"Duos for Violin and Piano" Album by Raphaël Novarina: Contemporary Classical from Paris

With "Duos for Violin and Piano,” Parisian composer Raphaël Novarina provides us with an elegant and emotionally seductive contemporary classical album. With 13 beautiful duets, performed by Ukrainian virtuosos Oleks Bozhik (violin) and Yuliya Bozhik (piano), the album showcases the musical version of a series of duets and transforms traditional chamber music into a modern conversation.

What makes the premise of this release remarkable is Novarina’s clear comprehension of each instrument’s emotional and technical capabilities. His pieces allow the violin and piano to respond to one another like two voices in an intimate and personal conversation. Sometimes the voices are concordant, sometimes in contrast, and often it is simply a union coupled with mutual influences. The expressive musicality is palpable on tracks like “Parenthèse” and “At Dawn,” where we feel imagery and movement without one word being spoken.

The chemistry between Oleks and Yuliya cannot be understated. Oleks plays with raw passion and a beautiful elegance (the violin really sings) and Yuliya breathes her grace and precision into each piece as a structural anchor. Both performers breathed life into Novarina’s sophisticated writing that is balanced between complex yet simple, fulfilling the enjoyment for both seasoned classical musicians or excited neophytes.

While grounded in tradition, Duos for Violin and Piano feels strikingly modern, with moments of tonal shifts and rhythmic curiosities that inspire surprise and delight. This album shows that classical music can be profoundly human, emotionally-engaging, and boundlessly creative.