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An
embarrassment of riches has flowed from the 250th anniversary of
the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach. In the keyboard department,
we have had no less than three new top-notch recordings of the Goldberg
Variations, from Angela Hewitt  ,
Evgeni Koroliov
and Murray Perahia, and that is only the top layer of riches that
have been unearthed. But this disc is perhaps the most valuable
jewel in that treasury, a mid-price reissue of what is probably
the greatest Bach keyboard recording ever made.
 Born
in 1950 in what is now Saint Petersburg, Grigory Sokolov (left)
showed musical promise early on. Enrolled at age seven in a conservatory
program for exceptionally gifted students, giving his first public
recital at 12 and winning the 1966 Tchaikovsky Competition at 16,
he has concertized considerably but recorded little, preferring
the atmosphere of live music-making. Our loss.
Though
Sokolov's performing style has many things in common with other
Russian pianists - strong passagework, impeccable finger work and
an array of tone colors that is literally off the scale - it is
his musicality and imagination that put him in a class by himself.
Able to rethink virtually everything he plays and deliver it with
phenomenal mastery, he can seem eccentric at times, though never
sounding contrived.
He
also plays counterpoint like no one else since Glenn Gould, with
phenomenal clarity and independence of phrasing. Take, for instance,
Die Kunst Der Fuge (The Art of Fugue). Sokolov opens
Contrapunctus 1 with a hushed intensity of expectation, yet quickly
gives each line not only its own color, but often its own phrasing
and rhythm, as though four different individuals are playing the
same music. These four characters interact with one another, combining,
harmonizing, going off in their own directions, but without any
sense of anarchy whatsoever and with consummate taste.
As
the sequence of fugues progresses, Sokolov maintains this ever-changing
dialogue of voices, unearthing fresh details right and left while
unifying the whole composition into one overreaching arch. He brings
quite a spring into the march-like figures of Contrapunctus 2, whose
cadence is mirrored, at a slower tempo, in the dancing Contrapunctus
3. The vivacity of this fugue, in turn, enlivens the next in a shower
of half-lights and arabesques that continue to glow, with different
colors, though the elegant, longer lines and more measured tempo
of Contrapunctus 5. Sokolov continues linking the fugues rhythmically
and coloristically in as masterly a fashion as Bach does thematically.
At
the same time, this is not Bach on piano as usual. Sokolov is not
afraid to use the resources of a concert grand to illustrate his
points, but does so judiciously. He follows a mid-way course between
Angela Hewitt's gentle tints and the bright Romantic hues of an
Edwin Fischer or Alfred Brendel, allowing broader washes of sound
than in Baroque practice but without sacrificing clarity or illumination
of musical architecture.
None
of this is done in show or ostentation. There is an extreme probity
of thought and depth of emotion working side-by-side that would
suggest a monk in an in-depth, personal convocation with the Creator
of the universe about how and why the cosmos works in the way that
it does. As Johann D'Souza mentioned in his review of this work
with the Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet ,
Leonard Bernstein claimed that one has to look for God in Bach's
works because all of Bach's life revolved around God. If that is
so, then Bach was on the hot line with the Almighty while writing
the Art of the Fugue, and Sokolov is evidently using the same phone.
He
changes the order of fugues in one crucial spot, opening the second
disc with Contrapunctus 19 (the last one Bach wrote) and continuing
from there to Contrapuncti 14 through 17. While some purists may
wonder about this practice, it is understandable. Since Sokolov
makes no effort to complete Contrapunctus 19, reordering the fugues
in this way allows Bach's edifice to be convincingly rounded off
while remaining true to the music at hand.
 It
also gives a much-needed emotional release. The concentrated passion
Sokolov brings to Contrapunctus 19 is nearly overwhelming (I have
yet to hear it without tears coming to my eyes), and when that thread
suddenly snaps where Bach leaves off, some sort of closure is desperately
needed (hence the efforts from Donald Tovey, Ferruccio Busoni and
others to "complete" Bach's final thoughts). Sokolov provides
that closure. Though the transition from the end of Contrapunctus
19 to the beginning of Contrapunctus 14 can seem a little strange,
not to mention rough, he holds things together admirably without
losing either his concentration or our interest. It is not a perfect
solution - nor perhaps could there be an entirely satisfactory resolution
- but it is an extremely workable one.
The
Second Partita that follows The Art of Fugue is as masterly
as what preceded it, with an excellent sense of flow, pointed rhythms
and imaginative characterization of contrapuntal lines married to
an unerring sense of drama and a noble tone. Sokolov will change
a tone color, bring out a counter-rhythm or end a phrase in unexpected
ways, though in no way jarringly. Everything is done with grace,
charm and a captivating sense of fantasy.
One
thing missing is the serenity that Angela Hewitt brings to this
Partita. Everything is moving constantly. There is no true sense
of relaxation; even in the Sarabande, a tension pulls the
listener along, even at times when a momentary respite would be
welcome. Nevertheless, Sokolov's version has many things going for
it. He opens the Rondeau with a resolute elegance and sway to its
rhythms that can be intoxicating, and carries that grace into the
concluding Capriccio, along with a snap in its step.
If
you have thought that The Art of Fugue was something dry,
academic or esoteric, or gotten that impression from other recordings,
I would urge you to give this disc a listen. It may not only change
your mind, but will introduce you to someone who is not only a world-class
pianist, but one of the few today who could honestly be called a
phenomenon in music.
Bibliography:
"Two Profiles of Grigory Sokolov," available through
http://www.thump.org/sokolov/sokolov
2.htm
At
the risk of sounding retro-60s, JONATHAN
YUNGKANS'
brain is still way out in space after venturing into the unknown
with Contrapunctus 19. Cosmic, man.
884:
2.11.2000 ©Jonathan Yungkans
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