaporating into the ephemeral: full of mystique, mischief and vivacity. Copenhagen, Berlingske Tidende 1999 "The Katona Twins share not only a staggering virtuoso technique but rather eerie powers of ensemble. Identical not only in good looks, but in their playing style and charming stage manner, Peter and Zoltan know how to make a good show." The Times / Bridgewater Hall, Manchester / January 1999 "Peter and Zoltan Katona’s music-making was breathtaking. Their performance breathes with an incredible ease, even in the most virtuosic passages…. The ensemble is perfect – both in the dynamics and phrasing, making the sound of the two instruments merge into one." Dresdener Neuste Nachrichten / Dresden Music Festival / May 1999 "The coordination and the agreement in structure and dynamic was from the beginning as if it were the most natural thing in the world… The Tango by Piazzolla became, with its quick changes of profound melancholy and perfect dance spirit, the highlight of the evening." Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung / Rheingau Festival / August 1999 "Stars of the evening, these identical Hungarian twins kept the audience rapt throughout Piazzolla's lightweight Tango Suite and Judith Bingham's Santa Casa. Here, as in every piece, the delicate Perfection of the Katonas'playing electrified the music. The full extent of their art was on display in Leo Brouwer's wonderful Per Suonare a Due. The work moves from a tangled atonal skein to a hilarious dialogue between the two guitars. The intense ensemble between the Katonas is irresistible," The Times London, 10th January 1997 " The Katona twins had great fun with Leo Brouwer's Per Sounare a Due, goading each other with attempts at interruption during it's Scherzo di Bravura. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given their relational closeness, they exhibited a flawless symbiosis of ensemble and interpretative intent." The Daily Telegraph. London, 11th January 1997 The Twins Peter and Zoltan Katona showed the vivid versatility of their instruments playing in flawless harmony yet maintaining perfect tone throughout - rhythmically precise, brilliant and nevertheless intimate - giving every movement its own character. Four Sonatas by Scarlatti resounded with lively lilting elegance. They played Rodrigo's Tonadilla with colourful form especially in Minuetto Pomposo displaying breathtakingly crisp scales and pounded chords handled with beautiful delicacy. One was enthralled throughout by the perpetual warmth of the refined play, the smoothness of the pianos and the sensitivity of the overall sound. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Alte Oper, Mozart Saal 24. October 97 |