Duo No. 2

Leon Kirchner’s music walks a tightrope between tradition and innovation, but what keeps it all balanced in the end is the extraordinary care the composer shows to the performers. The melodic lines are always breathtaking yet playable, rapturous, angular, expressive, and always sound joyful to play. There’s nostalgia and angst in ample amounts, but the performers always have the opportunity to flaunt their technique without sabotaging the delicate flow generated by the music. Violinist Ida Levin and pianist Jeremy Denk wallow in the richness of the perpetual tension and release as Kirchner shapes a turbulent architecture which somehow conveys something tranquil.

—RN