CD Reviews (The Straits Times, June 2012)

SCHUBERT Piano Sonatas

Impromptus / Piano Pieces

PAUL LEWIS, Piano

Harmonia Mundi 902115.16 (2 CDs) / *****

In a relatively short space of time, British pianist Paul Lewis has established himself as an interpreter par excellence of Beethoven and Schubert, much in the footsteps of his teacher and mentor Alfred Brendel. In this latest Schubert album, he illuminates three important sonatas which are not part of the great final trilogy. Fully attuned to Schubert’s emotional turmoil and unbridled lyricism, the D major Sonata D.850 is driven with a Beethovenian passion. However this is not in the expense of its inner singing lines, and this thread carries into the great G major Sonata D.894, which has been given the title “Fantaisie” by some because of its relatively free form.

Listen to how he stretches out the first movement’s long-breathed melody, one of Schubert’s finest, or teases the finale’s jolly Rondo, which has a swing that looks far ahead into the ragtime era.  The C minor Sonata D.840 “Relique” (Relic) is the “Unfinished Sonata”, which exists as a torso of two movements. Imagine if he had completed it. Lewis’s sense of gravity, bringing out the odd and ironic dissonances, makes it sound like a masterpiece. This same quest for truth and beauty continues in Four Impromptus D.899 (the earlier of two sets) and Three Piano Pieces D.946, the latter of which have sometimes been referred to as Posthumous Impromptus. One scarcely imagines these more wondrously realised. This superlative double CD set retails at the price of one disc.

BOOK IT:

PAUL LEWIS plays Schubert

@ Singapore International Piano Festival 2012

28 June 2012, SOTA Concert Hall, 8pm

Tickets available at SISTIC

HÉROLD Piano Concertos Nos.2-4

JEAN-FRÉDÉRIC NEUBERGER, Piano

Sinfonia Varsovia / Hervé Niquet

Mirare 127 / ****1/2

The short-lived French composer Louis-Ferdinand Hérold (1791-1833) is best remembered for his operas, such as Zampa, the overture of which is occasionally heard in concerts. He had initially been a piano virtuoso but forsook that vocation for musical theatre, after having composed four piano concertos between 1811 and 1813. These tuneful works bridge the stylistic gap between the classicists Mozart, Hummel and Weber (simple melodies with florid ornamentation), and those of early Romantics Mendelssohn and Chopin (passionate and showy, given to loud octaves and chords).

Both the Second and Third Concertos have Allegro Maestoso (fast and majestically) as tempo directions in the first movement, something which Chopin also adopted in his concertos. The Fourth Concerto opens with a barnstorming Allegro that recalls the fist-shaking angst of Beethoven. All three close with light-hearted rondos, a common practice from Mozart’s time to the Romantic era. Herold also had innovations of his own. The slow movement of the Third Concerto is a tender romance for violin with piano accompaniment, something not attempted before or ever since.  Young French pianist Jean-Frédéric Neuberger is a most sympathetic yet technically assured interpreter. This is a curious yet worthy addition to the Romantic piano concerto library.  

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, July 2011)

SOLATINO / GABRIELA MONTERO, Piano
EMI Classics / ****1/2

The secret to Latin American music is mastering the infectious and insistent rhythms. Few do it better than jazz musicians and natives themselves. The Venezuelan in Gabriela Montero takes to the 29 tracks from four Latino countries like fish to water. The biggest and most serious work on show is Argentine Alberto Ginastera’s First Piano Sonata, already a favourite in student recitals and piano competitions. Here the ostinatos, dissonances, guitar simulations and folk influences come to a heady showdown. Montero succeeds even if she does not quite summon the febrile, visceral excitement of a certain Martha Argerich.

Her handling of eight dances from Cuba’s Ernesto Lecuona, including the overplayed Malagueña and equally memorable Cordoba, are deliciously piquant. The tangos Odeon and Brejeiro of Brazil’s Ernesto Nazareth, altogether different from the Argentine variety, swing with much gaiety. Back to her homeland, Teresa Carreno’s Little Waltz is a tender little trifle while Moises Moleiro’s Joropo makes a suitably flashy endpiece. Montero’s own improvisations are charmingly evocative and right in the spirit of things.

CHOPIN / ALKAN Cello Sonatas
Tatjana Vassiljeva, Cello

& Jean-Frédéric Neuberger, Piano
Mirare 107 / ****1/2

What possessed two of the greatest pianists of an era to devote the time composing a substantial cello sonata each? The answer is one August-Joseph Franchomme (1808-1884), the eminent French cellist who counted among Chopin’s closest friends and confidantes. Chopin’s Cello Sonata (Op.65) was one of his last works, first performed at his final public concert just a year before he died. Far from being an autumnal utterance, it brims with memorable themes, albeit tinged with sadness and longing. The piano part is predictably detailed but the cello has the best tune in the slow movement, one that recalls Chopin’s love for bel canto. His early Introduction & Polonaise Brillante is included as a substantial encore.

Charles Valentin Alkan is better known for his impossibly virtuosic piano études which even trump Liszt’s own monstrosities. His Cello Sonata of 1857, also written for and premiered by Franchomme, shares with Chopin a gift of melody. Its finale is a furious Saltarella, a manically fast Italian dance where Chopin’s own Tarantella is quoted in part. Russian cellist Tatjana Vassiljeva and French pianist Jean-Frédéric Neuberger have their hands full but convey the music’s urgency and lyricism with much understanding and sympathy. Recommended for a somewhat different listening experience.