Volume 23 Issue 9 - June / July / August 2018

Keyed In
ALEX BARAN
Aldo Ciccolini, who died in 2015 at age
89, is remembered for his specialization
with classical repertoire as well as modern
French music, especially Satie. His collaborations
with Yannick Nézet-Séguin in 2009
and 2011 have yielded a recording of these
live concerts: Mozart Piano Concerto No.20,
Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2; London
Philharmonic Orchestra; Yannick Nézet-
Séguin (LPO 0102 lpo.org.uk/recordings).
The recorded performances are wonderful documents, slowed a bit
by advanced age, but utterly perfect in every other way. Ciccolini, even
in his 80s, had the lightness and clarity of touch to navigate Mozart
with supreme elegance. Yet the power needed to battle through the
Rachmaninoff Concerto No.2 seems undiminished. Ciccolini plays
with a discernible affection for the music, without hasty completion
of ideas. Every slightly lingering moment seems so appropriate.
The concerts must have been remarkable events, and judging from
the audience response, being there was an unforgettable privilege.
Wolf Harden continues his productive career
on the Naxos label with his latest CD Busoni
- Piano Music - Vol.10, Piano Transcriptions
of works by Bach, Brahms, Cramer, Liszt
and Mozart (Naxos 8.573806 naxos.com).
Busoni’s transcriptions have a distinctive
sound. They are big and often dense, but
always reflect his abiding respect for the form
and structure to which his subject composers
adhered. Harden is obviously at home in this genre but equally comfortable
with exploiting Busoni’s style for its Italianate swells of emotion.
The most intriguing tracks on this recording are the Brahms Chorale
Preludes for Organ Op.122 in which Brahms’ Romanticism is
augmented by Busoni’s often heroic keyboard style. Harden plays this
with such perfect balance, preserving the sacred nature of the chorales
while allowing Busoni to restate them in his own unique terms.
Brahms sometimes buried the chorale melody rather deeply in his
harmonic mix but Harden never loses his grip of it, keeping the line
prominent and easy to follow.
Lars Vogt appears as pianist and conductor
on his latest release Beethoven Piano
Concertos 2 & 4; Royal Northern Sinfonia
(Ondine ODE1311-2 ondine.net). Directing
from the keyboard, Vogt leads the orchestra
in a highly energized performance of
these familiar works. The RNS is a midsize
ensemble well suited to the classical
repertoire, and despite the size of their
home concert hall, they maintain a satisfying sense of intimacy in
their playing.
Both concertos are a delight to hear but the Concerto No.4 really
shows the composer as a mature tunesmith. The players sound as
if they take some special delight in driving forward the powerful
rhythms of this concerto. Vogt is brilliant at the keyboard. His playing
is articulate, fluent and sensitive. Rapid ornaments roll from his
fingers with astonishing ease. It’s an exciting and bracing recording.
Norman Kieger’s latest release Brahms Piano Concerto No.2, Piano
Sonata No.1; London Symphony Orchestra; Philip Ryan Mann (Decca
DD41142/481 4871 decca.com) meets the high expectations raised by
its cover. From the opening French horn solo
to the concerto’s final chords, orchestra and
soloist are perfectly balanced. The fabled
third movement cello solos are as beautifully
played as you’d ever hear, and the ensemble
playing throughout is flawless. The disc also
includes the Sonata No.1 in C, Op.1. Even
though the two works were recorded in
different locations, the relative audio presence
of the piano and the space around it are almost identical. This
consistency reflects the label’s high production values and contributes
to the exceptional quality of this recording.
Goran Filipec is a powerhouse pianist, and
it’s just as well because no less would do for
the repertoire on his latest recording
Paganini at the Piano – Arrangements and
Variations by Hambourg, Busoni, Zadora,
Friedman, Papandopulo (Grand Piano GP
769 grandpianorecords.com). Paganini’s
music and virtuosity, especially his Caprices
for solo violin, had considerable impact on
his piano playing and composing contemporaries.
Filipec selects a fine sampling of these inspired keyboard
works beginning with a huge set of variations by Hambourg on
perhaps the best-known Caprice, No.24. Friedman’s Studies on the
same thematic material are equally long, challenging and impressive
for their creative originality. Along with the disc’s other tracks you’ll
be left breathlessly awestruck by Filipec’s playing.
Welsh pianist Llŷr Williams last year
completed a Beethoven concert cycle at
Wigmore Hall which was recorded and
recently released as Beethoven Unbound
(Signum Classics SIGCD527P signumrecords.com).
The 12-CD box set represents an
enormous three-year recording project that
documented the complete piano Sonatas,
Bagatelles and Beethoven’s several sets of
Variations. In all, there are nearly 14 hours
of music to satisfy the most demanding Beethovenian consumer.
Williams is supremely capable in this repertoire and possesses a
formidable keyboard technique. His artistic vision for this music is to
lift it above the struggle we almost naturally assume underlies all the
composer’s writing, and set it free in a much larger space. Here is
where Williams decides that joviality, tenderness, passion and genius
all have a place in Beethoven’s universe. While Beethoven Unbound is
a welcome addition to the world of complete sets, it’s a significant
re-visioning of music we have perhaps known too well.
Anne-Marie McDermott’s latest recording
is Haydn Sonatas, Vol.2 (Bridge 9497
BridgeRecords.com) and contains four
Sonatas, 37, 39, 46 and 48, Hoboken XVI,
from the composer’s mid- to late-career
years. The immediately arresting thing
about McDermott’s playing is her speed
and clarity. Her fast tempos are as quick as
most performers can manage, yet entirely
without loss of articulation. Her phrasings
are impeccable and artfully crafted to lift in all the most effective
places. She imbues a sense of whimsy and playfulness into Haydn’s
music, replacing the too-often heard mechanical approaches that
many performers take for the composer. She assumes that the music
is already all there and she just needs to find it and reveal it. Even
more interesting is the way McDermott brings a kind of retro-romance
to Haydn. Imagine Chopin or Debussy playing these, blending the
perfection of classicism with the passions of their subsequent eras.
It’s a beautiful and fresh approach by a supremely gifted pianist who
needs to be more widely heard.
76 | June | July | August 2018 thewholenote.com