A BEETHOVEN ODYSSEY
Volumes 1&2
JAMES BRAWN, Piano
MSR Classics 1465 &
1466 / ****1/2
Any complete survey of Beethoven’s 32 piano
sonatas would rightly be described as an odyssey. This was a compositional journey
of some 30 years, beginning with Bonn ’s angst-ridden smasher
of keyboards of the early 1790s and culminating in the 1820s stone-deaf sage of
Vienna with his timeless,
visionary musings. British pianist James Brawn’s first two
discs includes two early sonatas and the popular ones bestowed with nicknames. Listen
first to Volume 2 which opens with the Pathetique
(Op.13) and Moonlight Sonatas
(Op.27 No.2). The titles were given by publishers to enhance sales but reflect
Beethoven’s expressive abilities, from pathos to dreaminess and outright
tempestuousness. Between these and the passionate Waldstein Sonata (Op.53) are the two “easy” sonatas of Op.49, which
fall comfortably within children’s hands.
Volume 1 contains the two sonatas in the moody key
of F minor. Op.2 No.1 was Beethoven’s first published sonata, dedicated to
Haydn but already showing signs of surpassing the old master’s gifts. Op.57 is
none other than the Appassionata Sonata,
epitome of Beethoven’s stormy Middle Period. Both sonatas sandwich the congenial Sonata in C major (Op.2 No.3), one of his
sunnier and more humorous creations. These are very satisfying performances with
brain and brawn, bringing to mind many qualities of the great Beethoven
interpreters: Kempff, Arrau and Brendel. Further instalments in this cycle are
keenly awaited.
These CDs
may be purchased online from: www.msrcd.com
MEDTNER/RACHMANINOV/PROKOFIEV
SOFYA GULYAK, Piano
Champs Hill 064 /
****1/2
In 2009, the Tartarstan-born pianist Sofya
Gulyak made history when she became the first woman to win 1st Prize
at the Leeds International Piano Competition. Unsurprisingly, her calling card
début disc is a programme of 20th century Russian piano works which
play to her strengths. She is an uncompromisingly direct pianist with a burly
physical stature that can more than withstand the repertoire’s heavyweight
blockbusters. This is most evident in Prokofiev’s Sixth Sonata where the force of a juggernaut, seemingly unlimited
endurance and sense of irony are a premium.
Equally daunting is Nikolai Medtner’s
single-movement Sonata Tragica which
is as dense and compact as it is lyrical, a showcase of Slavic brooding and sublimation.
A different light is shed on Medtner’s lesser-known Skazki (Folk Tales) Op.26,
four short and varied miniatures that reveal a plethora of colours. This sense
of fantasy is consummated in Rachmaninov’s Corelli
Variations, where her formidable technique is every match for the work’s
kaleidoscope of nuances. This is a very well-conceived recital, expertly
delivered, one that demands serious attention.
No comments:
Post a Comment