Pollini brings quiet virtuosity to Beethoven
Here is a sampling of some of the new classical piano CDs now in stores:
Beethoven, Piano Sonatas, Op. 2, Nos. 1, 2 and 3. Maurizio Pollini (Deutsche Grammophon).
If you've been following UW pianist Christopher Taylor's complete Beethoven sonata cycle, this CD should appeal to you. Pollini, one of the top pianists in the world today, has himself performed the Beethoven sonata cycle several times in world capitals and is close to finishing it up as a recording project.
He saved these first three sonatas until close to the end. That's a smart move, as they are more ambitious and tricky than they might seem. Beethoven was Beethoven right from the start.
Pollini walks a fine line with his readings. He doesn't overemphasize the Haydnesque or Mozartean Classical qualities of these works, which were indeed clearly influenced by Mozart and especially Haydn, who was for a short time Beethoven's teacher and role model. But neither does he overwhelm these works with Romantic furor or heaviness.
Pollini has some of the best fingers in the business and he possesses a clear sense of architecture. This is one of the finest discs in his Beethoven sonata series. It strikes the right balance between lyricism and transparent articulation. Here is quiet virtuosity of the highest caliber, virtuosity that serves the music more than the musician. Don't be surprised if this CD wins some major awards.
J.S. Bach, "The Art of Fugue." Pierre-Laurent Aimard (Deutsche Grammophon.)
Some music, such as Beethoven's late string quartets, is so visionary, it is far ahead of its time. Take J.S. Bach's mysterious, almost mystical "The Art of Fugue." It was composed, and left unfinished, with no particular instrumentation in mind.
But the French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, who plays many classical composers but who has made a speciality of such thorny and difficult modern masters as Olivier Messiaen and Gyorgy Ligeti, turns to a solo piano version of "The Art of Fugue."
To be honest, it's not easy listening. This is not the melodic, endless flow of 16th-notes Bach that the French writer Colette so aptly described as a "heavenly sewing machine." This is the knotty, theoretical and mathematical Bach.
It's amazing performance, but I find it best to take the generous 80-minute CD in in 20-minute allotments. It is undeniably impressive, and bodes well for Aimard's new label and future projects.
J.S. Bach, Partitas Nos. 2, 3 and 4. Murray Perahia, piano (Sony Classical). This fine recording stresses a sense of line rather than counterpoint. It is very singing in its approach with an unabashed but judicious use of the pedal, not utilizing the drier pseudo-harpsichord approach, but with a richer modern piano sound. The rhythm, balance, tempi and ornamentation are excellent. Still, I give Richard Goode's 1999 take a slight advantage for clarity. Myself, I'm waiting for Alexandre Tharaud to do a Bach cycle.
Chopin, Preludes Op. 28 and Op. 45, with Three "New" Etudes and two works by Mompou. Alexandre Tharaud (Harmonia Mundi).
Speaking of Tharaud, he has just released a volume with the cycle of Chopin preludes as a follow up to his highly acclaimed CD of Chopin waltzes. Once again, Tharaud is well served by his gift as an interpreter of baroque music (J.S. Bach, Couperin and Rameau) on the modern piano. Chopin always had great baroque and classical models in mind, which is why his Romanticism is tempered and moderated compared to, say, Schumann's.
Tharaud often opts for a faster tempo that emphasizes the preludes as an entire cycle, not as individual works. His approach works beautifully and allows the listener to hear these works with a new understanding and a fresh ear. Some preludes may seem too fast, but most just seem fresh and convincing. These "little" pieces emerge as the cornerstones, even the Rosetta stone, to Chopin's other works.
As he often does, Tharaud tops off the recital with works that share an affinity with the major works on the program. In this case, that means the Brahmsian Op. 45 prelude and a posthumous prelude by Chopin as well as two pieces by Frederic Mompou that use Chopin's preludes as inspiration. Now let's hope he will continue on to the mazurkas and nocturnes.
Rachmaninoff, Nine Etudes Tableaux. Op. 39, Six Poem Songs and "Corelli" Variations, Op. 42. Alexander Melnikov (Harmonia Mundi).
Melnikov is a major keyboard talent who is best known for his role as a collaborator with violinist Isabelle Faust on Beethoven, Schubert and Dvorak, although he has also recorded a fine CD sampler of solo Scriabin. Here he tackles solo Rachmaninoff with impressive results in a repertoire that should be more commonly programmed in performance, but is often overlooked. As critics used to say about Richter and Horowitz, they make Rachmaninoff's music sound better than it is. (The songs with soprano Elena Brilova are also impressive, but seem out of place on this CD.)
Schubert, Four Late Piano Sonatas, Leif Ove Andsnes (EMI). It was an inspired idea to team up the Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsnes with the British tenor Ian Bostridge to do the piano sonata-song cycle CDs. They originated in the joint recitals they perform at a summer festival Andnes directs each summer in his native Norway.
But piano fans probably wanted more piano, just as much as song fans wanted more songs. Now they have a chance to have all the major piano sonatas in a 2-CD set.
Andsnes is a wonderful interpreter. He may be a little less soulful, songful and warm -- more Nordic? -- than, say, Murray Perahia, Maurizio Pollini or Alfred Brendel. But his readings are straightforward, unfussy and thoroughly convincing.
