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by coolkdei2
9iUtuosity and Uefined MudJement )Uancesco 3iemontesi
UK LONDON
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Wigmore Hall Francesco Piemontesi 3 November Royal Festival Hall Daniil Trifonov 31October; Steven Osborne 6 November
Steven Osborne has long made Messaien’s Vingt regards his calling card, but his performance of it at the QEH was transcendent: playing the whole 127-minute work without a break, he held a full house spellbound. Checking up afterwards on how his approach di ered from that of the other top contender, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, I found the contrast stark: the French pianist’s account seemed clinical in comparison with Osborne’s mighty conjuring-up of emotional soundworlds. He himself talks about his ‘almost childish pleasure in playing both extremely quietly and crashingly loud’, but his artistry went in nitely further than that. e way the ‘God theme’ emerged from pastel shades of pianissimo at the start was magical in itself, but the journey
www.international-piano.com he then took us on encompassed ecstatic realms which no words could describe. e giant fugue, the awestruck evocations of the divine, the intense silences, the explosions of volcanic energy, the chirpy Gershwin insertions – everything was awlessly delivered, with Osborne like a priest supervising a rite, the conduit for heavenly mysteries. Daniil Trifonov’s recitals are always unpredictable events, and his International Piano Series recital ran true to form. He added a couple of Borodin pieces at the last moment, made the most unlikely segue, and – as he has done so often – bored us rigid with a rambling Rachmaninov encore which seemed to go on for ever. But he exhibited an astonishingly relaxed virtuosity in a series of Scriabin Études followed by the Black Mass Sonata, ringing the changes between hurtling tempestuousness and bated-breath poetry. As Trifonov explained to me in an interview for IP last October, he uses his whole body when he plays, an approach vividly demonstrated here by his various physical contortions, sometimes standing to hammer the keyboard with his sts. But his segue from the Black Mass to Beethoven’s Opus 110 in e ect diminished both works. His interpretation of Opus 110 was novel: most pianists present its progression towards serenity via ariosos and fugues as the gradual lifting of an emotional burden, but in Trifonov’s hands it became light as a feather – not, one suspects, what Beethoven intended.
Having just released a superb recording of Schubert’s last three piano sonatas (see review on page 78), Francesco Piemontesi brought other Schubert works to Wigmore Hall – the D899 Impromptus and the Gasteiner Sonata D850. Even the opening chord of the rst impromptu brought us up short, being huge and lingeringly resonant. As was the rest of the piece – I’ve never heard it so spaciously conceived. e turbulent excitement of the second movement, the muted tenderness of the third, and the disarming simplicity of the fourth were all small revelations. As was the sonata: after an opening Allegro vivace, which impetuously smashed its way through the modulations, came a sweetly singing Con moto, an exuberant Scherzo and a whimsical nale whose ticking-clock theme expanded gloriously like a great oak from an acorn. is unassuming Swiss pianist possesses a winning combination of virtuosity and instinctively re ned judgment. IP
Critic’s choice
BY BRYCE MORRISON
by its whimsy and caprice), Melnikov is deft in the abrupt scales of the Allegro strepitoso and sinks gratefully into temporary repose in the Andante tranquillo. ese are personal and a ecting readings, though with too little sense in No 7 (the second of the so-called War Sonatas) of, in Richter’s words, a world shorn of reason and equilibrium.
Prokofiev Piano Sonatas Nos 4, 7 & 9 Alexander Melnikov (pf) Harmonia Mundi HMM902203
Volume 2 of Alexander Melnikov’s Proko ev sonata cycle consists of Nos 4, 7 and 9, with 1, 2 and 5 still to come. Intent on modifying the composer’s sardonic nature, he gives us Proko ev with a human face, less armed with a porcupine’s quills and spines. You won’t hear Richter’s remorseless drive in the Fourth Sonata’s nale, with its strained gaiety and abandon, and you miss the dark and heavy tread in the Andante assai. ere is a softening of impact, too, in the Seventh Sonata’s nale, Melnikov insuciently menacing in his refusal to treat it as a virtuoso vehicle.
Greater success comes in the Ninth Sonata. If this remains the most unloved of the sonatas (many are bewildered rather than bewitched Versailles Works by Rameau, Visée, Royer, Anglebert, Couperin, Duphly, Lully and Balbastre Alexandre Tharaud (pf) Erato 9029538642
Alexandre araud’s disc of French Baroque composers is full of ever-surprising delights. Sadly mis-cast in late Beethoven, araud returns to home ground, o ering what he calls a ‘bouquet’ of widely varying composers. As he relays in the accompanying booklet, such music is rarely played on modern instruments and much of it has never been recorded. For araud, it is impossible to interpret Saint-Saëns, Debussy or Ravel without reference to Couperin and Rameau. He reminds us that Chopin played Rameau and that Royer’s La Marche des Scythes anticipates Chabrier’s exuberance.
Such verbal insight and enthusiasm are mirrored in superb performances of the music, be they frisky or plaintive, poetic or pungent, gloriously dismissive of convention or expectation. In Rameau’s Gavotte et doubles he employs the widest variety of touch and colour, revelling in the resources of a modern piano, while in the same composer’s Viens, Hymen he is joined by silvery-voiced Sabine Devieilhe. Elsewhere he pays tribute to Marcelle Meyer, who rst inspired his love of this magical corner of the repertoire. Finely recorded and presented, this is an elusive but ideal Christmas gift.
ALBUM OF THE MONTH
Luminous pianism: Arcadi Volodos
Arcadi Volodos’ visits to the studio are rare. Here, revisiting Schubert after virtuoso ights at once sky-rocketing and cool-headed (his dizzying Horowitz and Czi ra transcriptions, not forgetting other less worldly recordings of Brahms and Mompou), he now reveals that he possesses what is surely the most re ned and spectacular technique of any living pianist.
Listeners will be lost in wonder at the nesse he draws from Schubert’s great A major Sonata No 20, representing a seachange also heard in his London recital earlier this year, where his pianissimo was so fragile it scarcely passed the front row. Pyrotechnics are now replaced with extreme inwardness and con dentiality. For
Schubert – Last Piano Sonatas PIano Sonatas Nos 19, 20 & 21 Francesco Piemontesi (pf) Pentatone PTC 5186742
Here is con rmation that Francesco Piemontesi belongs to a small elite: he is a pianist that other pianists go to hear. In this ultimate musical challenge, the daunting scale of his playing constantly reminds you of a desolation and despair never far from the surface of Schubert’s lyricism. Not even the exuberant codas of the A major and B- at Sonatas (Nos 20 and 21) erase an awareness of the shadow of the grim reaper; this is particularly notable in the massive spans of the C minor Sonata (No 19), where Piemontesi’s focus and intensity are unwavering, never more so than in the nale’s menacing danse macabre. He is awesome and speculative in the A major while in the B- at he achieves greatness without recourse to idiosyncrasy or extremes. He gives us the rst movement repeat, contradicting Brendel’s admonition, and his Scherzo is gloriously rapid and el n (though with a darker note sounded in the
some, such quality will seem less dramatic and direct than Piemontesi’s reading, more artfully applied in its endless scope of nuances and rainbow colours. When you witness the palpable stillness Volodos conjures from the opening of the Andante, and when you hear his chiaroscuro, a light and shade beyond the reach of virtually any other pianist, you feel above all compelled to marvel at Schubert’s genius.
In the ree Minuets, only super cially slight encores, Volodos’ alchemy and luminous pianism creates its own extraordinary ambience. His ghostly tread in D600 makes this performance among the most eerie on record. Sony’s sound does Volodos proud, capturing every tint of his unique dynamic range.
www.international-piano.com Trio). Even in a crowded eld of celebrated recordings, Piemontesi’s performances are wholly exceptional, enlightening if exhausting at every level. ey are crowned by Pentatone’s beautifully natural sound.
Destination Rachmaninov – Arrival Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 3; The Silver Sleigh Bells (arr. Trifonov); Vocalise (arr. Trifonov) Daniil Trifonov (pf) DG 4836617
With this disc, Daniil Trifonov completes his cycle of Rachmaninov’s works for piano and orchestra. A mix of surprises – many breath-taking, a few regrettable – he has you blowing hot and cold. Riding high on the crest of adulation he is a mercurial, unpredictable pianist.
Trifonov’s prodigious dexterity is compromised by DG’s sound which takes the edge o his playing, making it sound less eloquent and glittering than it should. His performance of the First Concerto, audaciously slow in the central Andante,
Schubert Piano Sonata No 20; Three Minuets – D334, 335 & 600 Arcadi Volodos (pf) Sony 19075868292 is less urgently committed than expected, particularly when compared with his 2018 album of the Second and Fourth Concertos (DG 483 5335). Rachmaninov’s own recordings apart, Richter in No 1 (with French horns that sound like saxophones) and Horowitz-Reiner, Gilels and Cliburn (his 1958 Tchaikovsky Competition triumph) in No 3 carry greater, less idiosyncratic distinction – and we cannot forget Stephen Hough’s visceral thrills in his live Dallas performances (Hyperion 2004). As is now customary, Trifonov chooses the fuller cadenza in No 3, where with muscles bulging and rippling he is let loose with a vengeance. His arrangement of Vocalise is overladen, but he dazzles in his arrangement of ‘ e Silver Sleigh Bells’ (part one of e Bells choral symphony Op 35) – a burst of joyous brilliance.
Encores Works by Gluck, Purcell, Scarlatti, Stojowski, Paderewski, R Strauss, Grieg, Rubinstein, Scriabin, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Granados, Mompou and Albéniz Nelson Freire (pf) Decca 4850153
Issued to celebrate Nelson Freire’s 75th birthday, this recital of encores – a gratifying mix of the familiar and unfamiliar (though surprisingly without music from Freire’s beloved Brazil) – shows this legendary pianist evoking a dreamworld in playing of rare poetic delicacy. His days of high- ying virtuosity may be past, but have been exchanged for gentler virtues. In his selection of Grieg’s Lyric Pieces, Freire, like Gilels before him, explores a whole world of intimate feeling and a melancholy at the heart of Grieg’s indelibly northern nature (‘At your feet’ is a musing on unrequited love if ever there was one). What quiet, unforced beauty he nds in two Rachmaninov Preludes (Op 32 Nos 10 and 12) while Mompou’s ‘Jeunes lles au jardin’ from Scènes d’enfants could hardly step more lightly or sing more seductively. is enchanting recital comes with photographs of the pianist taken over the years and includes a warmly a ectionate essay by Alain Lompech.
Beethoven round-up
nale Kodama is more sensitive than Vetter. Her Eroica Variations are considered and the Triple Concerto joyous. e sound is full dynamic, so pianissimi really are quiet (try the opening of the Triple Concerto). Superb. BY COLIN CLARKE
Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos 0-5; Rondo in %ƮaW :o2 Eroica Variations 2S 7rLSOH &onFHrWo 2S Mari Kodama (pf); Deutsches SymphonieOrchester Berlin/Kent Nagano; Kolya Blacher (vln), Johannes Moser (vc) Berlin Classics 0301304 – 4 CDs
Complementing her Beethoven sonata cycle on Pentatone, Mari Kodama now presents the Beethoven concertos alongside the Rondo Wo0 6, Eroica Variations and Triple Concerto.
She is certainly a musical player: the Rondo is far more charming and eloquent than Boris Giltburg’s. Poise is her keyword, and in Nagano she has a comrade-in-arms. While Kodama’s musicality is a natural t for the Fourth Concerto, the success of her Emperor, in a performance of utmost integrity and warmth, is perhaps surprising. ere is strength to Kodama’s nale, bathed in bright sunshine. e First Concerto o ers true orchestral lightness; in response, Kodama is magni cently crisp, while the Largo is warm and glowing. Similar traits inform No 2, with the nale particularly alive to period style. Kodama understands that the ird Concerto represents a departure in scale, yet maintains the characteristic detailing of this set, descents neatly dovetailing, the cadenza poised. e Largo exudes gentle loveliness, while the wind solos project a sense of restrained drama.
Kodama is certainly truer to the spirit of the Fourth than say, Lisiecki, in a performance that never feels rushed, the nale light as air; her Emperor has a controlled resplendence. But it is in the llers that Kodama shines, o ering a magical Concerto No 0 (with improvised cadenza in consultation with Martin Galling). In the Hungarian-tinged
80 January 2020 International Piano Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos 2 & 5 Martin Helmchen (pf); Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin/ Andrew Manze Alpha Classics 555
Following his brilliant Beethoven Night at the 2019 Proms, Andrew Manze con rms his a nity with the composer in this recording of two piano concertos with Martin Helmchen (whose star is very much rising). Together they present a dynamic Second Concerto, wherein even the slow movement breathes youthful optimism. e highpoint of Helmchen’s Second is a radiant, commanding cadenza, Beethoven deliciously exploratory, Helmchen’s response multifaceted and fabulously coloured. at central Adagio, too, speaks of curiosity, but attains profound peace in its nal, ultra-pianissimo moments.
Helmchen’s sense of colour is abundantly present in his performance of the Emperor, an account noteworthy for its responsiveness to Beethoven’s structural adventurousness. e musicians revel in Beethoven’s transcending of expectations; Helmchen’s technique is more than equal to Beethoven’s trickiest demands. e performers capture the essence of the central movement without recourse to extremes of tempo, and the nale is particularly wide-ranging.
ese are excellent performances – the interpretative gold is undeniable. is is the rst volume of a set of complete concertos. Refreshing, uplifting Beethoven on a label that is de ning itself by its ne A&R. Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos 1-5 Jan Lisiecki (pf/dir); Academy of St Martin in the Fields DG 483 7637 – 3 CDs
Canadian pianist Jan Lisiecki’s recordings for DG have revealed a musician of the highest calibre, but directing all ve Beethoven concertos from the keyboard is still quite an ask for this young artist (born 1995). He opts for the longest cadenza in the First Concerto, crowning a rst movement that can sag occasionally. e orchestra does not sound fully engaged, though the central Largo is better in this respect. ere is plenty of suave phrasing to the nale; but again, it could be more unbuttoned.
e orchestra plays with more vigour in the Second Concerto’s opening, but Lisiecki reveals a tendency to overbeautify, and in doing so can sound false. e leanness of the orchestra in the ird Concerto is matched by Lisiecki’s transparency. e recording favours the piano in that the ASMF’s strings seem lacking in depth, even harsh up top. More successful is the central Largo, the piano’s initial statement sonorous, beautiful and profound – though even here there is a loss of tension.
Concerns with lack of body to the orchestral sound recur in the Fourth, undermining the lyric impulse and, in the second movement, lessening the contrast between strings and piano. Lisiecki’s low-pedal approach has some advantages in the nale, but ultimately it fails to take o . e Emperor is the nest performance of the set, but again the orchestral contribution can be harsh and distracting.
Beethoven 3Lano &onFHrWoV 1o Ln ' IraJPHnW 1o 1o Ln (ƮaW :o2 Sophie-Mayuko Vetter (pf/fortepiano); Hamburg Symphony Orchestra/Peter Ruzicka Oehms Classics OC 1710
e main interest in this release lies in the pieces outside of the established canon, plus the use of a fortepiano for the Piano Concerto No 0.
In Vetter’s account, part of the Concerto No 6 fragment is similar in style to the quirky Op 77 Fantasy. e orchestral contribution is lovely but the acoustic too boomy; one also remains aware of the amount of lling in this undeniably pleasant piece.
Written in his early teens, Beethoven’s Concerto No 0 feels perfect on a 1906 Broadwood fortepiano, and therefore complements rather than challenges Kodama’s reading. e slow movement here is an absolute dream. e freshness of both fortepianist and orchestra is remarkable. If the Second Concerto is somewhat more workaday, it does include some nice decorations from Vetter.
Worthwhile for the less familiar pieces.
Integrity and warmth: Mari Kodama
Beethoven Piano Concertos Nos 1 & 2; 5ondo :o2 Boris Giltburg (pf); Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/Vasily Petrenko Naxos 8.574151
Another sensible coupling of the early Rondo WoO6. Giltburg is more traditionally muscular in his Beethoven than Kodama, giving this piece real gravitas.
ere is much to admire about these performances of the rst two concertos, particularly as the RLPO are in such ne, lean form under Petrenko. e central Largo of the First Concerto is laudably taken at a tempo that moves, and Giltburg is at his most eloquent (as is a ne clarinettist). e orchestra’s contribution to the nale is vital and alive, both pianist and orchestra paying great attention to detail, especially those rhythmically destabilising accents. A pity the woodwinds are slightly distanced.
If the Adagio and the Rondo of the Second do not quite settle, Giltburg nevertheless gives clean, middle-of-the-road readings of the two early concertos. e ‘bonus’ Wo0 6 is the most enjoyable item.
Beethoven &oPSOHWH 9arLaWLonV %aJaWHOOHV and &OaYLHrVWÕFNH Ronald Brautigam (fortepiano) BIS SACD 2410 – 6 CDs
While BIS’s box set is almost slimline, its contents most de nitely are not. Brautigam’s fortepiano survey is magni cent, comprising four full discs of variations (including Eroica and Diabelli), the complete bagatelles, rondos and other miscellaneous pieces.
is is far more than a tidying exercise. Exploring the byways of Beethoven’s output and listening to, for example, the early bagatelles next to the great later ones, is an educational activity in itself. To hear ‘lesser’ Beethoven is to ll out the picture, not reveal weaknesses. Brautigam clearly lives and breathes this music, and hearing the pieces on fortepiano brings us closer to them (damper e ects are more pronounced, for example). He plays a reconstructed 1819 Graf fortepiano for the Eroica Variations, o ering a darker timbre, but favours an 1805 instrument for the earlier pieces (both built by Paul McNulty).
Brautigam laudably lavishes just as much love on the six rondos, the charmingly simple Ecossaises WooO83 or the cruelly under-rated Op 77 Fantasy as he does on the Diabellis. e bagatelles o er examples of both ends of Beethoven’s output. Disc 1 begins with a charming rendition of the Op 33 set followed by a tranche of pieces dating mainly from the 1790s; the late sets Opp 119 and 126 are delivered with a sense of simplicity that can only come from depth of knowledge. e DiabelliVariations are performed on McNulty’s big-toned Graf, Brautigam’s performance initially letting us hear the variations as just another set – until Beethoven shows us otherwise. Perhaps this wisdom comes with Brautigam’s obvious a nity for Beethoven’s way with variations: listen to the nely wrought set on ‘God Save the King’, for example.
e recording, con gured for 5.0 stereo, is exemplary.
Beethoven Complete Piano Sonatas Fazil Say (pf) Warner Classics 0190295380243 – 9 CDs
BY BENJAMIN IVRY
Beethoven’s symbolic signi cance is an inextricable part of his music. e theme of freedom in Fidelio and the Ninth Symphony, among other works, resonates deeply with performers and listeners alike.
In 2016, the Turkish pianist Fazil Say (born in 1970) was awarded an International Beethoven Prize. at same year, his conviction by an Istanbul court for ‘publicly denigrating the religious values of a section of the population’ for his postings on Twitter was de nitively overturned, and Say was acquitted of blasphemy charges.
Decades earlier, his father, the musicologist Ahmet Say, was jailed repeatedly for opposing a Turkish military coup. In Turkey, where poets, journalists and others are still imprisoned for speaking against regimes, Beethoven’s association with liberty is especially cherished. Speaking to Der Spiegel in 2008, Say summarized the increasingly repressive atmosphere in his homeland by wondering about the future: ‘Will I still be able to play Beethoven?’ Despite this intense identi cation, Say received critical brickbats for his 2005 CD of selected Beethoven sonatas (Naïve V5016). Lapses in taste included a tendency to aspire to an automaton-like hyper-velocity, with intermittent keyboard banging.
is new set, recorded in 2018-2019, avoids some of these aws. Say’s renditions are generally strongest, because best behaved, in the early Haydnesque sonatas. Indeed, Say’s 2007 album of Haydn sonatas (Naïve V5070) remains among his more notable releases. Beethoven’s Sonata No 1 in F minor is dispatched in a courtly, civilised manner. is and the Sonata No 2 in A major are among the highlights of the set, where vitality does not lead to exceeding stylistic limits, and excessive percussive e ects are avoided. By Sonata No 4 in E- at major, however, crashing, bashing and loud singing become obtrusive. Say has cited Glenn Gould as an early in uence, but he transforms piano sonatas into vocal works even more than the eccentric Canadian.
A straightforward version of the Sonata No 10 in G major captures an aptly grotesque melodic line in the nal movement, marked Scherzo: Allegro assai. e Funeral March Sonata No 12 in A- at major features ardent lyrical playing. e Waldstein Sonata in C major Op 53 responds well to Say’s approach, possibly because its hyperactive beginning corresponds to an emotional urgency that he identi es with Beethoven. Some of the delicacy applied to the earlier sonatas is retained, without sacri cing the visceral dynamism that Say’s fans relish. Even here, however, cacophony intrudes in the picture. e opening of the Moonlight Sonata No 14 in C-sharp minor is sluggish and dogged, and the nal movement, marked Presto agitato, is rife with slamming noises, as is the Appassionata Sonata in F minor Op 57. Sonata No 15 in D major (Pastoral) conveys a certain bonhomie, but as elsewhere in this project, nary a smile is communicated. Even where a glint of humour might be expected, as in the Cuckoo Sonata in G major Op 79, there is uninterrupted earnestness instead. e nal movement of the Sonata in E- at major Op 81a (Les Adieux), marked
Visceral dynamism: Fazil Say
82 January 2020 International Piano Vivacissamente, is played truculently. As a farewell, it resembles an obstreperous houseguest who breaks all the crockery before departing.
An overall absence of aesthetic superego may be heard in these performances. As a young student, Say lost his major keyboard mentors prematurely. His compatriot Mithat Fenmen (1916-1982) died suddenly when Say was 11, and the American David Levine (1949-1993) perished not long after teaching Say in Düsseldorf.
While admirers may relish a pianist’s histrionics unrestrained by wiser counsel, it may lead to vaingloriousness. In booklet notes for this release, Say announces that with these sonatas, he intended to ‘give the world a great gift… [and] create one of the greatest interpretations of one of the greatest composers. I hoped to give future generations, piano students and young undergraduates, renditions that would be among the most important “reference” recordings of the 21st century.’
Doubts are raised about Say’s appreciation of past references when he cites an ‘edition by the famous pianist Arthur (sic) Schnabel, featuring his own annotations. [Schnabel] was one of the rst to record Beethoven’s sonatas, and I learned a lot from him.’
Spelling Artur Schnabel’s rst name wrong in the original Turkish language version of the notes – an error repeated here in all translations provided of the notes, including in German – is a minor aw. IP
Clara Haskil – Le mystère de l’interprête Subtitles: French, English, German Audio: French, German Louise Productions & Seppia Film – 2 DVDs + 1 CD
Right at the end of this thoughtful and illuminating documentary, we hear the voice of Charlie Chaplin, friend and neighbour of the subject of this lm. ‘I have known three geniuses in my life,’ he says. ‘One is Winston Churchill. Another is Albert Einstein. e other is Clara Haskil.’ It is quite a claim, even if made by someone who himself was a genius. An immense amount of time and thought has gone into this project – and it shows in every aspect of its presentation. Its stated aim is to ask what makes a musician a great interpreter (the lm’s title is oddly translated as: ‘e Performer’s Enigma’). During the course of the lm and a supplementary DVD of bonus material, this question is addressed by many of the contributors. But really it is a chronological account of Clara Haskil’s career told through her own words (using her diaries and letters) and those who knew her. Co-directors Pierre-Olivier François, Prune Jaillet and the late Pascal Cling have assembled an enormous amount of visual material to tell the story, working with one disadvantage: there is no known lm of their subject playing the piano (there is but one known recording of her speaking, which we shall come to later). For a musician of her eminence, this is quite extraordinary, yet the more we hear of her life and personality, the less surprising the omission becomes.
Haskil has achieved legendary status among her peers. She merited two volumes ( four CDs) in Philips’ multi-label monumental Great Pianists of the 20th Century series and contributors to the lm take delight in describing her unique gifts – the light touch, fabulous tone, exceptionally uent technique, taste, intelligence and profundity. All regret that they were not recognised fully until late in her life. In reality, Clara Haskil tasted real success for little more than 10 years.
She was born in Bucharest in 1899. A child prodigy, she had her rst lessons when she was three and made her public debut aged eight playing Mozart’s Piano Concerto in A major K488 accompanied by a second piano. Lessons with Cortot, Lazare Lévy and Madame Giraud-Letarse followed in Paris, culminating in the premier prix from the Conservatoire aged fteen. But her career never really took o , not helped by the scoliosis which led to her spending the entire period of the First World War in isolation. roughout the thirties, when in some years she played fewer than a dozen concerts, she was supported nancially by wealthy patrons, especially the Princesse de Polignac who, as the DVD’s booklet has it, ‘welcomed her to her brilliant musical soirées… While her talent was admired in this milieu, [Haskil] remained a pianist for the happy
TULLY POTTER COLLECTION
www.international-piano.com few, unrecognised by the larger public, and neglected by concert organisers.’
Haskil’s career di culties, we learn, were partly of her own making. Reserved and shy, she su ered from stage fright, ‘exaggerated self-criticism’ and ‘ferocious self-doubt’, sometimes eeing the concert hall to avoid speaking to anyone after recitals at which she felt she had not played well. She discouraged agents from representing her by refusing to accept commercial terms. Yet, when you hear any of her 33 studio recordings, whether it be in her adored Mozart, Schubert, Beethoven and Schumann, there is a special quality that not only bewitches but is completely emotionally involving.
Her memory is perpetuated by the Concours International de Piano Clara Haskil, founded in 1963, which takes place every two years in Vevey, Haskil’s home on Lake Geneva after 1942. Footage from the 2015 competition provides a framework for the lm (unfortunately, this was one year in which no rst prize was awarded, a somewhat de ating moment when announced.)
e DVD has a cornucopia of bonus lm material including archive interviews with Haskil’s sister and Nikita Magalo , Martha Argerich talking about Haskil in an informal post-concert interview, and with the two ladies responsible for the plaque at Brussel’s train station marking the spot where she met her end, falling down a ight of stairs in December 1960.
But there is more. A separate CD contains seven valuable unpublished Haskil performances: Chopin’s F minor concerto with Giulini from 1960, and a Columbia test pressing of Liszt’s Gnomenreigen. Most unexpected of all, an historic document unearthed by Chaplin’s son Eugène: Kinderszenen (minus No 3 ‘Haschemann’), Daquin’s Le coucou, two Scarlatti sonatas and the largo movement from Beethoven’s Sonata Op 10/3 recorded in 1953 by Charlie Chaplin on a reelto-reel recorder in his home. He sets up the microphone as Clara settles at the piano. ‘Will it hear my voice now?’ she asks.
Nearly 60 years after Haskil’s death, this release comes as a properly considered and loving celebration of a great artist. IP BY JEREMY NICHOLAS
Spatial e ects
Rafael Todes introduces a new range of immersive listening experiences from innovative audio engineering firm /$coustics
Ocean’ is a new sound space comprising 18 loudspeakers and 18 subwoofers embedded in the walls a large room. Each channel contains di erent information, o ering great nuance and detail. Altogether, it’s an illuminating experience that transcends the domain of traditional stereo.
e company behind this product, L-Acoustics, was founded in 1984 by Dr Christian Heil, a PhD in particle physics. L-Acoustics has its roots as a pro-audio company that built complex and sophisticated sound systems for live events, starting with Supertramp (their rst major client) and going on to work with Radiohead, ‘
Peter Gabriel and Sting, to name but a few. e trademark L-Acoustics banana-shaped line array speakers you see at venues replaced the previous wall of sound technology and became the industry standard.
en the idea occurred to Heil, why couldn’t such pro-audio systems be made available to domestic users? e resulting sound spaces provide a much greater connection to the listener, akin to the immersive experience of hearing a live performance. During a visit to the L-Acoustics Creations studio in Highgate, north London, I was treated to a demo of the large 23.1 Channel version, as well as a smaller media room concept called ‘Island’ – a bed or sofa surrounded by 18 speakers and two subwoofers.
e afternoon began with a recent recording of Mahler’s
84 January 2020 International Piano ird Symphony. Standing in the centre of Ocean’s rectangular room, almost big enough to t a chamber orchestra, there was a sense of the sound coming from all around. I was struck by the massive dynamic range of the system. e soundscape vista is that of the conductor, rather than a member of the audience, so you feel like you’re standing on the podium. is is achieved by spot miking individual instruments, with a processor for mapping the sounds into a 3D space. In a way, it’s like Dolby Atmos raised to a higher level. We are all familiar with the sensory hyper-reality of experiencing a Hollywood lm in modern cinemas, but this is even more intense.
Having been blown away initially by the power and sheer detail of the system, I tried to pinpoint the physical location of each instrument in the orchestra. is led to a few surprises, including the realisation that by spot miking individual players, the front-to-back depth present on good stereo reproduction isn’t reproduced as accurately as one might expect. Hopefully, this can be sorted out in future. Moving to the smaller bedroom-based system, Island, I heard Chopin’s Nocturne in B- at minor Op 9/1 and ‘La cathédrale engloutie’ from Debussy’s rst book of Préludes, lovingly played by the British pianist Jeremy Brown. Both pieces had been specially recorded using multichannel techniques developed by L-Acoustics. Unlike most recordings in which the piano is captured normally, square on, an array of seven microphones had been used, running the full length of the keyboard above the hammers. is has the e ect of letting us experience what the pianist, as opposed to the audience, usually hears. e Debussy was particularly impressive, providing a sense of the keyboard’s huge physical space. Individual notes
were heard from di erent speakers, making the piano sound like a huge orchestra.
e texture of the di erent registers in this piece took on a dimension I’ve not previously heard. Debussy’s clear narrative intent and graphic representation of church bells struck me much more intensely than usual. It’s the sort of privileged presentation available to few, giving the piece a greater sense of depth and sonority than traditional stereo recordings. e L-Acoustics Creations catalogue is currently small: six ‘Bubbles’ (glass pebble-like objects) house an RFID that triggers play. ree collaborations with François Xavier-Roth conducting Les Siècles in Stravinsky’s Firebird and e Rite of Spring plus Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé are particularly impressive, each packing a substantial punch. It is early days for this budding technology, but there are many pathways that such a system will open up. Both Ocean and its smaller sibling Island provide a remarkable glimpse into the future of spatialised recordings and their signi cant bene ts for music lovers. IP
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If music is your passion, TCU is your school.
The TCU School of Music is pleased to welcome Dr. Cecilia Lo-Chien Kao, Assistant Professor of Professional Practice and Collaborative Piano Artist to the faculty.
For more information about the collaborative piano opportunities at TCU, please visit our website.
www.music.tcu.edu
NELLY BEN-OR London Piano Courses incorporating The Alexander Technique for pianists, teachers & advanced students
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Beethoven Complete Sonatas for Pianoforte Edited by Jonathan Del Mar Bärenreiter BA 11840
Beethoven’s 250th anniversary year sees his piano sonatas available in numerous editions from prestigious houses. When considering which version of these famous texts to own, an authentic editorial approach and clear presentation of Beethoven’s intentions are essential requirements for most customers. e word ‘urtext’ (original text) is a sign of reassurance to many, and it graces the covers of the most recent editions from the ABRSM, G Henle Verlag and Weiner Urtext. ese are all glorious, reliable and multifaceted editions; no one will be disappointed if they buy one instead of another. So why do we need another version of the sonatas? Well, you can’t get enough of a good thing, and Bärenreiter’s Beethoven is always that. is elegant, scholarly and lucid three-volume set from the outstanding Beethoven scholar Jonathan Del Mar triumphantly brings together many years of work. Del Mar has edited the orchestral and chamber repertoire for Bärenreiter, always with freshness of purpose, integrity and clarity for musicians and listeners alike. Del Mar’s Beethoven Sonatas have been gradually appearing one by one – to wide acclaim from critics, teachers and performers – so it is gratifying in this anniversary year to have all the sonatas in one place. e three volumes are not heavy and can be ordered together in one package. e rst point of note is that Del Mar, like Barry Cooper (editor of ABRSM’s revelatory 2007 edition), includes three early sonatas in the series, making the total number 35 rather than 32. Many musicians will nd this surprising, but Beethoven apparently never indicated that he wrote only 32 sonatas; his pupil Carl Czerny circulated the notion of that smaller number of works, and by the middle of the 19th century it seemed to be universally agreed that there were only 32, the earlier works being classi ed as ‘sonatinas’. But these early sonatas are certainly as substantial as the Op 49 pair, and they deserve wider currency. In his DG set of performances from the 1980s (DG 4776360, left incomplete), Emil Gilels included the ery and intensely characterised F minor Sonata WoO 47 No 2, showing it to be a worthy recital piece.
Both Cooper and Del Mar are world-class musicologists, and we are fortunate to bene t from their razor-sharp, sensitive and patient work. In extensive commentaries, they outline their sources, methodologies and conclusions. ey often make the same decisions, so the key di erences between the ABRSM and Bärenreiter editions relate to presentation and layout style. Cooper is never shy to include radical and opposing options in the main text – this can be seen in the numerous accidentals scattered throughout the cycle, which seasoned pianists and pedagogues will instantly nd shocking. ere are always justi cations for his decisions, but Del Mar’s approach is more discreet. On the other hand, there are times when Del Mar is just as direct as Cooper, such as the
86 January 2020 International Piano Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
added accidental to the low G in bar 164 of the rst movement of the E minor Sonata Op 90. Go to the old 1980 Henle edition (edited by Bertha Antonia Wallner) and you will see the standard G-natural as a minim followed by a crotchet G-sharp, which is what Barenboim, Brendel, Schnabel and many others play in their recordings.
e Del Mar edition di ers most strongly from the Cooper (and the reinvented Henle and Weiner Urtext editions) in its lack of editorial ngering. Henle, Weiner Urtext and ABRSM use the word ‘urtext’ in a speci c way, allowing for the addition of ngering. With the new Henle editions, we have the privilege of studying ngerings from Murray Perahia. With Weiner Urtext, a distinguished team of outstanding players o er digital guidance, including Alexander Jenner and Gerhard Oppitz. ABRSM has excellent advice for ngering from David Ward. Del Mar’s edition looks much more spartan than any other – it is truly an ‘original text’. If you are looking for exemplary scholarship with no ‘help’ on how to play these quasisacred notes, then look no further. All credit to Bärenreiter for having the courage to produce editions with none of the ‘extras’ that many potential customers (especially amateur pianists who do not have regular lessons) will crave.
I would have no hesitation in owning and cherishing this edition, and it would take pride of place in my library next to Henle, Wiener Urtext and ABRSM. But I would also want to possess performance editions, especially those from Schnabel (wonderful musical insights and fascinating ngering), Heinrich Schenker (deeply revelatory), Hans von Bülow (terrible text but extraordinarily helpful ngering) and Kendall Taylor (an extremely practical and useful performance edition). Just as we can never have only one performer for all of Beethoven, so we should never have only one edition. But Del Mar makes a great starting point for those who do not yet own their complete set of the sonatas. Strongly recommended. MURRAY McLACHLAN
e new Bärenreiter Urtext Edition of Beethoven’s complete piano sonatas is also available in three separate volumes: Vol I – WoO 47 to Op 14 (BA 11841); Vol II – Op 22 to Op 53 (BA 11842); and Vol III – Op 54 to Op 111 (BA 11843). baerenreiter.com
photo: Tas Kyprianou
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URTEXT / Ed. Jonathan Del Mar
Vol. I: WoO 47 – op. 14 (13 Sonatas) BA 11841 £ 23.50 Vol. II: op. 22 – op. 53 (11 Sonatas) BA 11842 £ 23.50 Vol. III: op. 54 – op. 111 (11 Sonatas) BA 11843 £ 23.50 Special set price for all three volumes BA 11840 £ 65.00
Complete Critical Commentary to all 35 Sonatas BA 11840-40 £ 85.00
A score is a road map, and Jonathan Del Mar’s new Bärenreiter Beethoven edition is the clearest, most reliable one imaginable. … A map is not the journey, but without it the imagination is stunted, unsure of the right direction, unable to take wing. With Bärenreiter on the music desk the path is clear. Stephen Hough
The Tyranny of Tradition in Piano Teaching: A Critical History from Clementi to the Present Walter Ponce McFarland; 261 pages
BY BENJAMIN IVRY
This is one of the most informed and thought-provoking books about piano playing and education to have appeared in recent years. Bolivian-born Walter Ponce, a pupil of Sascha Gorodnitzki at Juilliard, is former director of keyboard studies at UCLA. Ponce has much bad news about keyboard teaching to communicate in this densely argued polemic, but rst the good news.
Ranging over his lengthy career and personal experiences, he praises piano masterclasses given by Karl Ulrich Schnabel, Claude Frank, Leon Fleisher, Richard Goode and Murray Perahia for their ‘magni cent musicianship, honesty, and compassionate behaviour’. ey are the antithesis of the masterclass as ‘narcissistic vehicle of self-promotion’ – the kind given by some other performers. Ponce’s teaching ideal is based upon individual self-realisation for each student, with no set philosophy, but rather choices adaptable to suit personal requirements. He advocates educational freedom as described by the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and is perplexed by the high reputations of the late Leonard Shure of the New England Conservatory of Music and Aube Tzerko of UCLA, whose didactic approaches were characterised by ‘unrestrained negativity and humiliation’. Even today, such traditional 19th-century teaching ‘rooted in fear persists practically unchecked in some parts of the world, most notably in South Korea, some areas of China, and numerous clusters in the former Soviet republics (Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, etc)’.
Ponce alerts readers that hanging around famous teachers for years in a subservient manner is no way to develop individual abilities for expressing one’s own musical universe. To solve this issue, he suggests that fewer advanced degrees in performance studies should be granted, and only to highly accomplished student pianists at the most reputable schools. Major conservatories should require all students to work ‘not with one “major” teacher, but with many, in a rotating system that will encompass several piano teachers – a di erent teacher each semester.’ Students would thereby learn to ‘confront and accept disparities’.
e goal would be to receive advice and opinions from a variety of musicians, instead of one guiding light presumed to be infallible. is and other solutions were arrived at during what might be termed Ponce’s own ‘school of hard knocks’.
Of his own years at Juilliard, Ponce recalls that Gorodnitzki’s teaching ‘was based on pure emulation. His constant demand that I “photocopy” his playing, going even into the smallest of mannerisms, made my lessons with him di cult and frustrating.’
Even earlier, Ponce was subjected to didactic compositions written by musical mediocrities of yore. He notes: ‘Practicing something dull for an extended period of time induces and causes the brain to enter into a dormant state, thus training the student to carry over the same quality when transferring to something of beauty… Bottom line: To play well Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Bartók, Messiaen, or any other great composer, practising Clementi, Hummel, Czerny, Hanon, Pischna, Philipp, or any of the hundreds other books of studies and exercises is a waste of time.’
To those who retort that Horowitz made memorable recordings of Clementi’s Gradus ad Parnassum, and that the Italian pianists Vincenzo Vitale and Alessandro Marangoni (the latter on Naxos) have made plausible cases for Clementi’s set of pedagogical exercises, Ponce explains that while exceptional pianistic talents can conquer all, such is not the case for the vast majority of keyboard tyros.
He emphasises, ‘Practicing Hummel studies – or similar works – for any length of time is destructive in many ways, the most important
88 January 2020 International Piano of which is damage to cognitive ability – the functions of the mind — and to the enjoyment of music… Studying Hummel’s exercises has all the attractiveness of self-agellation.’
Ponce concedes that it may help any student to work on a ‘few’ of Czerny’s studies ‘on a limited basis,’ but then move promptly on to ‘more substantial repertoire’. It would be illadvised to aict pupils with ‘years of Czerny, as many teachers do even today; it is not music a student looks forward to with enthusiasm’. If such time-honoured studies were to be abandoned, what would be the replacement? Ponce recommends having students play the ‘music they love’, citing examples from Leopold Godowsky and Heinrich Neuhaus to Sviatoslav Richter who learned by playing through scores of operas, symphonies and vocal music.
Expanding faculties at conservatories in the USA and elsewhere results in crowds of graduates with inadequate performance skills or teaching ability: ‘Lifeless performers with limited talent upon graduation will develop, out of necessity, inordinate aggressiveness.’ Ponce reminds teachers and pupils alike that no set method is applicable to masses of students, and accepting this notion would be the rst step to a more humane and e ective world of keyboard instruction. IP
Leonard Shure: a didactic approach characterised by ‘unrestrained negativity and humiliation’
© Benjamin Ealovega
NEXT ISSUE FEBRUARY 2020
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“Wee’s technical command is awesome by any standards but he is no mere note-spinner, adding his own drama and colour to the bravura writing while being equally alive to the moments of lyrical repose. The spontaneity and drive of his playing smash the sterile confines of the studio. It is urgent, committed, compelling…”
Gramophone ‘Editor’s Choice’, November 2019
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POETIC IMMERSION
ROGUES GALLERY Should we reject the work of artists who hold dubious personal and political views? Benjamin Ivry considers the life and work of errant pianists British virtuoso Benjamin Grosvenor has been praised for his ‘lyrical voice and aristocratic distinction’ in repertoire ranging from Scarlatti to Morton Gould. We meet to discuss his new album of Chopin concertos ON SALE 26 JAN
PEDAL POINTS What can pianists learn from playing the organ?
FIENDISH FINGER-WORK Norma Fisher on Debussy’s first Étude
