PatKop & Say Album Review – Playfulness and seductive elegance in a mix of new and old

Patricia Kopachinskaya and Fazil C (Alpha) compositions by both musicians themselves are works by Szymanovsky and Prokofiev. It complements Szymanovsky's Three Myths and Prokofiev's Violin Sonata No. 1.

The compositions of both musicians are based on the works of Szymanovsky and Prokofiev

Friday 16 October 2026 13.31 CEST Last change on Friday 16 October 2026 13.32 CEST

Patricia Kopatchinskaja and Fazil Say have previously recorded Say's music together, but this is their first recording to also feature Kopatchinskaja as composer, but the project is not in vain: Say's and Kopatchinskaja's pieces are good complements to Szymanowski's Three Mythes and Prokofiev's Prokofiev's No11.

Say's Lost Screams Sonata is driven by repeated piano rhythms, and the intensity is almost second fiddle to the episode where Kopachinskaya plays quiet, ghostly harmonics and Say gently strums the piano strings. Kopatchinskaja's three-movement UniSolo is an obnoxious work of searching and thoughtful playfulness that comes from a parallel world to the miniatures of Kortag, which he plays so well.

The duo deliver a stunning performance of the legends that captures the strange opulence of these pieces with both musicians' beguiling subtleties of playing. Prokofiev's wartime Sonata No. 1 of greater scope has moments where Kopatchinskaya makes her tone almost ugly, even where other violinists might soar heroically. Each of these works pushes the edges of what the violin can do, giving the instrument a kind of narrative role: Kopachinskaya, always seeking to play the role of storyteller, uses these qualities with gusto.