Paul Huang (violin), Helen Huang (piano)

Poulenc: Violin Sonata, FP 119
Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel
Prokofiev: Violin Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 80

Paul Huang and Helen Huang have been exploring the repertoire for violin and piano for now a decade. As a way of celebrating their fruitful and enriching collaboration, they have devised this album as an ingenious game of mirroring. The title of this second album for naïve is not accidental, as the two musicians offer highly diverse perspectives. This new recording focuses first on two sonatas composed by Francis Poulenc (1942–1943) and Sergei Prokofiev (1938–1946) during the Second World War of the 20th century, respectively at the opening and closing of this album. Between these two pieces, Spiegel im Spiegel by Arvo Pärt (1978), a page with ethereal lines, a moment of introspection and calm that becomes a space for contemplation and reflection necessary in this otherwise dense and angular programme.

"Paul and Helen Huang aren’t related, but the true teamwork makes better sense than any other performance I’ve heard of the Poulenc Sonata for Violin and Piano, inexplicably heard less often in concert than Prokofiev’s dark and tragic first." BBC Music Magazine, February 2025
5 out of 5 stars (Performance) / 4 out of 5 stars (Recording)