EVVA MIZERSKA
Recording reviews:
They (...) play with great technical address and skill – indeed I cannot imagine a more convincing case being made for this music.
- Nick Barnard, Music Web International
Ashton CD rated among the Best Finds of 2012:
...Polish cellist Evva Mizerska and Italian pianist Emma Abbate, known collectively as the Evva&Emma Duo, make a strong case for Ashton's music. [Ashton] was an accomplished pianist himself, and it shows in these challenging scores, which our artists handle with great aplomb. They have technical ability to spare, and their playing ranges from sensitively shaded in more melodic passages to virtuosically supercharged when the notes start flying thick and fast. ...this disc easily qualifies as an audiophile release.
-- Bob McQuiston, Classical Lost and Found (CLOFO.com, Y121221) - AUDIOPHILE BEST FIND
...she shows a great expressive range and impressive authority.
Tim Homfray, The Strad
These young players play these works as if they owned them, with complete assurance and clear dedication. Evva Mizerska produces a beautiful sound, no matter what Meyer asks of her, and Emma Abbate and Katarzyna Glensk leave a similarly attractive impression – never mind that the piano parts are very challenging!
Raymond S. Tuttle, International Record Review
"This is as fine a piece as anything I’ve heard from [Meyer]… These three pieces are all strong and well worked out and will give much satisfaction, especially if you like your music to make you think about what is going on. The performances are excellent, and all the performers go all out to make this music really speak to us. The notes in the booklet are excellent and the recording is superb. […] For me this is essential listening, and I would urge everyone who is interested in contemporary music to join me in discovering one of the most elemental and exciting composers currently at work today"
Bob Briggs. Music Web International
LINK: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2009/nov09/Meyer_TOCC0098.htm
These works are instantly gratifying. They play well to the cello's wide range and assortment of colors […] Performing these three works is the young, talented Evva Mizerska. To take on an entire program of little-known, modern works for a debut album takes courage, but Mizerska pulls it off as if she'd been recording for decades. Her technique is vast, but more importantly for Meyer's music, she possesses powerful interpretive tools that ensure she is communicating with her listeners from moment one. Joined by equally insightful and skilled pianists… this album is a welcome addition for cello and chamber music fans.
Mike D. Brownell, Allmusic.com
http://www.allmusic.com/album/krzysztof-meyer-complete-works-for-cello-and-piano-w189588/review
...an important addition to any library -- and especially those who value new music for what Meyer regards as the greatest of all the melody instruments. It is also an excellent introduction to a composer who richly deserves greater exposure.
Patric Standford, Music & Vision Daily
In December 2009 William Zagorski selected the CD with complete cello music by Krzysztof Meyer as one of the five most important discs of 2009:
Toccata Classics’ release of the complete works for cello and piano of Krzysztof Meyer brought back the heady thrill, back in the days of my youth, of my discovery of the 1960s Polish avant-garde. Meyer truly belongs in the rarefied company of such notables as Penderecki, Lutosławski, and Górecki. These are stunning performances of stunning music.
And in the review itself he writes:
The cellist, Evva Mizerska… is in possession of a fine, large-scaled, and infinitely plastic sound, able to encompass the challenging demands of Krzysztof Meyer’s thoughts with ease. Her two accompanists, Emma Abbate and Katarzyna Glensk, navigate this difficult music with both utter commitment and facility. The sound is spotlessly clean in all registers, dynamically vast, and satisfying.
William Zagorski, Fanfare
Click for the full review.
Yesterday's Lunchtime Classics concert welcomed two young artistes for the first time. They were Evva Mizerska (cello) and Emma Abbate (piano) who started playing together in 2003 and have toured extensively.
To celebrate the bi-centenary of the birth of both Chopin and Schumann the programme (...) and there were no problems for the duo who produced a fine conclusion to this fascinating concert with some superb playing.
John Packwood, Evening Post, Bristol
The cellist’s rich and sonorous tone filled Hexham Abbey and she and her pianist partner left us in no doubt that we were listening to a genuine duo of highly accomplished performers. (...) The whole of this unashamedly romantic programme was played with warmth, breadth of expression and triumphant musicianship.
Howard Layfield, The Hexham Courant
The collaborative works of Polish cellist Evva Mizerska and Italian pianist Emma Abbate (their début recording premièred the complete works for cello and piano of the contemporary Polish composer Krzysztof Meyer) have been received to great acclaim. An outstanding partnership, they respond superlatively to the complexity, sensitivity and power of Chopin's and Schumann's works, playing with utter commitment, complete assurance and a beautiful, spotlessly clean sound.
St George's, Bristol
Evva Mizerska and Emma Abbate joined forces in 2003 to create a formidable partnership with a passion for contemporary music [...] Together they tackled a varied programme with consummate skill and sensitivity. (...) Within this balance the two individuals excelled, tackling the technical passages with panache and the Gershwin-esque melodies with wit and subtlety. (...) Our sincere thanks to the Evva&Emma Duo for an engaging and informative recital. As soon as the audience get the Chopin earworm out of their heads, we can look forward to exploring the works of Meyer, Ashton and Stojowski further and following the progression of these two wonderful musicians with interest.
Sidney Sussex College Music Society International Concert Series