|
If
you spend what little money it takes to buy this record, I think
you will find that what we have here are two masterly performances
by a great pianist, technically and musically up to the music that
she presents in this CD.
In
reviewing this disc, for the Brahms concerto I took out some
of my favourite recordings - Fischer/Furtwängler, Adrian Aeschenbacher/Furtwängler,
Sviatoslav Richer/Lorin Maazel and Stephen Kovacevich/Sawallisch,
and each time her playing stood up to the comparison very well.
 I
prefer slightly slower tempi for the opening of the concerto, which
seems to me as the unfurling of a great canvass, and if you like
to see Brahms' late pieces as autumnal, then perhaps upon the unfurling
the great canvass one is presented with a warm sunlit glow. Whichever
imagery, if necessary, suits your imagination, my argument for the
slower opening is that the movement as a whole has its dramatic
moments, but these should be contrasted with the more reflective
moments. The piano part throughout is rather improvisatory, and
nowhere more so than in the first pages of the work, where the piano
has to comment on the opening theme without hurrying it.
Here
the great opening horn solo followed by the piano "echo"
is not hurried, savoured rather, and after the first theme is stated,
the defiant piano solo following is appropriately rhetorical, but
not overtly so. One might find, as I did that the piano sound here
is rather dry and thus unattractive, this seems to be because Biret
has pedalled the piano less in order to let the listener hear more
voices. One of the very attractive aspects of her playing is that
one gets to hear a lot of the lower voices, and the essential contrapuntal
element of Brahms' composition is brought out.
If
you love the piece, then you will know that the opening piano solo
is crucial, very difficult and musically a beast to carry out. Kovacevich
rushes the statement of the first theme, after the horn solo, Richter
plays it perfectly poised and unrushed. I think the theme is a very
"Olympian" one, not unlike for example, the analogous
opening of the third Beethoven cello sonata, with very wide open
spaces. Biret opts for the poise and grace of this passage and I
think the result is beautiful.
But
more rewards come in the ensuing solo for the piano, where she,
without rushing, molds and shapes it so that the thrilling orchestra
passage that follows seems inevitable. Here is where this recording
falls short, however, partially because the quality of the recording
is rather wanting, for me. It seems to be very short on details
and on the bass, so that bass definition is quite lacking. Also,
more importantly, Antoni Wit doesn't have the imagination of Biret
in this passage, so that it seems less well-controlled than it could
be, and less exciting than it might have been. This orchestra passage
is no less important in my book than the piano solo.
 However,
things after that could not be better, and the whole first movement,
chamber music writ large, is totally involved and enjoyable, with
the wind solos especially lovely. Biret's playing is of a very high
standard, her interpretation tending towards the very poised and
Olympian, less dangerous by far than Fischer or Aschenbacher with
Furtwängler. It is a performance on a very large scale, it
seems, that isn't served as well by the quality of the recording.
Getting past that what one gets is very beautiful playing, very
understated musicianship, never any sign by far of showmanship.
The
opening of the second movement brings to the fore again Biret's
very unpedalled playing, which has the curious result of making
it sound very incisive, which is of course what it should be! Again
I would prefer a denser, broader orchestra sound, but the musicianship
here is of a very high standard, and very Brahmsian, and again understated,
but very enjoyable all the same. Tempi are rather moderate, with
none of the fireworks perhaps that Aschenbacher can bring up.
I liked
the playing in the third movement least of all, but only because
I prefer a slightly more Romantic approach. Here is a performance
which is full of Classical restraint, however, and which is no less
beautiful for that reason. Having said that I find the string tone,
especially that of the cello solo at the start rather on the thin
side.
The
last movement is a joy to listen to from start to end, solid musicianship
from soloist and solo instruments alike, if lacking a little of
the cheeky sparkle Richter has with Maazel. But it isn't less playful,
and the movement is shaped well, and the Polish forces give beautiful,
light accompaniment to this, the lightest of concerto movements,
especially the solo winds, of which the oboist is simply a joy.
The
Schumann Introduction and Allegro appassionato which
fills the disc is a 16-minute piece. The Introduction is
typically Schumannian - beautiful and limpid, the appassionato has
a theme which starts fanfare like (rather like the first movement
of Beethoven's Fifth actually - the rhythm is similar too.), and
sounds rather military. The Allegro part starts in minor
and ends in major, which should give you some idea of what kind
of piece it is overall. Biret plays with much gusto and expression,
at home in both the slower Introduction and the Allegro,
and is accompanied to the hilt by Wit and the Polish National Radio
Symphony Orchestra. One might wish for a little more daring, but
this is already very satisfactory. This piece should be played a
lot more and taken up as part of the repertoire by pianists.
This
is the first time I've heard Biret play much, and I've thoroughly
enjoyed it, dispite the misgivings I had at the beginning. (I was
prepared to dismiss the disc on casual hearing, but as always I
make sure I listen to a disc 8 to 10 times before coming to a conclusion.)
These misgivings were probably due to the sound of the disc, as
you may have surmised by now. However, I suggest that for this low
price you buy the disc and listen for yourself several times. I
doubt you will be disappointed.
DEREK
LIM was last seen at Tower Records in a recent "salvage"
operation.
843:
7.2.2001© Derek Lim
All
original texts are copyrighted. Please seek permission from the
Classical Editor
if you wish to reproduce/quote Inkpot material.
|
