I shall never forget the titanic force of his rendition of Beethoven's Emperor. I am almost tempted to say he did not play it, he personified it.  In his intimate contact with his instrument, he appeared to me like a new centaur, half piano, half man.

Bruno Walter, 1946

I heard the complete Ring cycle (in Frankfurt, 1901) for the first time with lasting impression.  Nevertheless, an Opera House concert with Beethoven's Emperor played in the fashion of a master by Eugen d'Albert remains a stronger memory.

Otto Klemperer, 1960

First, while this Symposium disc of Eugen d'Albert recordings comes from a group of "mint" originals (early 78s recorded mainly between 1912 and 1916 for the Odeon label) which were apparently rescued post-WWII from some German radio stations, the sound does suffer some from surface noise and other defects.  One wonders what Ward Marston could do here.  Nevertheless, this is still basically a very listenable, enjoyable set.

The disc also features a 1930 performance of the first movement of the Emperor with then Berlin Radio Symphony.  D'Albert was then 66, but his association with the Emperor was such that he was talked out of "retirement" to perform it again.  He seems from this performance to still be in good shape technically, although he had left the concert stage years earlier, primarily to compose.  D'Albert was apparently, per the liner notes, the first to play Debussy in Berlin (does not say what pieces).  The notes relate that at that recital d'Albert was stunned when the audience remained silent after the Debussy. d'Albert also lived (in sin hopefully) with Teresa Carreno for several years, but alas no two-piano performances apparently exist.  D'Albert apparently stopped concertizing in 1907 when he became head of the Berlin Hochschule.

D'Albert exemplifies the age of the virtuoso, when concerts were not just "events" but nigh religious "experiences."  The composer's intent was revered but also complemented with the view that no musical ideas could be constrained in written notes.  The composer's intent could only be fully realized by a kindred pianist, with the pianist an equally important creative partner whose own ideas were to be given weight and deemed essential.  This philosophy imposed on a pianist an obligation to add his own thoughts to the master's.

What a treat this CD is:

D'Albert (right) treats the Emperor as a virtuoso vehicle, with the orchestra treated as an accompanist, not an equal.  This is the Beethoven of the Appassionata, an Emperor at the head of an army, not presiding over the Roman Senate.  This "Emperor" is a work of passion, not of Classic architecture.  Tempi are accelerated, but with a wonderful, strutting ritardando at the end of the first full statement by the piano. The opening arpeggios and scales are played almost as glissandi, seamless passage work in the vein of a fantasy, almost floating above the piano, largely free of rhythmic restraint. Elsewhere low basses are growled out, with upward arpeggios punched out.  Yet, the lyric moments are maintained without indulgence, and a consistent structure also becomes evident.  

The Emperor in d'Albert's hands becomes a conversation with the audience of great moment, with the orchestra occasionally invited in.  The middle, left-hand octave section is taken with Lisztian zeal and emphasis.  Near the cadenza, the chordal statement of the theme in right hand with the contrary, descending, scales in left, is hurled off with breathtaking intensity, at a speed which he almost loses control.  D'Albert's reading makes all the others seem tame.  At 25, he must have been unbelievable.  Of course, such an approach today would be hooted off the stage, but then perhaps why CM appeals to so few today.  We truly have no idea what Beethoven intended, though d'Albert would seem to have the perfect musical lineage to link him to the composer - D'Albert studied with Liszt, who studied with Czerny, who studied with Beethoven.  But I suspect Beethoven might have smiled had he heard the d'Albert readings.

The CD also contains a glowing Abord D'Une Source exhibiting complete control and wide tonal palette, crystalline passage work; an almost raucous Weber Invitation (to the Dance) with pppp passage work at great speed (very difficult); a Brahms Capriccio at about twice the tempi employed today, yet colorful, romantic, light-handed, with more "caprice" than any I have heard; an atmospheric Chopin Nocturne, the A Flat Waltz as a virtuoso etude; the Schubert-Tausig March Militaire, dashing virtuosity getting even the better of the Freidman recording, in my opinion; and some other heartfelt Schubert, one Impromptu rushed (the liner notes suggest because of the recording limits), but a virtuoso display thus in the bargain; and his own devilish Scherzo and some selections from his opera "Tiefland". One soon forgets the sound issues.

Ronald Smith in his 1988 notes remarks, "The two classic recordings of the 30's were those by Schnabel and Gieseking, considered at the time to represent sharply opposed views of the Emperor. Set beside d'Albert's impulsive performance, however, with its almost arrogant contempt for mere technical niceties or the practicalities of good concerto ensemble, they are made to sound disquietingly similar.... [T]here is not a dull moment and the occasional scurries and slips melt into insignificance in a conception that raises the work to its full magnitude.  Is this, one can but ask, how Beethoven might have imagined it? Many will disagree and the performance must remain controversial; but before we shrug it off as cavalier let us be quite sure that d'Albert, and indirectly Beethoven, are not telling us something vital about the limitations of today's more "enlightened" approach."

D'Albert sat at Liszt's knee.  He was a Scotsman by birth and a contemporary of Brahms, Clara Schumann, Anton Rubinstein, Leschetitsky, Debussy and Busoni.  We are fortunate we have these recordings in very passable sound, with d'Albert seemingly near the top of his game most of the time.  One can get a great sense of the even younger d'Albert, and thus of Liszt and Rubinstein.
 

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