International Piano - Issue 62 - December 2019 PDF

No. 62 • December 2019 • £5.
99
www.international-piano.com
INSIDE
1 1 PAGES OF
EXPERT ADVICE FOR EVERY PIANO ENTHUSIAST

FREE
SHEET MUSIC
BARRY
DOUGLAS
Championing Tchaikovsky’s
piano masterpieces on disc
GRAND MANNER
What makes the Russian
School so special?
MAN OF LETTERS
Elusive virtuoso
Paul Badura-Skoda
PLUS Soviet composer Mieczysław Weinberg comes in from the cold

Silent nights: Bechstein’s latest digital mute system
CONTENTS
5 EDITORIAL
DOUGLAS CLANDEBOYE
A new golden age of recording?
6 LETTERS
Your thoughts and comments
7 NEWS & NOTES
Chopin Competition to be streamed in VR •••
Márta Kurtág dies aged 92
10 ONE TO WATCH
Polish pianist Szymon Nehring
12 IN BLACK AND WHITE
16
Should we tolerate pianists’ below-par
performances?
14 ILL-TEMPERED CLAVIER
Charivari laments the lack of classical
57
music on TV
26 UNSUNG HERO
Soviet composer Mieczysław Weinberg
28 PERSONAL TOUCH
Iyad Sughayer on the music of Khachaturian
36 SAFE AND SOUND
Introducing Amsterdam’s new centre for
chamber music
TULLY POTTER COLLECTION
38 STRONG AND SILENT
21
Bechstein takes silent pianos to the next level
40 A FAMILY AFFAIR
An insider’s tour of Forsyth Music
28
43 KEY NOTES
Exploring ways to interpret accents
SHEET MUSIC
47-54 REPERTOIRE FOCUS
JS Bach’s Prelude & Fugue BWV 850
47 Masterclass by Vanessa Latarche
49 Listen online

50 Know the score
JAMES CARDELL-OLIVER
57 PIANO RARITIES
Kleiner Walzer by Teresa Carreño
64 BEYOND BORDERS
Highlights from Chopin and his Europe
festival in Warsaw SPECIAL FEATURES
66 IN CONCERT
Live reviews from London 16 RUSSIAN ICONS 31 MAN OF LETTERS
Barry Douglas pairs works Surveying the artistic legacy of
69-78 NEW RELEASES
by Tchaikovsky with other multifaceted pianist and scholar
CDs, books and sheet music
Russian masterpieces for his Paul Badura-Skoda
80 TAKE FIVE latest recording project
Virtuosic jazz phenomenon Ahmad Jamal 34 NOVEL SOUNDS
82 MUSIC OF MY LIFE 21 LYRICAL CONVICTION Adventurous record label Odradek
Arnaldo Cohen is inspired by the voice Bryce Morrison identifies the defining puts artists at the heart of its
and violin features of the Russian School of pianism business model
www.international-piano.com International Piano December 2019 3

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EDITOR’S NOTE
For the record

T
he demise of the recording industry once seemed inevitable. on the outskirts of Amsterdam, the Busch Piano Trio has recently
The internet, so we were led to believe, would result in all purchased a 17th-century wooden barn church which they plan to
music becoming digitally available for free or a fraction of the turn into a chamber music centre and recording studio (page 36) – all
price of an LP, cassette or CD, meaning that labels would no supported by a consortium of donors. Elsewhere in this issue we put
longer reap the enormous profits they once did from physical formats. a spotlight on the latest release from the independent French label
While this doom and gloom scenario has partially come to pass, Palais des Dégustateurs (page 69) and survey the past year of recorded
bringing about the demise of several former giants of the recording highlights selected by our expert critics (page 74).
industry, we are now seeing signs of renewal within the sector as Readers who responded to our recent survey will also be pleased
surviving companies adapt to the new normal. In fact, if to know that from January we will be extending our CD reviews
the number of new piano albums that I receive every coverage to encompass more new albums, ranging from solo and
month is anything to go by, we may be entering a new concerto performances to chamber music, historic releases and
golden age of recording. contemporary music. I hope this will be music to all your ears and
There are two parts to this story. On the one look forward to hearing your thoughts in the New Year. In the
hand, official figures from the UK record labels meantime, thank you for your support for International Piano
association, BPI, indicated that classical music and here’s wishing you season’s greetings!
sales and streams increased in 2018 by over 10 per
cent compared with the previous year. On the other Owen Mortimer, Editor
hand, cheap recording technology and the ability to
market directly to consumers online has resulted in International Piano offers a rich mix of inspiration and guidance to pianists
a proliferation of smaller labels and grassroots, artist- and piano fans around the world, from dedicated amateurs and students
led initiatives. There may not have been as much to professional pianists, teachers and aficionados.
money in recording as there once was, but Celebrating the piano in all its forms, including the fortepiano
the ecosystem is now much more diverse. and digital keyboards, each edition of our magazine is
packed with interviews, features, news and reviews
This is fostering creativity. showcasing the top artists of today and yesteryear.
Take Odradek (page 34), a relative Practical advice for players runs the gamut from
newcomer to the industry which articles on technique and repertoire to learning
has already established itself as a resources and study courses, plus the latest
developments in piano technology.
significant player. Their not-for-profit
Our goal is to draw together the fascinating strands
model sees artists receiving a much that make the piano such a popular instrument,
higher share of revenues than big enhancing every reader’s knowledge and supporting
labels of the past. Meanwhile, those who strive to master its challenges.
@IP_mag fb.com/internationalpiano
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LETTERS
Write to International Piano, St Jude’s Church, Dulwich Road, London SE24 0PB,
email international.piano@markallengroup.com or tweet @IP_mag. Star letters SPONSORED BY
will receive a free CD from Hyperion’s best-selling Romantic Piano Concertos series HYPERION RECORDS
SOUND INTERPRETER treasure to hear this freest and when Michael Church, in past both nonsensical (white is not
Jeremy Nicholas’ review of the most confident of interpreters issues, thought little of a Fauré variegated) and over the top.
Horowitz Great Comeback (IP play differing versions of so many masterpiece or of Prokofiev’s Benjamin Ivry (‘Accomplished
October, ‘Historic return’, page works and to hear how little brilliant Romeo and Juliet piano with aplomb’, page 68) is
19) is spot on in criticising the concern he has over the, to him, transcriptions, but his first also fanciful when he talks of
extravagant production and simple act of playing the piano. paragraph on Daniil Trifonov ‘transformative imagination’ –
consequent overpricing of this Having attended Horowitz’s (IP October, ‘Demonic element’, what exactly does that mean? And
valuable document. But he ‘Comeback Recital’ and page 15) really puzzled me. Why he surely means the third, not the
seems to get it all wrong when experienced first-hand the might a programme of Beethoven, second, movement of Beethoven’s
discussing the content. build-up and its after-effects, I Schumann and Prokofiev be ‘Moonlight’ Sonata might ‘go too
Vladimir Horowitz may can verify that the overwhelming considered ‘an awkward mix’? fast’ for a mediocre player.
have been ‘self-centered, spoilt, emotion and reactions described And what does the pianist’s I was pleased to read that
neurotic’ and ‘slightly bonkers’, as are in no way exaggerated. performance (‘in other hands’) Simon Callaghan (‘Sense
Nicholas writes, but nothing in Richard Casper, Cape Cod, have to do with the programme, of purpose’, page 82) felt
Abram Chasins’ syrupy interview USA awkward or not? Mr Church says complimented when he was told
or conversations with Tom the concert was, in Trifonov’s his performance was ‘an exact
Frost in the recording sessions WORD PLAY hands, ‘a seamless experience’, replica of Argerich’s’. This affirms
support Nicholas’ description. Critics are entitled to their but what exactly does that my views on imitation which
Rather we hear an artist properly opinions, but they should be mean? And to call Trifonov’s were published in the September
concerned with sound and expressed in clear concepts and Schumann pieces ‘white-hot in issue of International Piano.
with interpretation. And what a vocabulary. I could only wince [their] variegated plumage’ is Bruno H Repp, North Haven, USA
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NEWS NOTES
Víkingur Ólafsson named Gramophone

Artist of the Year
I
ARI MAGG
celandic pianist Víkingur Ólafsson perform John Adams’
Ólafsson has been named Piano Concerto No 3 with the
Artist of the Year 2019 at the Orchestre Philharmonique de
Gramophone Awards in London. Radio France and Netherlands
His album Johann Sebastian Radio Orchestra (both conducted
Bach was highlighted by the by the composer), as well as
Gramophone judges for revealing appearing with the Finnish
new possibilities in Bach’s music. Radio Orchestra (Klaus Mäkelä),
The album features diverse Konzerthausorchester Berlin
original compositions and (Christoph Eschenbach),
transcriptions, including Hallé (Klaus Mäkelä), Hong
Ólafsson’s own. Gramophone Kong Philharmonic (Jaap van
recognised Ólafsson’s gift for Zweden), Bergen Philharmonic
‘making something familiar feel Orchestra (Ed Gardner), San
entirely his own, drawing you Diego Symphony (Rafael Payare)
into a world where no other and Iceland Symphony Orchestra
interpretation seems possible.’ Originality and powerful musical conviction: Víkingur Ólafsson (Daníel Bjarnason). Other key
To celebrate the win, Ólafsson’s collaborations include projects
label Deutsche Grammophon conviction have made him one Ólafsson’s coming seasons are with baritones Matthias Goerne
has released a new music video of the world’s most sought-after marked by a series of high-profile and Florian Boesch, the Danish
and deluxe version of Johann artists. His first recording on the international artist residencies at String Quartet and clarinettist
Sebastian Bach featuring Bach prestigious yellow label, Philip some of the world’s top concert Martin Fröst.
Reworks, which blends Ólafsson’s Glass Piano Works, was also a halls. This begins in 2019-20 Ólafsson’s upcoming album of
recordings with electronic music. huge success and saw him named at Berlin Konzerthaus with 14 works by Rameau and Debussy
In only a few years, Ólafsson’s ‘Iceland’s Glenn Gould’ by the performances over 11 different will be released in Spring 2020.
originality and powerful musical New York Times. projects. The season also sees vikingurolafsson.com
Márta Kurtág dies aged 92

MARCO BORGGREVE
T he Hungarian pianist and
teacher Márta Kurtág, wife
of the composer György Kurtág,
piano works were written to
be performed with four hands
alongside Márta.
Award for their outstanding
contributions to the world
of music.
has died aged 92. As a soloist and chamber Paying tribute to Márta,
Born in 1927 at Esztergom musician, Márta performed Iván Fischer said: ‘I have
in northern Hungary, Márta at many of the world’s leading never seen a couple more
(nee Kinkser) studied at the festivals and venues, including affectionately connected than
Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music Carnegie Hall, Aldeburgh Márta and György Kurtág.
in Budapest, where she was Festival, Zurich’s Tonhalle and They shared everything from
a student of István Antal, Pál Mozart Week in Salzburg. Her the meaning of each note of Affectionately connected:
Kadosa and Lajos Hernádi. She discography features albums Gyuri’s compositions to the Márta and György Kurtág
married György in 1947 and for labels such as ECM, Col wonderful musical help they
was his partner and artistic Legno and BMC. In 2017, she offered their students. Márta Márta Kurtág, pianist and
collaborator for more than and her husband were awarded was a great musician and a teacher, born 1 October 1927;
seven decades. Many of Kurtág’s the Franco Buitoni Special great human being.’ died 17 October 2019

NEWS & NOTES
Chopin Competition to be streamed in VR NEWS IN BRIEF

Next year’s International Fryderyk Chopin Competition is to become the first
German pianist Burkard
major classical music event to employ virtual reality technology (VR)
Schliessmann has been
A n on-stage camera positioned close to the awarded the prestigious
FRYDERYK CHOPIN INSTITUTE

pianist will enable viewers to experience Goethe-Prize of the City
performances from the pianist’s perspective at of Frankfurt. The triennial
Warsaw’s National Philharmonic Hall. Anybody prize achievement ‘worthy of
owning VR goggles will be able to watch the honour in memory of Johann
VR streaming at chopin2020.pl. For others, the Wolfgang Goethe’ is worth
competition is introducing special Listener Zones €50,000. Previous recipients
across the world for viewers to share the virtual include Stefan George, Albert
reality experience. Schweitzer, Sigmund Freud,
The Listener Zones – in cities including Moscow, Hans Pfitzner, Hermann
Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Seoul, Paris, London and Hesse, Thomas Mann, Walter
New York – will be physical spaces where remote Gropius and Ingmar Bergman.
audiences can come together for an in-depth Schliessmann will receive the
competition experience. This will include live prize on 16 January 2020 in the
broadcasts – in both traditional and VR formats Kaisersaal of Frankfurt’s City
– audio commentaries from musicologists and Hall. schliessmann.com
stars of the piano world, plus live concerts for local
audiences. Dr Artur Szklener: ‘We hope to shape the history of IP contributor Michael
All rounds of the competition will also be filmed pianism in the 21st century’ Johnson has published a
and streamed in 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) for bilingual book titled Portraits
the first time. A new web portal and mobile app will possible. We also hope to shape the history of of Conductors, Pianists
host the UHD streaming and serve as a multimedia pianism in the 21st century and once again celebrate and Composers. Featuring
window into all aspects of the competition. As well Warsaw as the Chopin capital of the world.’ 30 watercolours of major
as information about the event, participants and The finals of the 18th edition of the Chopin performers – Lang Lang,
jury, the portal and app will provide access to video Competition will take place 2-23 October 2020. Hélène Grimaud, Alfred
content from the archives, auditions and all the The first prize will be €40k, second prize €30k and Brendel, John Cage, Kent
rounds. They will also allow audiences to interact third prize €20k, plus a prizewinners’ tour visiting Nagano, Leonard Bernstein
and comment live on the competition. Poland, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, China and and others – each illustration
Dr Artur Szklener, director of Warsaw’s Fryderyk Dubai, among other countries. The jury for the 2020 is accompanied by Johnson’s
Chopin Institute, said: ‘International streaming of competition, chaired by Katarzyna Popowa-Zydroń, critical observation in
our last competition in 2015 attracted 60 million includes Dmitri Alexeev, Martha Argerich, Thai Son English and French. The
views on YouTube alone. In 2020 we hope to reach Dang, Nelson Freire, Nelson Goerner, Kevin Kenner book is available on Amazon.
many more people in a variety of ways and ensure and John Rink. Previews can be viewed
they enjoy the richest and deepest experience chopin2020.pl at michaeljohnson.fr and
Johnson’s YouTube channel,
‘The Mystery and Magic of
Yamaha unveils AI piano system Portraiture’.
Y amaha has unveiled its first comprehensive AI

piano system at the Ars Electronica Festival
2019 in Linz, Austria.
The new system also integrates Yamaha’s 2016
AI Music Ensemble Technology, enabling the AI
pianist to interact with other musicians. Footage of
British-Goan pianist Karl
Lutchmayer will perform
Busoni’s Piano Concerto on
Comprising a Yamaha Disklavier player piano the resulting performances in Linz can be viewed 30 November at St John’s
driven by special software designed to think for online via YouTube, together with Yamaha’s mini- Smith Square in London, the
itself, the AI system used ‘deep learning’ to mimic documentary Glenn Gould as AI. first time this work has been
the performance style of eccentric Canadian According to Yamaha’s website, Gould’s ‘devotion performed in the UK capital
pianist Glenn Gould. The project, dubbed ‘Dear to recording with digital media and an interest in for 30 years. The concert is the
Glenn’, has been developed with support from the rethinking the relationship between performer and culmination of Lutchmayer’s
Glenn Gould Foundation. audience’ made him an ideal subject for testing three-day series ‘Busoni –
Over 100 hours of Gould’s recordings were the new AI technology. Envisaged as a tribute to The Romantic Modernist’,
analysed by the system to achieve its feat. In addition, Gould, Yamaha says ‘the artist’s attitude’ served as showcasing Busoni’s rarely
Yamaha examined the performances of several other ‘the inspiration for the idea behind the project.’ performed piano music.
pianists known to be exponents of Gould’s style. yamaha.com/en/about/ai/dear_glenn/ karllutchmayer.com

String Quartet
Wind Quintet
French Horn
Double Bass
Violoncello
Percussion
Piano Duo
Trombone
Piano Trio
Trumpet
Bassoon
Clarinet
Guitar
Organ
Violin
Piano
Oboe
Voice
Flute
Viola
Harp
ARD International Music Competition
JeungBeum Sohn
1st prize piano 2017
Prizewinners
piano duo 2015
September 5 to 13, 2020

Piano solo
First prize 10,000 €
Aoi Trio
August 30 to September 8, 2021 1st prize piano trio 2018
Piano duo
September 2 to 10, 2022
Piano trio
www.ard-musikwettbewerb.de
ONE TO WATCH
Quietly confident
Only three years after deciding to pursue a concert career, Szymon Nehring swept the board at
the prestigious Arthur Rubinstein competition. Simon Mundy meets this ambitious Polish virtuoso
G
iven that he is from Poland and in 2017 won
first prize at the Arthur Rubinstein competition
in Tel Aviv, it is hardly surprising that Szymon
Nehring has been playing a great deal of Chopin
in the early days of his international career. I talked to
him the morning after he had given a beautifully rounded
performance of the First Concerto with the Polish
National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Lawrence Foster
in the sumptuous acoustic of Bucharest’s Athenaeum.
Now 23, Nehring is tall and good-looking and strolls
along with quiet but certain self-confidence. He is not
overly concerned about what the world thinks of him. At
the Rubinstein competition he swept the board, winning
the useful $40,000 and gold medal, plus the under-22 and
audience prizes. That must have been popular with the others,
I suggest. He shrugs and grins: ‘They all hated me anyway.’
He is not a man unconsumed by ambition. He decided
only five years ago, at the age of 18, to be serious about
a concert career. ‘That was when I started working. My
main goal was being interested in music, not necessarily
being a concert pianist. My early teacher, Olga Lazarska,
taught me how to enjoy the music. She gave me my
interest in colours and the outlook that not everything is
explicable. I had to learn the rules later. But I have found I
enjoy playing in public, so it seems like the right decision.’
Once the decision was taken, Nehring’s progress was
swift. He started in 2014 by winning his first Rubinstein
prize – the ‘Arthur Rubinstein in memoriam’ International
Competition for Young Pianists – in Bydgoszcz, where he
was studying at the Music Academy. A year later he was
awarded a Krystian Zimerman Scholarship and won a
collection of minor prizes at the Chopin Competition in
Warsaw. In the autumn of 2017, he went to Yale to study
with Boris Berman who, he admits, made him work hard.
He was due to return to the US to study in New York
during 2019 but decided against it, feeling that he was
being edged in the wrong direction.
Those successes have led, Nehring says, ‘to getting a
chance to play with some really good orchestras’, including
the Israel Philharmonic and the Zurich Tonhalle. They have
also brought about debuts in the Wigmore and Carnegie
Halls. Now his repertoire is widening as the opportunities
increase. He is looking to perform more Rachmaninov
in his recitals. He says there are recordings of Schubert’s
Wanderer Fantasy D784 and Prokofiev’s Second Sonata
BARTEK BARCZYK
Szymon Nehring: ‘My main goal was being interested waiting to be released; one of Krysztof Penderecki’s
in music, not necessarily being a concert pianist’ Resurrection Concerto with the composer points to an
influence that is coming to mean a lot to him.

ONE TO WATCH
Two of his three albums released so far were produced

by the Chopin Institute and a third, devoted to Chopin’s
chamber music (with Marcin Zdunik, cello, and Ryszard
E
Groblewski, viola) is on the way. He made his debut
recording in the European Music Centre that Penderecki
W
founded in the Silesian village of Lusławice. Now he is
represented by the Beethoven Association in Warsaw, led
by Penderecki’s wife, Elżbieta. He will give a recital at next
April’s edition of the annual Beethoven Easter Festival,
run by the Association, but he opens the Beethoven
anniversary year with performances of the ‘Emperor’
Concerto with the Warsaw Philharmonic and the Munich
Chamber Orchestra in Munich’s Prince Regent Theatre.
Nehring made his Munich recital debut last June, and
at the end of January he makes his Berlin recital debut,
performing Chopin, Szymanowski and Prokofiev in the
Philharmonie’s chamber hall as part of German Radio’s
young artists series. A few days earlier he is due to give the back from continuing in the same way. Instead, he has ‘It is my responsibility
same programme in Paris’ Salle Cortot. been taking time to think about his future direction and to play well for each
If Nehring is relaxed about the prospects of fame adding to his repertoire. ‘It’s hard to maintain the quality audience’
and fortune, he is clearly a proud man and is aware at every concert but that is what I have to do now. If you
that he needs to live up to the reputation he has been really play below your level everyone will hear. I feel it is
acquiring. In the last year he has been careful not to my responsibility to play well for each audience. I don’t
crowd his schedule. The period following his Rubinstein want to waste their time – or mine.’ IP
Competition triumph was fiercely intense and he pulled szymonnehring.com
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IN BLACK AND WHITE
Test of patience
Benjamin Ivry advocates a sympathetic response to pianists’ below-par performances
P
iano lovers are sometimes as Maurizio Rather than surmising that a pianist is
vehemently disdainful as they are Pollini: past done and dusted after some off-nights,
worshipful. Their heroes may be his sell-by perhaps accepting flaws would be a healthier
quickly discarded based on a handful date? approach, even if accompanied by unforgiving
of performances, as if prior admirable merriment at the trials undergone by others.
achievements were illusory. By writing The pianist and writer Charles Rosen’s
them off, listeners relegate performers to Piano Notes (Allen Lane, 2002) alludes with
the dustbin. Yet should we be quick to give unconcealed delight to onstage mishaps
up on a pianist whose artistry has once by Rudolf Serkin, Vladimir Horowitz and
moved us? Arthur Rubinstein ‘at their rare worst’.
A case in point was the cultural critic To prove his point, Rosen goes into
Edward Said, an amateur pianist, whose far from artistically finished, and although detail about Serkin’s performances of
Music at the Limits (Columbia University in old age his playing may take some time Beethoven’s Sonata in A Major Op 101
Press, 2007) reprinted his review slating to warm up in recitals, he still has valuable and the ‘Hammerklavier’ Sonata Op 106,
Maurizio Pollini. While previously lauding musical emotions to convey. Indeed, Music which turned into masses of wrong notes
Pollini as ‘once the most prodigiously at the Limits also contains suggestions that repeatedly sounded, causing the then-young
enjoyable of performers’, Said asserted with time, Said reconsidered his rather aspiring pianist Rosen to conclude: ‘In spite
that at a Carnegie Hall recital in March hasty banishment of his former hero. of my great admiration, I inevitably felt a
1992, the Italian pianist had become a Similarly, in February 2015, an certain Schadenfreude… In my experience
‘painfully unenjoyable, even downright intemperate reviewer in the Telegraph asked the finest pianists, when they are not in
nasty, version of his earlier self… Slow, about a London recital by Ivo Pogorelich, their best form, do not give a mediocre or
gigantically portentous, repetitive and ‘Should promoters really be selling tickets moderately good performance, but tend to
pedantic in his playing, Pollini produced for such disturbing exhibitionism as this?’ A produce a disaster or an outrage.’
a rendition [of Schubert’s Sonata in few years on, Pogorelich signed a contract While relishing the pleasure he derived
B-flat major D960] of almost frightening with Sony Classical and his career is again from another’s misfortunate, on no account
boredom, as if to say, “I can play even more on the upswing. Pogorelich is not the first did Rosen advise exiling Serkin, Rubinstein
soberly and seriously than Brendel and pianist to bounce back in this fashion. In or Horowitz from the pantheon of worthies.
Schnabel”. Whereupon he turned on the the early 1980s, Vladimir Horowitz, then Instead, he asserted that a pianist ‘should be
Chopin Études with an appalling display of enduring physical and emotional illness, characterized by his finest work: a pianist
bad-tempered virtuosity, in which each of played some of the sloppiest concerts of his who on rare occasions gives a masterly
these astonishing pieces was mercilessly career, including a bumpy May 1982 London performance but plays like a pig most of the
skewered, hammered, stomped on. Nearly concert and a recital in June 1983 from time is still a great pianist.’ This notion may
everything was too loud and too fast; Tokyo’s NHK Hall. be cold comfort for some virtuosos, who
flurries of muffed passages alternated with At the time, American pianist and critic might argue that even more understanding
inexplicably obtrusive, poorly conceived Harris Goldsmith informed me, bootleg should be offered, given the vagaries of
bursts of real bravura.’ tapes of these events were heard as party an international touring career. Wouldn’t
By deeming Pollini, then around 50 years entertainment by gatherings of New York more charitable listening be a more
old, past his sell-by date, Said concluded record collectors and piano pundits, productive way of coping with occasional
that ‘he is now strangely unpleasant to raucously jeering the wrong notes. The disappointments? Without disposing of a
listen to; one senses boredom, anger and career of Horowitz, then approaching his critical sense, a dollop of patience might
frustration at the routine of playing endless 80th birthday, was considered over by these help us to weather rough seas with certain
recitals, plus an overall loss of purpose that authorities, yet only a couple of years later, artists, so that yesterday’s putdowns will
is quite depressing’. Almost three decades he returned in better form to make some of not reappear to haunt us if, and when,
on, we can see in retrospect that Pollini was his most appreciated recordings. pianists return in better form. IP

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The
Ill-Tempered
Clavier
Why have classical music programmes all
but disappeared from television? Charivari
despairs at the lack of classical concerts and
documentaries broadcast on the BBC
BBC Proms: an inordinately expensive operation? CHRIS CHRISTODOULOU
W
hat is it about BBC television and of which were broadcast on television (two hackneyed, over-played repertoire with ghastly
classical music? I do not know were non-classical). What’s not to like? new commissions no one ever wants to play
what it is like where you live, but Well, very little, though of course it would or hear again. Some of these complaints
are the myriad channels available to you always be nice to have a greater proportion have been rehearsed in this column before.
as reprehensibly stingy as the BBC when it of these concerts televised for those licence Nonetheless, few can deny the scope, vision
comes to offering viewers classical concerts fee payers for whom a trip to London and the and enterprise of the Proms.
and documentaries? Wait a moment, I hear Royal Albert Hall is prohibitively expensive The trouble is, it is an inordinately
you say. What about the BBC Proms, ‘the (not the price of the tickets themselves, I expensive operation. I have no idea of the
world’s biggest and longest-running music hasten to add). There is an awful lot to admire budget nor of the proportion of the overall
festival’? Listeners to BBC Radio 3 could about the Proms – and a significant number BBC music budget that it takes. But with its
hear broadcasts of all 74 concerts of this past of things not to like: most of the on-screen expansion of repertoire and artists beyond
season, an astonishing amount in two months, presenters, the lamentable lack of imagination the single London venue, costs must have
plus goodness knows how many additional when it comes to concerto repertoire, increased exponentially. It leaves one with the
Proms in various parks and other venues – 24 the programming in the same evening of impression that when the whole enterprise

THE ILL-TEMPERED CLAVIER
comes to its rousing Last Night, there is pop music in all its various guises. It is a policy Back in the day, before the disastrous
nothing left in the commissioners’ piggy bank mindset that panders to the lowest common arrival in 1992 of John ‘Blue Sky Thinker’ Birt
for the rest of the year. denominator, the same mindset as the pub as BBC director-general, the commissioning
Let’s see what classical music is on offer quiz Music Round in which you know as of programmes was a fairly straightforward
this particular week, at the time of writing, a procedure. Single heads of department were
month after the Proms season ended. What
is the BBC broadcasting on the only three
‘It is a dereliction of able to make decisions. That all changed
with the introduction of Birt’s internal
of its terrestrial channels where classical duty and an insult to market structure, which made the process
music is ever placed, BBC1, BBC2 and BBC4? for proposing new programme ideas so
Sunday – no music programmes of any kind; those of us who do not labyrinthine that many people decided to
Monday – ditto; Tuesday – ditto; Wednesday take another career path rather than risk a
– ditto; Thursday – ditto; Friday – seven hours enjoy pop music’ nervous breakdown or death by committee.
of various programmes on BBC4 dedicated to The last decent classical music film this
rock ‘n’ roll, Top of the Pops and reggae music; surely as the sun will rise tomorrow that all 10 writer saw on the BBC was John Bridcut’s
Saturday – four hours of late night / early questions will be about pop music. Classical is superlative 90-minute biographical
morning programmes on BBC4 about Amy ignored, elbowed out of the frame. documentary on BBC4, Dame Janet Baker:
Winehouse, Nirvana’s Nevermind album, The I know several successful television In Her Own Words, shown in April this year.
Wailers’ Catch A Fire reggae album (repeat documentary directors with impressive track There should be something of this quality
from Friday) and a 1988 Top of the Pops. records, who have both a deep knowledge and once a week – not every six months.
Seven whole days from a national service love of classical music, and who also know Reduce the number of non-classical Prom
broadcaster without one solitary example how to put together intelligent, thought- concerts and put the saved money into
of any classical music on television. This provoking and illuminating programmes on a pot marked ‘Funding for programmes
simply should not be allowed to happen. It is the subject. Can they get a commission? Can about classical music and musicians’. Who
a dereliction of duty and an insult to those of they hell. Even if they do attract a commission, knows, we might even get a portrait of a
us who derive no (or little) enjoyment from is it ever worth their while financially? pianist one day. IP
SOUTHEASTERN
PIANO FESTIVAL APPLY BY
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INTERNATIONAL FABIO BIDINI
PIANO COMPETITION
HAESUN PAIK
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June 13-21 FOR PRE-COLLEGE PIANISTS YARON KOHLBERG
2020
AGES 13-18 NATALYA ANTONOVA
AVERY GAGLIANO (SEPF ALUMNA)
Piano X
MARINA LOMAZOV SEAN CHEN
JOSEPH RACKERS
SUSAN ZHANG AND NICK LUBY
(THE CONCERT TRUCK)
Artistic Directors
southeasternpianofestival.com

COVER FEATURE
Russian icons
A long and deep association with Russian culture has made Irish pianist Barry Douglas a
favourite of audiences in Moscow. He talks to Geoffrey Norris about his latest recording
project, which pairs works by Tchaikovsky with other Russian masterpieces
R
ussian music lay at the heart of Barry Douglas’ 20121), just released, combines Tchaikovsky’s Sonata in
triumph in the 1986 Tchaikovsky Competition, G major and Méditation with Rachmaninov’s Moments
and it is Russian music that now returns centre- musicaux Op 16. How was this intriguing and provocative
stage for his series of Chandos discs entitled programming formulated? ‘I don’t have a good answer
‘Tchaikovsky Plus One’. When Douglas won the gold to that’, Douglas admits. ‘I’m usually having lunch with
medal in Moscow at the age of 26, the correspondent Ralph Couzens [managing director of Chandos] when we
of the New York Times commented, ‘Mr Douglas had decide what we’re going to do next! He said it was a shame
stunned the Soviet audience in the second round of that we didn’t do anything for the 30th anniversary of the
the competition with his interpretation of Musorgsky’s Tchaikovsky Competition win. I replied that I’d always
Pictures at an Exhibition. After his final round… when wanted to record Tchaikovsky’s Seasons, because I love
he performed Tchaikovsky’s Concerto No 1 and Brahms’ them, and he suggested the pairing with Mussorgsky’s
Concerto No 1, the crowd chanted “First prize, first prize”.’ Pictures. Then he said: “Why don’t you do a Tchaikovsky
This affinity with Russian music, to which the Moscow series of three or four or five CDs combining him with
audience and jury responded so enthusiastically, has deep your other favourite Russian composers?” So it was that
roots. Douglas’ teacher at the Royal College of Music, John sort of dialogue – very informal, not strategic.’
Barstow, was himself very keen on Russian pianists and It would have been unthinkable to devise a series of
introduced Douglas to the playing of, among others, Gilels Tchaikovsky’s piano music without including his Grand
and Richter. Later, in his early 20s he had classes with Sonata, though it is by no means everyone’s idea of a
Yevgeny Malinin, the great pianist and pedagogue who, as sympathetic piano work. Douglas, however, puts a more
a disciple of Heinrich Neuhaus, had a profound influence positive slant on it. ‘I think it’s a really good example
on Russian pianism and later taught in Paris. As Douglas of how Tchaikovsky can use the piano to suggest a
explains, ‘Malinin taught me basically about Russian symphony – a large-scale canvas. His operas and
sound and how to approach music, to get to the kernel symphonies are large-scale, and the sonata has that sort
of a phrase. It’s a kind of no-nonsense approach, but it’s a of amplitude. Having something like that for the piano is
no-nonsense approach that pays dividends. He also had very important. Not everybody agrees that it’s his greatest
incredible warmth of sound. When he played the piano, it work, but I think there are some incredible things in it,
sounded like an organ – quite uncanny.’ so it deserves to be heard more. It’s a piece that has a lot
These links with the Russian tradition were reinforced of echoes of other things such as the ballets, and it’s a
after Douglas left the RCM and studied with Maria piece I’ve been playing for a very long time. I love it.’ As
Curcio: she had been a pupil of Artur Schnabel, who in to any accusations of bombast that might be leveled at
turn had been a pupil of Theodor Leschetizky, the Polish the sonata, Douglas mentions the difference in power
pianist who worked alongside Anton Rubinstein at the between pianos of the later 19th century and those of
St Petersburg Conservatoire. And, going right back to the today, inviting the modern pianist to ‘tailor it a little bit, as
beginning, one of Douglas’ earliest teachers was Felicitas you would in Beethoven sonatas, where things might have
LeWinter, who, as a pupil of Emil von Sauer who had worked on pianos of his day but not on ours. It can be too
studied with Liszt, was ‘always talking about Russian big and too incessant, so it is necessary to make those
sound’. Douglas has an impressive lineage when it comes kinds of adjustments.’
to the luminaries of the piano world, but, he says, ‘I don’t Tchaikovsky is what Douglas describes as ‘a point of
claim to have any Russian sound myself. I play how I feel departure’ for the Chandos series. So how does he choose
the music needs to shine.’ the Plus One? In the case of the Rachmaninov Moments
Nevertheless, he has been drawn ineluctably back to musicaux, ‘it’s about trying to find loose connections
the Russian repertoire for these new Tchaikovsky Plus and influences, but also those things that are out of the
One albums. The first disc (CHAN 10991), which was ordinary, allowing one to appreciate another side of a
BENJAMIN EALOVEGA
released last year, coupled Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons composer’. If Rachmaninov is more often represented in
with the Musorgsky Pictures that had so dazzled the the repertoire by his preludes, Études-tableaux and the
1986 Moscow audience and which Douglas recorded Second Sonata, the early Moments musicaux, written in
fairly soon afterwards for RCA. The second disc (CHAN 1896 when Rachmaninov was 23, reveal what Douglas

COVER FEATURE
describes as ‘the maturity, the expression

and the melancholy, which is very much
under control. It’s not worn on his
sleeve; it’s very reined in. For a
young person I think that’s
extraordinary.’
W hen we meet at
Wigmore Hall,
Douglas has just flown in
from China and is taking a
train that evening to Paris,
stopping off in London to give
a performance of Shostakovich’s
Piano Quintet with the Borodin
Quartet, together with two of
Tchaikovsky’s Seasons miniatures.
‘My schedule has been developing’, says
Douglas casually. Working on projects
for young musicians in Ireland curtailed
his touring somewhat, but now with
the Chandos association well
established he is doing more
of it. ‘And I’m really enjoying
it. I can create something
where the things I really
care about can be
linked with tours and
new relationships with
young conductors.
I’ve just worked with
a wonderful Chinese-
Australian conductor in
China called Dane Lam.
There are wonderful
talents around. For
people of my generation
and slightly older
[Douglas is now 59]
that’s always such a
pleasure – meeting
new people.’
Douglas also
maintains close
contact with
colleagues he has
known for much
longer, not least
those in Camerata
Ireland, which he
founded in the late
1990s as a cultural
symbol of the peace
process represented
by the Good Friday
Agreement between Great
Britain and Ireland. With
this in mind, our conversation

NCPA MUMBAI
COVER FEATURE
veers towards the as yet unresolved question of Britain’s

relationship with the European Union.
Douglas was born in Belfast but gives masterclasses in
Dublin and Cork. Camerata Ireland embraces musicians
from Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic as well as
Irish musicians who have made their careers abroad, and,
as Douglas says, ‘Brexit will have an impact, even with a
deal. It’ll add another layer of bureaucracy. It’ll really hit
small arts organisations. The Camerata was formed in
response to the Good Friday Agreement. With musicians
under different jurisdictions, how will it work? If they
work out the visas and the work permits and it’s all very
seamless, then fine, but if they don’t work it out it’s going
to make it impossible to travel. A couple of years back
we started in France, went to Brussels, Poland, Germany
then to England. I don’t know how that could work in the
future. Maybe it’s going to be dead easy. Maybe it’s not. It’s
the unknown, rife with potential problems.’
Meanwhile, though, Douglas continues with his
Chandos commitments, having just recorded two more
‘I don’t claim to have sonatas for the fifth volume of his Schubert series. ‘It’s a
any Russian sound kind of discovery for me,’ he says, ‘because I always felt
myself. I play how Schubert wasn’t my thing. I loved to listen to it, but I didn’t
I feel the music feel I could bring anything to the table. Now I feel more
needs to shine’ confident and closer to this music. Like Radu Lupu used
Melancholy mood:
Douglas admires the
reined-in emotions
of Rachmaninov’s
Moments musicaux
BENJAMIN EALOVEGA

COVER FEATURE
NCPA MUMBAI
to say when people asked him why he didn’t play Chopin: groundswell of feeling which draws on the vast history of Crossing borders:
“Chopin doesn’t like me.” Schubert didn’t like me, but I this region, which has undergone a lot of things.’ Performing with
think he’s beginning to – at least, a little bit!’ Douglas’ Russian enthusiasms are reciprocated in Camerata Ireland at
Douglas’ Tchaikovsky Plus One series will run to around Moscow, where he is a well-known name, popular as India’s National Centre
five discs, perhaps with Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev next a soloist and celebrated for his musicianship. Russian for the Performing Arts
year. Another lunch with Ralph Couzens may be needed audiences and musicians tell him that he has a Russian
to decide the exact repertoire. Whatever it is, it will be the sound as a pianist. ‘I think maybe it might have rubbed
product of Douglas’ deep love for Russian culture. In 1992 off ’, he says, ‘but I haven’t really tried to do that. I’m very
he took a year off at Oxford to study Russian. ‘I got quite flattered to be linked to this great historical school of piano
proficient,’ he says, ‘but I don’t practise enough, so I’ve playing. But I always crack a joke at their expense. John
forgotten quite a lot of it. I’m trying to bring it up again.’ Field, the Irish composer who developed the bel canto
He has also developed a passion for Russian artworks: style of piano-playing and invented the nocturne and so
‘I love Russian icons’, he explains. ‘I collect them and go on, moved to Moscow and taught a whole generation of
to art galleries such as the Pushkin Museum in Moscow Russian composers, including Glinka. So, I say it’s not that
whenever I can.’ His literary tastes include Solzhenitsyn, I’ve got a Russian sound, but that they’ve got an Irish one.’ IP
Dostoyevsky and Pushkin, read mostly in translation.
Does he feel there is a distinctive Russian character in
the music he plays? ‘There is definitely something,’ says
Douglas, ‘but I couldn’t put it into words. Some people The second volume of Barry
talk about melancholy and emotion, but it’s not that. Douglas’ Tchaikovsky Plus One
It’s a feeling of nobility and pride, in the right meaning series is now available from
of the word. Also, there’s the sense that it’s founded on a Chandos Records (CHAN20121).
lot of hardship and suffering, but with a certain humour. barrydouglas.com
I can’t really put my finger on it, but there’s definitely a

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NATIONAL STYLES
Lyrical conviction
The Russian School of pianism emphasises sonority and colour, taking inspiration from the
human voice s capacity for nuance and in ection. Bryce Morrison delves into the world of
legendary Russian pianists in the third instalment of our series on national styles
R
ussia is the lion’s den of pianists. Even Arthur For Neuhaus and many other Russians, singers are
Rubinstein confessed to some trepidation before the prime inspiration because so much piano writing is
playing a recital in Moscow after a 40-year vocally inspired. Singers’ capacity for legato and cantabile,
absence from Russia: ‘They expect something for limitless nuance, inflection and colouration, should be
special there’. So, what is the legendary Russian at the heart of musical thinking. Thus, Russian pianists are
tradition, one that has produced pianists of the calibre trained to develop what Josef Lhévinne called ‘a ringing, Vladimir Ashkenazy at
of Rachmaninov, Horowitz, Moiseiwitsch, Richter, Gilels, singing’ tone. Relaxed arm-weight, the ability to make the 1962 Tchaikovsky
Lazar Berman and Ashkenazy, to name but a few? the fingers sink into the keys (the reverse of a superficial Competition
If limiting and journalistic descriptions are attached
to other national schools (‘elegant’ in France, ‘fiery’ in
Hungary, ‘serious’ in Germany and ‘civilized’ in England)
no less is true of Russia. There, the image is of powerhouse
playing, of what was known as ‘the grand manner’. But
while the aforementioned pianists display qualities which
are indubitably Russian, they are all totally individual –
you could never mistake one for another. Individuality is
paramount in Russia. Richter is important because he is
Richter, not because he is Russian (the classic parallel in
France being Cortot: indubitably French in temperament,
he was entirely his own artist).
But if all these Russian pianists possess a common
denominator beneath their sharply personal natures,
what is it? First and foremost, musicians are taken
seriously in Russia. The passing on of great music makes
you an ambassador for your country. Music has always
been seen as a vital part of education and spiritual
heritage, not as some trivial pastime. Training is intense
from the start, and there are many pianists who can
play, say, the complete Chopin Études with ease and
fluency at the age of 18. Ashkenazy, in the remarkable
book Beyond Frontiers (Collins 1984), claimed that as a
person – as a feeling, thinking human being – you did not
count. You were simply part and parcel of a propaganda
machine promoting the glory of Russia. This may well
be true, yet Ashkenazy would also admit that training
elsewhere (particularly in England) is, relatively speaking,
inadequate, with something of the dilettante about it.
But more generally, what defines great Russian
playing? Firstly, there is crucial care for sound, for tone
and sonority. Russian training insists that you learn
how to create a particular sound for a particular work
and composer. In other words, the sonority projected in
Chopin should hardly be the same as in Prokofiev. In The

Art of Piano Playing (Moscow 1958), Heinrich Neuhaus
makes clear that you should never practise mechanically
but always musically, whether in basic scales or full-
blown compositions.

NATIONAL STYLES
Left to right: Sergei facility) is vital in achieving a tone sufficiently varied to be an exhaling of breath there. Hearing Rachmaninov and
Rachmaninov: a apt for different composers. Relaxation is a sine qua non Chaliapin side by side, the parallel is easily discerned.
Russian Bach?; of the Russian School. As Walter Gieseking, a non-Russian For Horowitz, it was Mattia Battistini and Enrico
Vladimir Horowitz: pianist, put it: ‘When I step onto the concert stage I will Caruso. He wanted to imitate their art on the piano.
astonishing imitator of appear completely relaxed even when mentally I will be Of pianists, he said, ‘so they play good octaves, thirds,
vocal art; keyed up to the highest pitch.’ sixths… So what?’ Following Anton Rubinstein (the father,
Anton Rubinstein: the For Russians, tone and colour are inseparable via Liszt, of great Russian playing) who thought no less
father of Russian piano considerations. Speaking of her studies with vocally, Horowitz noted the way Battistini glided from one
playing; Rachmaninov, Gina Bachauer, a pianist of effulgent note to another – a form of overlapping or portamento.
Sviatoslav Richter: sonority, told how technique as such was of little interest This he combined with a pedal technique giving the
occasional metronomic for him. Colour and sound were everything. Horowitz illusion of sound blossoming rather than fading. Listen to
severity was anxious to differentiate between technique and the slow movement of Rachmaninov’s Cello Sonata Op
mechanics, the former concerned with limitless scope and 19, where Horowitz is partnered by Rostropovich, and you
beauty, the latter a black-and-white alternative devoid of will hear an astonishing example of necromancy. By this
character or grandeur. For him, there was a whole range means a percussive instrument magically becomes lyrical,
of sounds between loud and soft waiting to be discovered. or in Debussy’s words, ‘an instrument without hammers’.
Speaking of Sigi (Alexis) Weissenberg, he mischievously Russian pedalling is combined with, in Horowitz’s
added (hinting at mechanical skill): ‘He thinks he sounds words, ‘playing briefly, very briefly through the preceding
like me, but he doesn’t.’ note’. Josef Hofmann described it as ‘clinging and singing’.
Both Rachmaninov and Horowitz were strongly For Josef Lhévinne, ‘there are always two sounds’: a
influenced by singers. Rachmaninov idolised Feodor blending, often of mismatched notes and harmonies, that
Chaliapin, noting his ability to lengthen or shorten can create colour and character – a vital consideration
syllables at will and to achieve a controlled diminuendo in Chopin, for example. For Horowitz’s pupil Eduardus
that could fade to the merest whisper. Pianists, too, should Halim, Horowitz’s playing created harmonies that ‘seemed
emulate a singer’s breathing: an intake of breath here, suspended in air’. Such ‘polyphonic layering’ recalls the

NATIONAL STYLES
opinions of Boris Berezovsky, a true product of the Russian As to the bedrock of Russian pianism, Anton
School, who expressed annoyance at the contempt shown Rubinstein, Rachmaninov listened spell-bound to many
for Rachmaninov as both composer and pianist. For aspects of his playing – chiefly its beauty of sound,
Berezovsky, there is a polyphony in Rachmaninov that which inspired his own tirelessly celebrated playing.
makes him ‘a Russian Bach’. Horowitz never heard Rubinstein but grew up hearing
his name spoken with awe and reverence; once heard, his
W hat of the relationships between the great Russian

pianists? Richter and Gilels’ hostility to one
another is ultimately as absurd as that between Horowitz
performances were never forgotten. Horowitz recalled
talking to Paderewski who spoke of Rubinstein’s way
with the Schumann F-sharp minor Sonata: ‘In the slow
and Rubinstein (‘He is a great pianist, but I am the finer movement, with its long sinuous melody, I never in my life
musician’, said Rubinstein of Horowitz). All four of these heard such a singing piano. He impressed me more than
great pianists are radically different. Richter’s occasional any other pianist I have ever heard.’
metronomic severity was a far cry from Gilels’ straight- Horowitz was proud to belong to a tradition stemming
from-the-heart emotionalism. from Rubinstein. Working with Felix Blumenfeld, who had
Neuhaus’ very public preference for Richter over Gilels studied with Rubinstein, he felt himself part of an elite, a
was a thorn in the side of the latter, but he was also
the first to show unstinting admiration for Gilels. For
Neuhaus, Gilels ‘possessed an elemental virtuoso gift, a ‘Horowitz was anxious to differentiate
sound rich in noble metal, 20-carat gold that we find in
the voices of the great singers.’ Gilels was the grandest and
between technique and mechanics, the
most lyric of virtuosi. For some, his playing evolved over
the years from a pulverizing command (the critic Claudia
former concerned with limitless beauty,
Cassidy said it was ‘stewed in Russian juices, a catapult the latter a black-and-white alternative
projection and blow-torch incandescence’) to a greater
sobriety, yet always with that musical uproar. devoid of character’

NATIONAL STYLES

Emil Gilels: the privileged few: ‘I am a Russian pianist, born in the Ukraine, Sarcasmes and Fifth Sonata displays an astonishing
grandest and most lyric and I was happy when an American critic said my style mastery and conviction, with a fullness and richness
of virtuosi was in the Rubinstein tradition.’ Horowitz liked to think of sound that could only come from a Russian pianist.
of himself as ‘the last of the Romantics’, a description also Edvard Syomin, imprisoned within the Soviet system, is
attached to later pianists such as Jorge Bolet and Earl Wild. another relatively unknown. Hearing him in the second of
Medtner’s Op 51 Fairy Tales is, again, to encounter playing
S ince the end of virtual isolation behind the iron

curtain, musical life in Russian has opened out.
National has become international, yet the assumption
of a complete, all-Russian mastery.
The impact of Russian pianists in the USA could form
the basis of another essay. But as a closing thought:
that you will hear something exceptional when you hear America scored a wondrous and startling triumph when
a Russian pianist continues. We all listened in wonder as Van Cliburn won a unanimous first prize – voted for by
Evgeny Kissin performed both Chopin concertos at the Richter, Gilels, Shostakovich and Kabalevsky – in the
age of 12 in Moscow in 1984, while Berezovsky, Volodos, inaugural Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958, playing
Gavrilov and more recently Daniil Trifonov and Igor Levitt Tchaikovsky’s First Concerto and Rachmaninov’s Third
have fast acquired legendary status. with a rhapsody and tonal grandeur that confounded all
The list of Russian greats could continue. When you Russian expectations. IP
listen, for example, to Ekaterina Novitskaya who, after
winning the Queen Elisabeth Competition at the age of 17, The author is grateful to Eliso Virsaladze, Dmitri Alexeev
disappeared off the radar, you realise how the grandest of and Mikhail Rudy, who provided information and
grand traditions lives on. Novitskaya’s way with Prokofiev’s insights for this article.

Did you know that Polish
composer Mieczysław Weinberg
was called “One of the most
outstanding composers of today”
by Shostakovich?
MPC 196x132mm.indd 1 06/11/19 15:01
Robert Schumann
Complete Piano Works
Complete Piano Works – Clara Schumann Edition

EB 2617– EB 2623 revised and fingered by Wilhelm Kempff
COMPOSER FOCUS
Unsung hero
his ecember mar s the centenary of olish born oviet composer iec ys a Weinberg.
Murray McLachlan re ects on the legacy of this undeservedly neglected musical prodigy
M
ieczysław Weinberg (1919-96) has been Since his death in 1996 there has been a steady growth
described as the third great Soviet composer of interest in Weinberg’s music, with many leading record
alongside Shostakovich and Prokofiev. companies and outstanding performers taking up his
His prolific output shows astonishing cause. I was involved in the revival process and recorded
craftsmanship, consistency and facility, comprising works the piano sonatas in Sweden for Olympia (now re-released
of distinction and significance: over 40 film and animation on Divine Art) in the mid ’90s. Particularly important for
scores, 22 symphonies, 17 string quartets, eight violin Weinberg’s promotion was the 2006 world premiere of his
sonatas, seven operas, six cello sonatas, six piano sonatas, opera Passazhirka (‘The Passenger’), written in 1968 and
iec y a ein e plus several chamber works (the piano quintet stands considered his masterpiece by Weinberg himself.
(1919-96) out), various piano pieces and 24 cello preludes. Listeners unfamiliar with Weinberg’s music typically
react positively, finding it powerful and direct. So why
is Weinberg still relatively neglected? Why was he
overlooked for so long, remaining an unsung hero to the
mainstream classical music community in the West for all
his life? The answer is simple – but profoundly tragic.
His family were Jewish and had been persecuted in
Warsaw before the composer’s birth. Anti-Semitism
would continuously prove to be the menacing, destructive
evil in Weinberg’s career, leaving him not only thwarted
artistically, but also in terrifying personal danger. This
reached tragic heights on several occasions, with the
death of family members including his parents, who
perished in the Nazis’ Trawniki concentration camp, and
his father-in-law Solomon Mikhoels, the famous Soviet
actor and theatre director, who was assassinated in Minsk
under orders from Stalin.
Under these circumstances, it is extraordinary that
Weinberg managed to receive the limited successes
that he did. When events worked in his favour, some
of the most celebrated performers of the 20th century
performed his music in public. His piano sonatas were
championed by both Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels.
An outstanding pianist, Weinberg’s natural affinity for the
instrument led him to compose a special group of works
that deserve far greater currency than they have enjoyed
so far.
Gilels was an especially fervent evangelist for
Weinberg’s music. He performed, among other works, the
two most significant piano sonatas of the six Weinberg
wrote: the extrovert Sonata No 2 in A minor Op 8 (1942)
and the darker Fourth Sonata Op 56 (written in 1955 and
dedicated to Shostakovich). Gilels’ 1957 interpretation of
the Fourth Sonata makes an impressive recorded legacy
and a powerful calling card for the composer. Captured

live, it is an excellent introduction to Weinberg.
The Second and Fourth Piano Sonatas provide
artistic clues as to why Weinberg has been continuously
overshadowed by other Soviet composers. In the Second

COMPOSER FOCUS

Sonata – exciting, vibrant and persuasive though all four
movements are – there is no doubt that the first and third
movements contain material and harmonic progressions
evoking the style and spirit of Prokofiev. In the Fourth,
Shostakovich comes to mind as the opening bars employ
a motoric accompaniment beneath a melancholic, modal
motif based on the B melodic minor scale.
Shostakovich was undoubtedly a huge influence on
Weinberg – after meeting the older composer during the
Second World War, Weinberg declared that ‘it was as if I
had been born anew’ – and there are direct Shostakovich
quotations in his works as well as more general influences.
But to dismiss Weinberg’s music because of its nods to
Shostakovich would be wrong: it is all too easy nowadays
to cruise over new tracks on YouTube or Spotify, to move
past Weinberg after only a cursory listen, dismissing him
due to similarities with others.
Repeated hearings of these two sonatas reveal
much individuality. The ending of Sonata No 2 and the
second subject in the Fourth Sonata’s first movement
demonstrate folk influences that can be found in many
of Weinberg’s works. His music is consummately crafted,
often spiced with modality and ethnic influences via
Jewish, Moldavian, Armenian and Uzbekistani scale
fragments and intervals. Indeed, some critics postulate
that Shostakovich’s use of Jewish material in his own
‘Weinberg’s piano works

deserve far greater currency
than they have enjoyed so far’
music was a direct influence of Weinberg’s compositions
(which Shostakovich strongly admired).
Sonatas 2 and 4 show Weinberg’s penchant for high-
wire pianism, involving uniquely crafted leaps, hand
crosses and acrobatic manoeuvres. However, pianists RECOMMENDED LISTENING il ilel : e an eli t
in search of the ultimate physical workout need look Piano Sonatas 1, 2 & 3; 17 Easy Pieces o ein e ic
no further than the contrapuntal second movement ian iano ic e ie ol
of the Sixth Sonata Op 73. This is a tour-de-force that Murray McLachlan (pf)
accomplishes much in a short space of time. More Divine Art DDA25105
expansive is the Passacaglia first movement of the Fifth Piano Sonatas 4, 5, & 6
Sonata Op 58. Its heroic proportions betray influences of ian iano ic e ie ol
Mahler and the Romantic symphonic tradition. Murray McLachlan (pf)
The discerning listener will identify a strong personality Divine Art DDA 25107
in Weinberg, a composer who favours extreme registers, Piano Sonata 4
classical proportion and understatement rather than il ilel : e t Anni e a y dition
over-inflation of material. The slow movement of Sonata Emil Gilels (pf)
No 4 is especially magical. The texture is string-like and Melodiya MEL CD 1002433
sparse, but the melancholy, intensity and sense of dignity Piano Quintet; String Quartets 10 & 13
is powerful and engulfing. Is this a personal prayer, a iec y a ein e n ea c o eedo
i ita ndoyants pf emlins y uartet
meditation on the tragedy of a troubled career? Weinberg
Praga 250296
himself was never given to self-pity. He said: ‘I wasn’t a
sword of Damocles, because they hardly locked up any Violin Sonatas 1–3 & 6
composers – well, except me – and they didn’t shoot any ein e : o o iolin iano ol
Stefan Kirpal vln Andreas Kirpal (pf)
either. I really can’t claim, as other composers do, that I
CPO 777457
have been persecuted.’ IP

PERSONAL TOUCH
From
the heart
Iyad Sughayer is dra n to the oriental avour of hachaturian s music, hich recalls his early
musical upbringing in ordan
G
rowing up in Jordan, where classical music experience and ability meant I had a lot of catching up
education is not as well established as it is in to do. I spent the next few years at Chetham’s School of
the West, the Armenian flavour and singing Music in Manchester focusing on the core repertoire and
quality of Aram Khachaturian’s music always rebuilding my technique, so I had to put the Toccata and
reminded me of the Arabic music which I heard growing Khachaturian away for a while.
up. The long pedal points and modal scales have an In my second year as an undergraduate student, a
oriental and improvisatory element that I find very friend at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM)
attractive and comforting. had started an orchestra in Manchester. He invited me
My fascination with Khachaturian’s music started from to play any concerto I wanted, so I began exploring
my early years. At the age of eight, I remember learning various composers in the hope of finding a work that
the 10th piece, ‘In Folk Style’, from his first Children’s nobody else I knew played. I remembered that in my first
Album for an ABRSM exam. A few years later I heard the year at Chetham’s, I was eager to play the Khachaturian
Toccata played by a pianist who was possibly a couple of Concerto. At that stage, however, my limited technique
years older than me. I was riveted by his showmanship and abilities made me give up after the exposition of the
and interpretation of this very exciting and impressive first movement due to its serious pianistic and technical
virtuosic work. I knew then that I had to learn it, so demands. With this opportunity however, I decided to
rushed to my next piano lesson and begged my teacher to give it another go. The exciting nature of the concerto
be allowed to work on it. Fortunately, my teacher was an with its brilliant rhythmical drive and Armenian melodies
admirer of Khachaturian and thought it was a great idea. reawakened my forgotten love for Khachaturian’s music.
The Toccata was allegedly written in a single evening, I subsequently performed the concerto with the RNCM
prior to its first performance the very next day. It did Symphony Orchestra, the Cairo Symphony Orchestra
a great deal to establish Khachaturian’s name and and most recently with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra.
reputation as a young composer. Although it sounds Following the success of the first concerto performance
deceivingly difficult, it became my party piece and the in Manchester, my piano teacher, Murray McLachlan,
perfect choice for a young and naïve aspiring pianist. who had recorded the Khachaturian piano works in
Moving to the UK in 2008 with a very limited musical 1992, suggested that I learn the Sonata. After further

PERSONAL TOUCH
exploration of this fascinating sound world, I made it my Foundation made this possible. The album was recorded
ambition to learn the complete piano works. in Manchester at Chetham’s Stoller Hall in December 2018
Khachaturian was an important Soviet composer, an and was produced by Rita Hermeyer.
Armenian hero and a national treasure. His compositions The album opens with the monumental Piano Sonata
brought Armenian folk and traditional music to the (1961), written in memory of Khachaturian’s teacher
classical world. I’m often asked why I favour Khachaturian Nikolai Myaskovsky; it remains my favourite work. It is
and have engaged in very long arguments about his followed by the Two Pieces (1926), Children’s Album Book
music, often with dissatisfied individuals. I tend to 1 (1947), Poem (1927), Sonatina (1959) and concludes with
steer away from such arguments simply because my the popular Toccata (1932).
love for Khachaturian’s music is personal and I respect The album was a joy to record, the fulfilment of a
that his music is not for everyone. The noted critic dream that began as a child in Jordan and which I have
Harold C Schonberg wrote in the New York Times that carried with me close to my heart on my journey thus far.
Khachaturian ‘frankly composed popular music’ and Recording it at Chetham’s made it even more special to
described his compositions as ‘formula writing’. Granted, me. I hope my personal interpretation of Khachaturian’s
Khachaturian’s early works were certainly popular: Sabre immense music offers a fresh telling of this moving,
Dance and Masquerade Suite still remain popular choices uplifting and life-affirming work. IP
for many listeners. But I do not see that as a criticism –
he frankly wrote good tunes! While his style of writing is
sometimes based on musical patterns and often ‘recycles’
compositional ideas, his music remains unique and is
without a doubt very special. Iyad Sughayer’s Khachaturian
Having collected quite a few CDs and admired many Piano Works is now available
of their recording artists, I am very fortunate that BIS from BIS Records (BIS-2436
Records decided to give me the opportunity to record my SACD). iyadsughayer.com
debut album. A generous grant from the Minerva Arts
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IN RETROSPECT
Man of letters
Austrian pianist Paul Badura-Skoda, known for his performances on historic instruments,
chamber collaborations and musical scholarship, died in September this year. Benjamin Ivry
surveys the artistry and achievements of this multifaceted creative spirit
P
rofoundly Viennese, the pianist, editor and
composer Paul Badura-Skoda, who died on Paul Badura-Skoda
25 September aged 91, was as elusive and (1927-2019) in 1952
multifaceted as the culture he represented.
Acclaimed as an interpreter of the first Viennese school
of composers, he was also an authoritative interpreter of
Switzerland’s Frank Martin and Germany’s Paul Hindemith.
Devoted to his own 1923 Bösendorfer Imperial Grand
as a career-long Bösendorfer artist, Badura-Skoda was, on
occasion, unfaithful for the sake of musical exploration.
In his personal keyboard instrument collection was
a Steinway Model D concert grand from 1954. For a
recording of Beethoven’s Sonata in F-sharp major Op 78,
he used both instruments for different movements.
His imaginative curiosity about the history of the
keyboard resulted in some out-of-style harpsichord
recordings and more intriguing efforts on the fortepiano.
Badura-Skoda’s varied instrumental journey began at
home, where his family’s piano was a Petrof baby grand,
made by a noted Czech piano manufacturer. It was likely
purchased by his Moravian grandfather. On it, he had
his first lessons from Marta Wiesenthal, a lodger who
favoured the music of Brahms and Chopin.
Son of an engineer, Badura-Skoda would later display
precision and pedantry in editions of masterworks,
performance guides and interpretive choices. An example
of the last-mentioned was including all repeats in Haydn’s
Sonata in E-flat major Hob XVI/52, while restricting the
piano’s dynamic range, resulting in a certain facelessness.
Even more doggedly, for a single CD in 2013, he recorded
Schubert’s Sonata in B-flat major D960 three times on
different instruments made in the 1820s, 1920s and early
2000s, with much the same interpretation.
As a child, Badura-Skoda was handed over to another
instructor, Viola Thern, who belonged to a notable
Austro-Hungarian musical family. He also worked with
the eminent Viennese pianist Otto Schulhof (1889-1958),
remembered today for his salon arrangements of bonbons
by Johann Strauss II, such as Pizzicato Polka. Fortunately
for Badura-Skoda’s independence of mind, he next chose
to escape the Austrian tradition through liberating
contact with Edwin Fischer in Switzerland.
In addition to inspiration, Fischer provided him with
a professional introduction to the 1950 Salzburg Festival.
Badura-Skoda was recommended as a replacement for an
unavailable Fischer to the violinist Wolfgang Schneiderhan.
With Schneiderhan, Badura-Skoda would make some of

IN RETROSPECT
his finest chamber music recordings, in the company of the

An elusive and Russian-born cellist Boris Pergamenschikow.
multifaceted pianist As a collaborative artist, Badura-Skoda always shone.
In the early 1950s, faced with Wilhelm Furtwängler
on the podium, known for giant waves of sound and
glacial tempos in Andante movements of Mozart
piano concertos, Badura-Skoda was unperturbed. He
maintained his trademark rich sound quality and sense
of legato even when the forward impulse of the music
appeared to stop entirely.
Nor did Badura-Skoda strain to magnify his own
decibel level or exaggerate his gestures, retaining his
aplomb as the wild Romantic poet on the podium
crashed through the music. For a pianist still in his
20s, he showed decided poise, doubtless born of utter
concentration and stylistic confidence.
In later pairings, he was able to match the operatic
monumentality of Hans Knappertsbusch in a performance
from Hamburg of Beethoven’s ‘Emperor’ Concerto in 1960.
In 1958, he serendipitously discovered plausible Mozartian
accompaniment in the Concerto No 27 in B-flat major
K595 from the Radio Orchestra of Naples, conducted by
Georg Solti (see recommended listening list).
Hearkening back to his Viennese roots, he performed
in a piano duo with Jörg Demus. Their recordings were
lush with aural delights. Alongside these jollities, there
was lastingly original music-making when Frank Martin
dedicated Fantasy on Flamenco Rhythms (1973) to Badura-
Skoda, exploiting his mastery of keyboard sonorities by
creating an orgiastic palette of colours.
It may seem reductive or a backhanded compliment
to identify Badura-Skoda’s potentially supreme legacy
as an interpreter of the music of Frank Martin, but the
virtuosic soloist was surely the composer’s knight in
shining armour. A rather stiff, formal collection of letters
exchanged between the two was published by Universal
Edition in 2018, rife with Sehr verehrter Meister! (Most
honoured Maestro) and other respectful formulas.
Less formal musicianly interchanges occurred with the
French pianist Reine Gianoli in a 1950 performance of
Mozart’s Concerto No 7 for Two Pianos in F Major K242, led
by Hermann Scherchen. The soloists conveyed some of the
merry spirit of the Papagena-Papageno duets in Magic Flute.
Even in old age, Badura-Skoda continued to
personify delights of pianistic collaboration. In 2017, he
accompanied the violinist Thomas Albertus Irnberger at
a performance in Vienna. Playing Fritz Kreisler’s Caprice
Viennois, he concentrated as ever upon weighing keyboard
sonorities benevolently.
At times, this ingrained national and municipal identity
could be a drawback, as in certain of his interpretations
of Bach, perhaps a trifle too Viennese to the point of
sounding slick, urbane and unctuous. Yet Badura-Skoda
could also bring out dramatic organ-like sonorities when
playing portions of Bach’s Art of Fugue on the piano.
Possibly surprising some audiences, he was also at
home in such repertoire as the Ballades and Études of
Chopin, a composer whose ‘humanity’ he extolled. His

IN RETROSPECT
Schumann Carnaval lacked vulnerability, though, and

in the same composer’s Kinderszenen, despite sensitive
‘Badura-Skoda’s ability to sustain a
rubato, there was noticeable coolness, as if a fundamental propulsive melodic line amid wells of
reserve prevented him from expressing the cauldron of
emotions beneath the surface of this music. Yet he could sound became a hallmark of his virtuosity’
also play Schumann’s Album for the Young with charming
candour and directness. in the Musical Times of April 1995, the harpsichordist Ton
His Schubert Wanderer Fantasy, while outstanding Koopman slated Badura-Skoda’s Interpreting Bach at the
technically, is somehow anonymous, not revealing Keyboard for ‘too many arbitrary statements, too many
much about the pianist’s inner essence. The pre-modern personal solutions, all of which give the impression of a
Viennese tradition was surely a highly personalized 19th-century edition with its mass of information…[T]his
one. Without longing for eccentricities, one might hope is a dangerous book, giving as it does too many solutions
to hear an individual emotional imprint on the score. which are, at the very least, questionable.’
In Schubert’s Impromptus, especially No 3 in G-flat, he Badura-Skoda’s editions of works, including the Schubert
conveyed a heartfelt sense of urgency. sonatas, Chopin’s Études, Frank Martin’s 8 Préludes, and
Sometimes baffling interpretive contrasts were a host of useful study scores, were more universally
even heard in a single musical work. Badura-Skoda’s acclaimed, marking further contributions by this variegated
approach to Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata could start pianistic talent who will be much missed. IP
as miniaturized, only to lead eventually to a careening
final movement, marked Presto agitato, that sounded FURTHER READING
genuinely agitated. In Beethoven especially, his ability On the Proper Performance of all Beethoven’s Works for
to sustain a propulsive melodic line amid wells of sound the Piano
became a hallmark of his virtuosity. Carl Czerny, edited by Paul Badura-Skoda (Universal
Edition, 1970)
A man of letters, Badura-Skoda conducted

masterclasses in French, Italian and other languages
apart from his native idiom of German. His last recital, in
Interpreting Mozart: The Performance of His Piano Works
Eva & Paul Badura-Skoda (Routledge, 2010)
Interpreting Bach at the Keyboard
May 2019 at the Vienna Musikverein, was preceded by a Paul Badura-Skoda (Oxford University Press, 2000)
speech in which he confided to the audience that to vivify
the drama of some works, he ‘found’ words to accompany RECOMMENDED LISTENING
pianistic sonorities. So, in a Schubert Impromptu, a melody The Paul Badura-Skoda Edition (20 CDs)
for the right hand was set to the following words: ‘And this DG 94798065
is the course of our lives; there is injustice and need far Paul Badura-Skoda: A Man and His Music (7 CDs)
and wide.’ To which the left hand replied: ‘Our hope was in Kleos 5117
vain; the liberation is still far.’ Paul Badura-Skoda – 80th Birthday Celebration (3 CDs)
Other musicians have devised words to go with piano Genuin GEN87102
melodies for mnemonic or expressive purposes, but few Paul Badura-Skoda and Friends: Chamber Music
in as quirkily personal and emotionally grandiose a way as Genuin GEN11200
Badura-Skoda. Even so, expressing the yearning romantic
Beethoven Piano Concerto No 5 & Piano Sonata No 32
heart was not really his cup of tea, as somewhat literal
Music & Arts MACD0241
renditions of sentimental warhorses by Liszt indicated. By
Paul Badura-Skoda plays Chopin Études
contrast, he clearly exulted in choosing to perform Mozart’s
Music & Arts MACD1230
‘Rondo alla Turca’ from the Sonata No 11 in A major K331
on a Georg Hasska fortepiano from 1820, with a percussive Paul Badura-Skoda plays Chopin
register that sounded like crockery being hurled to the floor. Music & Arts MACD1248
An efficient but dry Ravel Tombeau de Couperin was less Hindemith Sonatas Nos 1 and 3
impressive than Darius Milhaud’s rarely performed Études Westminster XWN 18200 LP
for piano and orchestra Op 63 which Badura-Skoda, as Milhaud: Orchestral and Chamber Music
usual, transformed into a panoply of contrasting sonorities. Divine Art 27807
As for his extensive scholarship, his books such as Mozart Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor K491
Interpreting Bach at the Keyboard (Oxford, 1993; see further SWR Digital SWR10182
reading list), although considered enjoyable and edifying by Furtwängler conducts Mozart
many keyboard players, had an uneven reception. Music & Arts MACD1097
In the Musical Times of July 1962, Thurston Dart reviewed Paul Badura-Skoda plays Schubert
Interpreting Mozart on the Keyboard by Badura-Skoda and Genuin GEN12251
his wife Eva, calling it ‘wordy and profuse in its explanations;
Schubert Piano Trios
the best parts could have been put into a hundred pages,
Gramola GRAM99176
if the ore had been properly smelted.’ Three decades later,

RECORDING FOCUS
TOMMASO TUZJ
Novel sounds
amed after a fictional character by af a, drade is an adventurous ne label hich puts
artists at the heart of its business model. Colin Clarke visits the company s studio in taly
D
own a small road in the town of Pescara on Italy’s composer many friends for its innate expressivity and
Adriatic coastline (Via Tamigi, Montesilvano, to glowing piano sound. Napolitano’s 2018 album, Brahms
be precise), lies the Odradek studio. Dubbed ‘The the Progressive, is similarly impressive.
Spheres’ (the-spheres.com), its humble exterior The Schoenberg launched a label with a mission to put
masks a sophisticated setting that has already generated a artists in charge. Describing itself as a ‘democratic, artist-
catalogue of around 160 discs – and counting. controlled, non-profit co-operative’, Odradek’s unique
The name Odradek comes from a story by Franz Kafka, method of artist selection is done online via the digital
The Cares of a Family Man. Odradek is an omnipresent, platform ANONYMUZE.com. All contracts with artists
quasi-humanoid creature which seems to have no follow a 50-50 model and once Odradek’s costs have
practical purpose yet remains a vital part of every been recouped, everything goes to the artist, ensuring
environment – traits arguably shared with music. The the fairest possible not-for-profit deal. The budget per
company’s logo is a sketch by Kafka: ‘He was a great disc is €10-12,000, which covers seven days in the studio:
doodler,’ says Odradek’s founder, John Anderson. ‘Rather than relying on other people’s studios, I built one
Odradek’s first release was a piano album: Schoenberg’s myself,’ says Anderson. The artist selection process is akin
complete works, played by co-founder Pina Napolitano to that used in peer-reviewed scientific journals: a demo
(who traces her lineage to Michelangeli via Bruno recording of 40-plus minutes comprising at least half the
Mezzena). Setting out their commitment to the piano proposed programme is auditioned blind by a panel – a
repertoire, it is a beautiful disc that should win the properly meritocratic system of evaluation.

RECORDING FOCUS
The Odradek catalogue is tripartite: classical, jazz get two flat walls and sounds bouncing off of them the
and world, with the majority classical. Pianist Muriel sound will either enhance or negate itself depending on
Chemin, who has already recorded the Diabelli Variations, the interaction of waves. So, the solution is diffusion, which
is Odradek’s most frequent guest in the studio. She is is what these panels do. The bottom ones are made from
currently recording a complete cycle of Beethoven’s piano plywood, but the ones on top are made of balsa wood with
sonatas: the almighty ‘Hammerklavier’ is next. pine caps so we don’t put too much stress on the walls.’
The label’s exploratory nature is beautifully A Tesla battery enables excess solar power to be
demonstrated by the award-winning Musical Toys: works stored and used. ‘The lighting, too, is infinitely flexible.
by Gubaidulina, Unsuk Chin and Ligeti performed by We have a public that comes from Pescara for music of
pianist Mei Yi Foo. A comparable sense of discovery people like Dai Fujikura, or the premiere recording of
informs the orchestral catalogue, which features Vasks’ Hugues Dufourt’s L’éclair d’après Rimbaud [heard on Duo
Second Symphony (on Kurland Sounds), while vocal Paganelli Filosa’s disc Sites Auriculaires]. You can’t hear
highlights include the group Mediva pitting Hildegard this anywhere in Italy except maybe in Milan – but here
of Bingen against Hugh Collins Rice, melding 12th- and we have people that are passionate about it.’
21st-century musics. Twists and turns are typical: a Once artists are selected, Odradek handles everything
Goldberg Variations might be de rigeur, but Odradek’s is on from recording, editing and rights to booklet design and
accordion (Vincent Van Amsterdam). distribution over multiple avenues in some 24 countries.
Production and design are of the highest quality. The Musically, the artist retains total control. Discs are always
studio boasts a 2008 Steinway Model B from Pescara’s released in physical format (currently around 80 per
Angelo Fabbrini Collection, ensuring that the piano cent of sales) while also appearing on digital platforms,
(in one form or another) features prominently in the including Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music.
company’s output. Fabbrini has worked with Pollini for There are some fascinating projects lined up in 2020:
decades, and before him Michelangeli: his roster of artists Tempo e Tempi, music by Elliott Carter and Beethoven
is pretty much a Who’s Who of the piano world. from Napolitano, Vittorio Forte in Hommage to Earl Wild,
A pianist central to the Odradek catalogue is Artur Daniel Pereira González in the complete Scriabin Preludes
Pizarro, who launched his complete Rachmaninov and Elena Ballario with Franco Mezzena and Sergio Patria
piano works with a twofer that included a magnificent in Schubert’s Piano Trios. There is also a digital portfolio
Corelli Variations. His next release will be Poulenc’s Piano (managed by Odradek’s technological division, Odratek),
Concerto in an ingenious coupling (Poulenc Sinfonietta which includes Micpedia and MyLabel.com (both launching
and two beautifully atmospheric symphonic poems by next spring) plus B.io and Neumz (the complete Gregorian
Koechlin) with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra under Chant as an app, comprising over 8,000 CDs of material).
Thomas Rösner in January 2020. These and other new projects in the pipeline are expected John Anderson: ‘Rather
Hearing Pizarro warm up for an evening recital of early to provide the cash flow to continue to grow the label. IP than relying on other
Schumann was my first experience of Odradek’s studio. Its people’s studios, I built
intimate setting provided the perfect foil for Schumann’s odradek-records.com one myself’
Allegro Op 8, Bunte Blätter and First Sonata – the
programme for Pizarro’s upcoming solo album in February
2020. I was also struck by the impeccable credentials of
E
the studio’s technology, notably a pair of Neumann M149
microphones. Interested readers can view a full equipment
list on the Odradek website, right down to the cabling and
E
the sound isolation (Vicoustic’s Isoblanket Pro).
As well as the Fabbrini Steinway, Odradek recently
acquired a Tegeler Raumzeit – ‘a beautiful machine’, says
Anderson, which ‘glues together sound’. Eight-channel
video mixing enables the creation of promo videos via
joystick-controlled cameras: ‘With just one technician, we
can have a live broadcast. The studio is massively sound
insulated – impregnable, in fact.’
Acoustic blocks act as a baffle. They are curious objects,
to put it mildly. Anderson explains: ‘The shapes were
generated by a mathematical formula that creates the
array, calculated by making a sort of division problem
based on a series of prime numbers for each cell, then
taking the remainder that doesn’t fit to create a pattern.
This ensures the greatest scattering effect on sound, so
that no frequencies are enhanced or annulled more than
others. It gives a true reflection of the sound. When you

RECORDING FOCUS
Safe and sound

Spearheaded by members of the Busch Trio, MuziekHaven is a new venture near
Amsterdam where musicians can develop their artistry in idyllic, stress-free surroundings.
Owen Mortimer reports
H
alf an hour’s drive north from the centre adjoining rectory with 10 bedrooms were added in the
of Amsterdam, located on a tranquil, 18th century.
picturesque canalside, sits the Barn Church For the Busch Trio, led by pianist Omri Epstein, the
of Zaandam. Founded in 1695, it is the oldest church has now become home following its acquisition
building of its kind in the whole of the Netherlands, by a syndicate of shareholders earlier this year. The
built in the wake of the Protestant Reformation to serve plan is to turn the building into a new chamber music
the local Roman Catholic community. At that time, all centre, performance space and recording studio called
Christians who did not belong to the Reformed Church MuziekHaven, which as the name suggests, is intended to
had to practise their faith in secret. The church was conjure a sense of refuge or shelter.
designed to look like an agricultural storehouse and has ‘The motivation for this project began after
been extremely well preserved. A small pipe organ and experiencing first-hand the challenges young musicians
RONALD KNAPP

RECORDING FOCUS
face at the start of their careers,’ explains Epstein. ‘We

wanted to create a space that would naturally lend itself
to fostering artistic devotion, allowing young chamber
musicians to enter a place of their own where developing
their identity, unity and musical path is made easier. This
project is about giving musicians the chance to enjoy ideal
conditions and dedicate themselves to excellence.’
The Busch Trio themselves were talent-spotted early on.
Founded in 2012, they won the Royal Over-Seas League
Competition later that year and went on to serve as trio
in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in
Waterloo, Belgium. Their critically acclaimed Alpha Classics
recordings of Dvor̆ák’s complete chamber music for piano
and strings are now available as a 4-CD box set. Reviewing
their debut disc for Gramophone in 2016, Rob Cowan wrote,
‘these are very fine performances … with articulate piano
playing that never exceeds the limits of propriety.’
On their first visit to the church, Epstein says ‘we were
struck by its history, layout, pastoral setting and
incredible acoustics. We saw in this 17th-century wooden
building countless possibilities: several practice spaces,
bedrooms for visiting musicians, a concert hall that could
serve as a recording studio and an expansive garden.’
The ultimate aim, he says, is to create ‘a sort of a “writers’
retreat” for musicians.’
Apart from offering intense residencies for which
visiting musicians will not be charged, the trio hopes
to host ‘master-workshops’ (multi-day masterclasses
focusing on a specific repertoire, composer, style, genre
or technique), mentorship programmes for young
chamber groups, run-through concerts, recordings and
educational events.
‘We are intent on making this space available to as brothers, best friends and colleagues as well as business Omri Epstein: ‘This
many chamber groups as possible who wish to take time partners. We share so much with each other and even project is about
for reflection and allow their creative spirit to flourish go on holidays together! We manage to get through all giving musicians
without any external hindrance,’ says Epstein. ‘So far, our the good and hard times thanks to our shared conviction the chance to enjoy
trio has made regular use of the church for rehearsals and that there cannot be any greater pleasure and privilege ideal conditions and
it has been a tremendous privilege to make music in that than playing chamber music with your best friends and dedicate themselves to
environment. It fulfils everything that we could hope for most trusted musical colleagues in a committed and excellence.’
when comparing it to our initial vision of the ideal space. passionate environment.’
Several other musicians have used the space too, and Watching and hearing the Busch Trio perform together
we’ve received glowing feedback from them.’ at MuziekHaven, this deep connection is certainly
The purchase price paid for the church by palpable in their music-making. Their combined sound is
MuziekHaven’s shareholders was €835,000, but a further rich and beautifully blended, while their interpretations
€365,000 still needs to be spent on modifications to display an almost telepathic degree of unity, allowing
make it fit for purpose. Top priorities include renovating for total flexibility and spontaneity. Epstein says he was
and modernising the house, insulating the church, and brought up playing solo piano repertoire, but ever since
building a soundproof control room for recording. he tried his hand at chamber music, aged 12, he knew this
Partnerships will be key to the success of MuziekHaven. was the path he wanted to follow. ‘I was attracted by the
‘We are interested in collaborating with anyone who unique combination of elements chamber music offers:
wishes to share our vision and enhance it’, says Epstein. individuality, cooperation, conversation, trust, intensity,
Constructive discussions are already underway with the intimacy and contrast.’
Concertgebouw, Amsterdam Conservatoire and String The Busch Trio’s next recording project for Alpha will be
Quartet Biennale.’ a two-disc series of Schubert’s complete works for piano
It all sounds very idyllic, but isn’t there a danger that and strings, including the trios and Trout Quintet. Both
such intensive working conditions could lead to cabin new discs will be recorded at MuziekHaven. IP
fever? Epstein disagrees: ‘Yes, it is very close and intense.
But I believe we can make it work because we are muziekhaven.com

MANUFACTURERS
Strong and silent

Bechstein’s new Vario Duet system takes silent pianos to the next level with innovative
technology and streamlined design. Josephine Miles reports
A
s modern life grows ever busier and noisier, when silent mode is activated, a mute rail stops the
and living spaces ever smaller, the appeal of hammers millimetres before they strike the strings. A
silent pianos is not difficult to appreciate. sensor system translates the movements of the keys and
Manufacturers have been developing silencing pedals into an electrical signal which, in turn, is translated
technology for acoustic pianos for decades – Yamaha into digital sound output via headphones. The system
released its first SILENT model in 1993 – and Bechstein’s can be fitted to any Bechstein instrument, from a basic
Vario system has proven to be a key player in the market upright to a concert grand.
since its launch in 2012. So, what’s new? A key development is the Vario app.
Oliver Hutz, CEO of Bechstein Digital, is clearly proud Hutz says he wanted to tap into the ‘ecosystem’ of iOS
of the new Vario Duet when we meet at Jaques Samuel music apps, spanning beginner learning programmes to
Pianos in London for a walkthrough of the system’s professional tools for composition, recording and sound
updated design and features. ‘Technology evolves so fast. design. The Vario app is therefore designed to integrate
Myself and my team are constantly looking for new ideas easily with other music applications alongside its primary
Intuitive: Bechstein’s and asking: What can we do to create a better Vario?’ function of controlling the Vario system. At the tap of a
new Vario Duet silent In a nutshell, the Vario system enables an acoustic few buttons, for instance, you can make a recording of
piano and Vario app Bechstein piano to be played ‘silently’ with headphones: your playing and send it to a music notation or sound
editing app. Available only on iOS currently, the Android
version of the Vario app is due to launch in early 2020.
Then there’s the streamlined hardware design. The Vario
controls were formerly housed in a pull-out touchscreen
tray beneath the keyboard, but as Hutz remarks, this was
unnecessarily complicated and unwieldy: every time you
wanted to operate the controls, you had to turn and open
the tray. Now, the hardware comprises a simple box with
a power button, USB port, two headphone jacks and
volume knob; all other controls are accessed via the app
on your phone or iPad – placed conveniently on the music
stand. You switch from acoustic mode to silent mode with
a simple lever.
It’s all about reducing the number of steps required to do
things, streamlining the user experience. Hutz points out
that your device doesn’t need to be plugged in to the piano
– it can be connected via Bluetooth – and once you’ve saved
your preferences on the app, you can use the silent system
without it. Four pre-set sounds can be activated by pressing
the power button, so pianists who don’t wish to use the app
can still enjoy the benefits of Vario.
T he app offers a wide range of tools and features,

allowing you to create your own Bechstein piano.
Simply select from three grand piano sounds – ‘Concert’,
C BECHSTEIN AG
‘Warm’ and ‘Practice’, all sampled from a C Bechstein

D282 concert grand – and adjust the reverberation,
resonance and volume. Three reverberation algorithms
replicate the experience of playing in a small room, salon
or concert hall. The sympathetic resonances and dynamic
characteristics of the sound can be customised too: under

MANUFACTURERS
C BECHSTEIN AG
the Sensitivity setting, choose the exact dynamic level to The app’s interface is clear and easy to navigate. A mute rail stops the
which your force of keystrokes translates, defining this Technophiles and dedicated players will marvel at the hammers millimetres
differently for different parts of the keyboard. prospect of exploiting the app’s capabilities to produce before they strike the
As a pianist who has never found playing with their ideal sound and tonal shading, though the choice strings
headphones particularly satisfying, I was highly impressed of intricacies and subtle adjustments is perhaps a little
with Bechstein’s sampled grand piano sounds and the overwhelming for less experienced players, or those
possibilities for manipulation. When I first put the who are pushed for practice time. All players will find
headphones on and started to play, I wasn’t convinced the recording functionality invaluable, and the option to
the silent system had been activated as the sound was so connect two pairs of headphones to the system means
realistic and all-encompassing. This was due in no small that Vario is open to duettists, teachers and students,
part to the quality of Bechstein’s bespoke headphones, parents and children, and so on.
designed exclusively for the Vario system. They are worth What about the touch of the piano in acoustic versus
the additional £129. silent modes? I was playing a Bechstein Academy A124
To further replicate the acoustic experience, it’s possible upright and when switching between modes without
to add extraneous action, damper and pedal noises and headphones, I felt some resistance – almost a small ‘notch’
adjust them to your liking – though I doubt any pianist in the key’s path – in silent mode. But when playing
would desire noisy keys and pedals… Other instrument with headphones on, this resistance wasn’t noticeable.
sounds, such as electric piano, organ and harpsichord, Presumably the activation of tactile sense alone rather
are available as expected. All the sounds were created in- than both aural and tactile senses rendered that one sense
house by Bechstein: Hutz recounts that even the Fender heightened. So, unless you are planning to do completely
Rhodes sound was sampled from an instrument belonging silent practice, this is unlikely to be an issue.
to one of the Bechstein team. For Hutz, what has been the most challenging aspect of
The intuitive record functionality makes recording developing the new Vario Duet? ‘The complexity of it all!’
quick and easy, and the metronome, which can be used Hats off, then, to the Bechstein team for transforming this
concurrently with the recorder, lets you set the number of complexity into an intuitive, high-quality and forward-
beats per bar and customise the accentuation of each beat. looking product for any pianist. IP
The fact that the app is based on MIDI means that it can be
used (albeit with limited features) with other instruments VARIO Duet upright: Ex-factory £2,770 | Retrofit £2,990
that offer MIDI functionality, including most digital pianos. VARIO Duet grand: Ex-factory £5,990 | Retrofit £6,990
It is not possible to pair the app to speakers, however. bechstein.com

RETAILER FOCUS
A workshop space in the basement, seating up to about

60 people, stages free recitals. Three of the five storeys are
showrooms, offering around 200 acoustic and 40 digital
pianos, plus instruments from the mandolin and ukulele
(‘thanks to the resurgence of folk’) to the euphonium. Not
to forget piano stools… Forsyth also rent out instruments
short- or long-term, including rent-to-buy. ‘We continually
evolve. We used to have a lot of teaching going on here, in
the 1970s and 80s. We’ve refurbished the second floor and
are about to start on the ground floor ceiling.’
Among the treasures discovered were the workrooms
dedicated to restoring pianos: their staff includes two full-
time in-house technicians, a three-day-a-week in-house
piano tuner and three on-the-road piano tuners. It’s amazing
to think that Forsyth predates the Royal Manchester College
of Music (now RNCM), founded in 1893 by Sir Charles Hallé.
The shop recently started hosting exams too.
A family affair
There are inevitably stories to tell – for example, the
arrival of a truckload of Chinese piano dealers. ‘They
arrived unannounced as part of their European tour for
the most successful Kawai dealers in their chain. They’d
driven especially from London to visit Forsyth and Simon
gave them an impromptu tour. Our fame spreads far
Forsyth Music in Manchester may have been run by and wide!’ It’s easy to spend hours, even days here – ‘and
the same family for five generations, but its pioneering people do. Many customers who have bought their piano
just like to hang out.’
spirit means that the shop is constantly evolving. Recent events at the shop have included a free
Colin Clarke reports from this piano lover s paradise workshop by Melanie Spanswick on developing and
maintaining tension-free piano technique, a meetup
group called ‘Let’s Play the Piano’ for adult amateur
A
pianists, and a free workshop from the European Piano
rriving early on a Monday morning at the doors Teachers’ Association with Susan Bettaney (EPTA do
of that great institution, Forsyth Music Shop in workshops three or four times a year). There are also jazz,
Manchester, for a tour of all five storeys of the blues and improvisation workshops, and piano lessons are
15,000 square-foot building brought the first available in Mandarin as well as English.
surprise of the day: customers already inside buying box The piano showroom is seemingly stock-full of pianos,
sets and trying out pianos. And it wasn’t even raining. though Emma assures me there’s space for more. ‘We
Forsyth is a one-stop shop of a type not seen in provided Schimmel – superb instruments, slightly more
London. Established in 1857 and originally specialising affordable than Steinways and Faziolis but of the same
in pianos (the Forsyth brothers learned their craft from calibre – plus Yamaha and Kawai for the Chetham’s
Broadwood in London’s Golden Square), Forsyth is housed Festival,’ she says. Forsyth has sold digital pianos ever
in a wonderful, spacious building that it has occupied, since they came onto the market: ‘A significant part of the
amazingly, since the 1880s. The company’s 160th business, but nowhere near the amount we sell of acoustic
anniversary was celebrated in 2017. pianos.’ Digital options range from Kawai to Yamaha,
‘We’ve always had sheet music on the ground floor Casio and Roland.
and acoustic pianos on the first floor’, says Emma Loat, All stock is kept on-site. There’s even a private collection
who runs the shop with her brother Simon. This brings of instruments available to view on request, including
in another aspect of tradition: ‘Forsyth’s has remained cabinet pianos (‘vertical grands, in effect’), an early
within the same family from inception’. Simon and Emma Tschudi Broadwood and a euphonicon (an upright with a
(pictured above) are now fifth generation. Along the tour, harp-like projection).
we encounter old-style candelabras and lots of art, which Tradition meets modern in Forsyth’s digital presence,
the original Forsyth brothers loved to collect. which boasts a blog, Twitter, Facebook… even a Google 360
Offering LPs, CDs, printed scores, pianos and sundry virtual tour. The shop has a worldwide reputation, bolstered
instruments, Forsyth is staffed by a complement of 40. The by their publishing house which was founded in 1873. ‘Our
longest serving member just retired – a piano tuner who evolution has to help drive people coming into the shop,’
started in 1971. That sort of devotion is not unusual. ‘That says Emma. ‘The biggest asset to a music shop is physical
core of people is what we’re about. We’re only as good as trying, seeing, hearing, feeling… You can’t replicate that.’ IP
the people; the majority are music graduates.’ forsyths.co.uk

organized by patronage
in partnership with
CATANIA
JANUARY 12-20, 2020
Participants and observers welcome open to all ages
COMPETITION
Professional category (≤ 45 yr old) | January 18-19, 2020
Junior category (8-18 yr old) | January 15, 2020
PRIZES
Cash prize in total of 3.000 Euros
CD recording contract with Vermeer/Naxos label
Performance engagement in 5 festival/concert series in Italy
GSIM-USA Festival Scholarships
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Festival: December 1, 2019
Competitions: December 30, 2019
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KEY NOTES
Historical perspectives on piano technique
BY MURRAY MCLACHLAN
ACCENTS
A
ccent markings imply emphasis and danger of vulgarity if the first notes of each bar Agogics involves much more than the
heightened expressivity. They are are given conventional accentuation. Try to lengthening or shortening of individual
usually notated by the symbol ‘>’ or avoid any sense of hitting the keys in instances notes, but for now we will consider how such
by tenuto lines which require special like this. The dance-like grace of the music lengthening or delaying can be used as a
treatment from the performer. How will be better served by a subtle, sensitively technical device to create the impression of
disappointing, therefore, that our default conceived ‘lift’. The first beats need to glide rubato. If the music moves and sings, it will
position as interpreters is often rather liltingly into place. Delay them naturally and be authoritative and convincing in virtually all
generic: we automatically assume that enjoy a sense of spaciousness. Affectation by the standard repertoire.
accented notes need to be executed with means of exaggerated waiting at the start of The third-beat accents in the left hand
greater strength and force. bars is distasteful, but a natural sense of poise of Chopin’s Mazurka in E major Op 6/3
In fact, there are numerous ways of can be achieved if you feel the phrasing like a may appear relatively straightforward (see
approaching accent marks. Our realisations dancer or conductor. Example 2, page 44) but their character and
can vary from one performance to the This Bach example is evidence that accents individuality can be lost if they are approached
next, and should be facilitated by a broad are not exclusively about strength and brawn: too literally, with aggression and energy. Yes,
understanding of the repertoire as well as by they should be interpreted in a multitude the music is vibrant, fiery and dynamic, but it
historical awareness and aural sensitivity. of different ways. You can highlight a note – requires more subtlety and poise to achieve
We are into the realms of subjectivity here ‘accent’ it – by delaying its execution, or by idiomatic sensitivity. Much experimentation
– one pianist’s meat will be another’s poison – dropping in dynamic level. This can be just as and practice are needed to feel and project
but the listener will be convinced if the convincing as the ‘play it more loudly’ approach. authentic Mazurka accents in Chopin.
sounds relate to dancing, singing, breathing You can lengthen accented notes to give A good start can be made by conducting
and conducting. them more significance too. The lengthening in three with the right hand while playing
Time signatures gain their identity from or shortening of notes is called ‘agogic’ the left alone, putting ‘accents’ on each third
unwritten accentuations which establish a accentuation, a concept first introduced to beat. Try agogically extending the delay before
rhythmic hierarchy. We are trained from our musicology by the 19th-century German the third beats. You could also experiment
first music lessons to project strong and weak theorist Hugo Riemann. Whether understood with sudden drops to pianissimo, or the
accents in order to communicate basic time and employed consciously or not, agogics reverse: try getting louder on the third beats.
signatures. For example, in triple time it is are basic to interpretation. They can make Eventually you will feel the idiomatic swagger
conventional to project the first beats in each the difference between rhythmical playing and natural dance character of this wonderful
bar strongly, then adopt a lighter approach which has sensitive flexibility and playing that music. In his Mazurkas, Chopin is not
for the second and third beats. That is all very is artificial. Their omission can lead to flatly attempting to write actual dances. Rather, the
well, but it can lead to routine music-making, metronomic music-making. We should always memories and dreamlike reminiscences of the
even insensitivity. consider the agogic option when we see Mazurka are seductively portrayed. Performers
In the opening of the Sarabande from Bach’s accents on the printed page – and our use of it therefore need to tread with caution when it
Third Partita (Example 1, below) there is a will vary according to style and period. comes to accents.
µ¶ µ¶ µ¶
3f f M 3 f ‰ f f ‰ 4 ff f ‰
& 4 #f f f #f
f f #f f f f f #f f 8 #f
{
f f f f ff ff ff ‰ f f f ‰ f f f ‰
‰ Œ Œ ‰
µ¶
? 43 ‰ Œ Œ ‰ f #f f f f f f f f ffff 4 f ffff
8J
3
f f f 3
f f f
3
Example 1 ••• Bach Partita No 3 in A minor BWV 827: Sarabande, bars 1-4

KEY NOTES
>f
? #### 43 f f ≈ff f f ff ff ≈ f >ff
. f. f. & f
ff ≈ ff f
ff
' . . .
{
f. ff F™ ff F > ' f
> > ' >f
. . >f ff. ff. >ff ff. ff. >ff ff. ff. >f cresc.
? #### 43 ff ff ff
f fff
f
f Œ f f
f
'
Example 2 ••• Chopin Mazurka in E major Op 6/3, bars 5-10
F rom the late 19th century onwards,

music notation becomes more precise
and intricate. Individual notes on the score
or Liszt is largely a matter of touch and
technical approach.
The strikingly rhythmic main motif from
them to give the music an idiomatic ‘kick’
without any unwanted sense of stodginess.
Speed of release is paramount – and makes all
are more frequently highlighted than in the Debussy’s ‘Golliwog’s Cakewalk’ (Example 3, the difference between infectious energy and
music of earlier periods. This can readily be below) certainly requires verve, energy and depressed sluggishness.
seen in Rachmaninov’s oeuvre, where the strong accentuation – but inexperienced Accents can make or break any
detailed notation includes many accents. players can approach it too heavily, with interpretation. Feeling the ‘kick’, poise or
These markings suggest prioritising one a misplaced clumsiness that removes all sweeping wonder of a Baroque gigue, a Chopin
voice in the texture over another: the the charm from this exquisite piece. Try to Polonaise or a Britten waltz is vital if the music
lines under notes in chords, arpeggios and is to emerge with character and authority. It is
scale runs guide the performer towards a
polyphonic interpretation. To blindly ‘hit’
‘Accents can make or not enough simply to read musical rule books
and ‘delay’ the second beats in cadence bars
each of these accented notes would be break an interpretation during a Bach Sarabande: to bring the magical
literal and insensitive, even anti-musical. solemnity to life, you have to dance the music
Rachmaninov, the ‘Russian Bach’ of Romantic and need to be handled internally and conduct it as you sing the
piano music, is instead using tenuto lines to melodies.
highlight voicing. with the greatest of care’ Chopin waltzes will remain wooden and
We know that accentuation is crucially pedestrian if approached via the metronome
important in music inspired by dance, from execute the accents by lifting them out of alone. The pianist’s internal metronome
the earliest period to the present day. Does it the keyboard. Release with gusto, brio and determines the rhythmic vibrancy of a
matter whether you are playing a Gavotte by energised sparkle. This can help capture the performance. The rhythmically creative
Telemann or Prokofiev? What is the difference transparency and lightness unique to this process of ‘feeling the pulse’ leads to all kinds
in approach? It could be argued that the repertoire – differentiating it from earlier of subtle rubato – as though the pianist’s heart
dance element in music unites otherwise music or from later Eastern European rate is quickening then slowing down. At the
distinct styles. The key difference is in tonal repertoire. same time there has to be a sense of overall
approach, the timbre rather than the timing. Debussy’s style requires technical focus. In cohesion and logic. Managing the balance
Thus, capturing the immediacy and swagger Example 3, it helps to have your fingers ready between overall pulse and subtle variations
of a dance rhythm in Debussy and making it in advance on the keyboard before playing within requires feeling and commitment on a
sound like Debussy rather than Shostakovich each accent. You can then quickly release physical rather than mental level. IP
>-
b
> . . > . > . ^ f f f f. f.
& b b f f f f f ff f f f . f . . f ?
{
mf ‰
b fJ ‰ fJ ‰ b fJ ‰f fJ f f n f f f F
∏∏∏
sff p
? bb f ff. f ff. ff
. f .
ff f. f f f. f f f. f f f. f f f. f f f. f
b f f.
f
f. f.
f
f. f. f. f. f. f.
p .
Example 3 ••• Debussy ‘Golliwog’s Cakewalk’ from Children’s Corner, bars 10-14
International Piano subscribers can now enjoy a 20% discount on nkoda, the world’s greatest
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INFORMATION AT CLIBURN.ORG/2020-AMATEUR-COMPETITION
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September 12–20, 2020 • Bergen, Norway
Edvard Grieg Museum Troldhaugen
JURY
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Einar Steen-Nøkleberg, Chairman
Stiftelsen Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Noriko Ogawa
Uta Weyand
Pablo Galdo
Alice Sara Ott
Lilya Zilberstein
Christian Ihle Hadland
Application deadline: April 20, 2020

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MASTERCLASS
Vanessa Latarche explores Bach’s lively Prelude and Fugue in D major BWV 850
INTERVIEW BY JESSICA DUCHEN
CHRIS CHRISTODOULOU
A s I’m not playing Bach’s Well-Tempered
Clavier on original instruments (which
could have been harpsichord or clavichord)
I feel I have more scope to consider colour,
dynamics, touch and articulation. For me,
having the blank canvas of the score is
exciting: aside from being faithful to the
notes and rhythm, it leaves you freer to
choose your own interpretation.
I enjoy thinking of keys in terms of colours.
To me D major feels yellow – perhaps because
of the sound’s brassy, trumpety associations.
Into this bright atmosphere Bach adds
an increasing amount of chromaticism –
particularly at the end, when he brings both
hands together with ‘false relations’: it makes
it incredibly exciting before you find your way
home on the last page.
This prelude is essentially a toccata: a
warm-up piece that was the origin of the
prelude as a genre. In terms of touch, I would
use an articulated legato – not completely
detached, but also not purely legato. The
choice of tempo is very personal. First
think about highlighting the top voice:
are you going to play one long stream of
semiquavers, or pick out some of the notes
to make a melody within the melody? For
instance, the first notes of the semiquaver
groups in bars 3 and 4 can stand out a little
more, so the semiquavers don’t sound like a
digital exercise.
That’s one parameter which helps to
determine the tempo. If it’s too fast, you
can’t hear the detail; if it’s too slow, it can
sound laboured. Then there’s the question
of how much prominence to give to the left-
hand quavers. Rather than making them
too clipped, which takes away some of the
expression, I’d play them slightly longer –
as if you’re bowing a cello, rather than
doing pizzicato.
Vanessa Latarche: ‘Pianists sometimes forget

to breathe, because we don’t have to in order to
make a sound’

MASTERCLASS
Pedalling is a big bone of contention. breathe. Pianists sometimes forget to breathe, eg bar 9, where the material is different, in
Given that Bach wasn’t even writing for because we don’t have to in order to make a semiquavers instead of demisemiquavers.
the piano, I think it’s fine to use the piano’s sound. When you don’t breathe properly, the You could double-dot those third and fourth
resources to help oneself. In this prelude, music suffers because you are tight, the music beats, but I like to play them as straight
though, don’t use too much pedal: the is tight, and it can sound rushed because semiquavers for the contrast it gives with the
dryness is exciting. I only use it towards you are not fully in control. Here the breaths, rest of the piece.
the end, pedalling the arpeggiated chords the punctuation in the music, need to be With any fugue, it’s good to begin by
to make them sing. incredibly subtle, with nuance but without highlighting where the subjects and answers
In a lively toccata, if your fingering is exaggeration. Breathing at the end of a section are, so you know where the ear needs to
not well organised you can easily ‘fall off ’, is appropriate, for instance, before that G focus. It is not that the subject and answer
particularly in the chromatic moments. major spot, across the barline. Without really need to come out loudly; you just need to be
Don’t be frightened to use a thumb on a slowing down, just be aware that you’re going aware of them. You could practise separate
black note. As kids we were often told not around the corner, just as on a bike you’d stop hands; separate voices with the right
to – but, for example, in bar 4 and again in bar pedalling while you turn. fingering for those voices; outer parts
5 I put a thumb on the F-sharp because for me together; middle parts together. When
1-3-2-1-2 seems to lie naturally under the
hand. It can work well, as long as the thumb
‘Build your dynamic you have those flourishes in both hands
towards the end, make sure you can hear the
is sufficiently controlled.
Practise the semiquavers in different
scheme for the fugue coordination of the parts clearly. Once your
ear knows what it’s listening for, it’s usually
dotted rhythms for evenness, and staccato around voicing, easy to improve. Practise in small sections,
to hear every note very clearly; next, try then piece it together like a jigsaw puzzle and
it very legato. Then your fingers will work tapering dynamics gradually build the complete picture.
independently – they won’t be reliant on the In some editions, lots of ornamentation
wrist. Meanwhile the left hand needs a sense accordingly’ is added, but I find this overcomplicates it;
of direction, so in some of the sequential again, it’s up to you to choose. Still, it can
writing, eg bars 18 and 19, you could show One potential trap is that if you are not sound strange if you do the ornamentation
this a little by shaping it downwards. breathing properly before you start, you at the beginning, then leave it out when the
I would begin the prelude mezzo forte. risk skidding into the beginning. To be texture becomes too complex to manage!
Rather than making wide dynamic changes, completely in control, hear the music in your It means adding difficulties and I’m not sure
follow the contours of the lines, down or up, head before you start. If you can’t hear the that the end result is particularly stylish.
keeping it subtle. Bring the volume down at notes clearly in your head, it’ll be too fast. Besides, the demisemiquaver flourishes are
bar 16, then build up again from 17 onwards. Whatever the speed, you’ve got to be able to in a way ornaments in themselves.
I’d do another diminuendo at bar 20, when hear everything; the trick is to set the right It’s important to take a forthright approach
the main theme returns, but this time in tempo for you. to dynamics here, somewhat bigger than the
G major. It can be exciting if you show the prelude given the fugue’s French Overture
inner melody of the repeated Ds in the
thumbs and fifth finger, but keep it p or pp:
this is gorgeous and makes it a little more
T his fugue – a four-voiced fughetta, a short
fugue with contrapuntal writing that
isn’t strict – has very much the character of a
character. Play a healthy F-sharp at the
start, always shaping the subject so it tapers.
Make way for the next entry, introducing a
spine-tingling. French Overture, or the first section of one. diminuendo in the codetta. Always try to build
Build up towards the dominant pedal in It involves one huge issue: ‘double dotting’. your dynamic scheme around where you want
bar 27 – the bass notes need a healthy, robust To double-dot or not? French Overtures had to show the voicing, tapering the dynamics
sound. To keep the G-sharp alive in the left extremely taut, double-dotted rhythms, but accordingly. The end is undeniably double-
hand at bar 30, you could add a trill, stopping Bach did not know the double dot as a dotted because those chords are very strong.
at the upward scale in bar 31, though simply written concept. We can play the fugue Close it with a good strong ff. It wants to be
holding the G-sharp is fine too. The big chord exactly as it is written, with single dotted really triumphant.
that follows is exciting. Next, the figuration effect – and you hear performances like that As long as you have a firm opinion and
becomes very fast, but play it in time. Put a which are perfectly acceptable and correct. make a case for it, people will accept it.
dab of pedal on those arpeggiated chords. The But the style needs to be noble and majestic, Within the parameters of good taste and
last cadence can either be played straight or so you need to think about how to do that; being informed about the history behind it,
you could embellish it with a mordent on the double dotting helps to create the right there is no right or wrong. IP
penultimate note, or a down-up flourish on character. That means you’d have to put the
the last chord. left hand E in the second bar with the A in the Vanessa Latarche is the head of keyboard
There’s not much room in this prelude for right hand to be consistent. at London’s Royal College of Music.
added ornamentation, which would destroy This doesn’t mean I’d want to maintain it rcm.ac.uk/keyboard
the line; there’s also not much room to all the way through. There are episodes,

MASTERCLASS
Benchmark recordings
Colin Clarke selects some of the best accounts of Bach’s joyous Prelude and Fugue BWV 850

or Bach, the key of D major was frequently leading light for our time, intelligence meeting
associated with joy. The Doctrine impeccable technique, is simply magnificent.
of Affections – whereby key areas were Some of the harpsichord entrants offer
associated with certain emotions – was greatness: Kenneth Gilbert, on a particularly
widespread in the Baroque era, as codified by loud instrument, and of course Wanda
Johann Mattheson (1681-1764) in particular. Landowska. But the discovery and surprise
The semiquaver-dominated right hand of the recommendation here is Waldis Krastinysh
D major Prelude BWV 850 is marked ‘leggiero’ from a Melodiya LP, the fugue unfolding
in some editions, while the fugue subject (and gloriously. Somewhere in between is Ukrainian
its real answer) is reminiscent of a French Dinara Klinton, playing a wonderful 1842
overture, so one has to consider double- Pleyel at the inaugural International Chopin
dotting. There is no motivic countersubject. Competition, whose prelude is admirably even
The first six bars constitute the exposition; and soft-toned.
there are two episodes, bars 9-11 and 17-19; YouTube also presents some interesting
bars 23-27 represent a quasi-recapitulatory arrangements: mandolin, mandola, guitar…
section plus coda. Kimiko Ishizaka’s YouTube or a rather strange ‘Bach the Bug’ film by Illya
video offers a colour-coded thematic analysis Filshtinskiy where, in the fugue, Bach meets
and uses four staves to clarify voice-leading, Barack Obama. Go figure! IP
while Paul Barton’s video includes the score on
a split screen so his hands can be seen at the
same time. LISTEN ONLINE
The hunting ground of YouTube provides Ashkenazy (Prelude) y2u.be/G2QPg0RGOJ8
instances of BWV 850 aplenty. There are those Ashkenazy (Fugue) y2u.be/4YQteWbNuIo
who see the prelude as a race to an imagined Barton y2u.be/vHi3_k4XOrA
Cohen y2u.be/o4CBXGRPrQo
finishing post – Alexander Sinchuk a prime Exuding nobility: Samuil Feinberg
Feinberg y2u.be/OzerJmdStq8
candidate, with HJ Lim just as frenetic –
Filshtinskiy y2u.be/SG8yQpthkls
while some offer velocity as an expressive highly Romantic – it ends up sounding like a Fischer y2u.be/7ioAl8c2snc
end (Ashkenazy) and others offer something piano reduction of a Bach organ work. Edwin Gavrilov y2u.be/oKlXdARhUfw
approaching perfection (Ólafsson, Hewitt, Fischer from the mid-1930s wins my second Gilbert y2u.be/qVp8PyMjG6k
Sokolov). The indefatigable Anthony Newman place, his technique utterly subservient to a Gould y2u.be/Np13dBEZeOU
shows speed is not all. In the fugue, some commanding musical intellect. Gulda y2u.be/VhncrmWHVNY
players emphasise the nuances (Tureck), while Gould is a given in this repertoire. The Hewitt y2u.be/v38ceXvfQpM
others seek Handelian grandeur (Schiff, Chiara dotted rhythms of the fugue are some of the Ishizaka y2u.be/u_WlMZb0lCs
empff y2u.be/ptxDn4D8A3A
Massini, Gavrilov). most detached and he shapes the whole
Klinton y2u.be/FZxNRwdQINU
Dividing the list into historical periods helps beautifully. Friedrich Gulda is more impressive
Krastinysh y2u.be/7fIjl2D4rzY
to shine a spotlight on some of the greatest still, delivering a dramatic prelude and a Landowska y2u.be/XUAB3Fyr9LI
performances. My personal favourite is Samuil terrific fugue subject with a real sense of Lim y2u.be/z3uBR-fQNJc
Feinberg, a Goldenweiser pupil, whose version direction. Close on his heels is Rosalyn Tureck, Massini y2u.be/VsBC2s_Yljk
forms part of a complete traversal recorded who finds more variety and colour in the fugue Newman y2u.be/2aj1rd-ZpW8
in 1958-61. It exudes nobility, while his linear than just about anyone else – extremes of Nikolayeva y2u.be/sNpwAZf6thY
awareness of the fugue is surely unparalleled. beauty and strength. Richter seems to seek a laffson y2u.be/8wkXs3qr9MA
Schnabel finds a sense of pure peace in the Beethovenian strength in the fugue. For those Richter y2u.be/K_85VWhfSRA
Richter (1951) y2u.be/-amO2T-pPDo
fugue, but one wonders what the Historically who think him severe, try comparing Tatiana
Samnon y2u.be/x2Md0CQCehY
Informed Performance movement would think Nikolayeva’s ultra-harsh reading.
chiff y2u.be/NVaGZ-_4WpI
of Harriet Cohen’s account (recorded 1928), In the modern era, HJ Lim traces the Schnabel y2u.be/u0f5_5Oemc8
surely one of the slowest ever, so ponderous plateaux of the fugue brilliantly while Tal- Sinchuk y2u.be/8J-HaKNbwnU
it almost stops. The amount of pedal Kempff Haim Samnon’s ornaments add a sense of Sokolov y2u.be/cNS1G10sy1o
uses would not be smiled upon. His fugue is freshness and discovery. Víkingur Ólaffson, a Tureck y2u.be/unhFWGShKFA

e u e Fugue

Johann Sebastian Bach
BWV 850
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Tchaikovsky plus one
For his second album in this
series, Barry Douglas couples
Tchaikovsky’s Grande Sonata
with Rachmaninov’s
Six Moments Musicaux.
CHAN 20121
Available 1st November

SHEET MUSIC
Teresa Carreño
Kleiner Walzer
‘Dedicated to my daughter Teresita’
BY JEREMY NICHOLAS
T eresa Carreño, born on 22 December

1853, was the granddaughter of the
Venezuelan composer José Carreño and the
grandniece of Simón Bolívar. Family strife
in their homeland led the family to move to
New York in 1862. Louis Moreau Gottschalk
heard her, called her a genius, and gave her a
few lessons. The following year she played at
the White House for President Lincoln. After
studying in Europe, she began her career as
a concert pianist and opera singer (she was a
fine mezzo-soprano). Fluent in five languages
and married four times, she was nicknamed
the ‘Walküre of the piano’ and was rated
the foremost female musician since Clara
Schumann.
Teresita was Carreño’s daughter by her
second husband, the baritone Giovanni
Tagliapietra, ‘a dark-eyed little girl’ born on
Christmas Eve 1882. In her 1940 biography of
Carreño, Marta Malinowski records: ‘One day
as she watched Teresita, scarcely able to walk,
improvising a little dance to amuse herself,
the composer within her awakened, and
she wrote down the melody of the “Teresita
Waltz”, the encore without which none of her
later concerts was allowed to end. She herself
referred to it disparagingly as a “mere bagatelle”.
But the ingratiating habanera lilt, and the The ‘Walküre of the piano’: Teresa Carreño (1853-1917)
wistful charm with which she invested it,
remain a treasure if a modest one, like a spider Though she lived until 1917, Carreño sadly simplicity and is not above extending the Waltz
web of early morning outlined in drops of dew.’ made no disc recordings, but she did leave by repeating the third section ( from the upward
Sometimes known as Mi Teresita or simply some piano rolls. However, the one she made quaver run marked con grazia). Clara Rodriguez
Little Waltz, it was in its day almost as popular of her Kleiner Walzer in the early years of the and Gabriela Montero are among those who
as Paderewski’s ubiquitous Minuet in G, and last century – or at least the performance as have recorded it most recently, but my favourite
it hardly matters that its main theme has a transferred to CD – cannot possibly be a true is by Elly Ney made back in 1924.
more than passing resemblance to that of the reflection of one of the greatest pianists of her Claudio Arrau, another South American-
middle section of Rubinstein’s Valse-Caprice era. Far more interesting is the 1923 recording born child prodigy, heard Carreño perform in
in E-flat, albeit in a subdued form. (Carreño, made by Carreño’s third husband, Eugen Berlin towards the end of her illustrious career,
it will be remembered, benefited from some d’Albert. While not concerned over a few careless and recalled her playing. ‘Oh!’ he said simply.
personal instruction from the great Russian.) splashy notes, he plays it with unaffected ‘She was a goddess!’ IP

einer a er
Teresa Carreño
egretto tempo i a se
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FESTIVAL FOCUS
Beyond borders
Eva Doroszkowska is spellbound by a wealth of pianistic
riches at this year’s Chopin and his Europe festival in Warsaw
T
he atmosphere at the international In 2005, Brüggen and the orchestra returned Philharmonic, deputy artistic director of
music festival ‘Chopin and his Europe’ for the first Chopin and his Europe festival. the National Opera, and leader of record
is as warm as a Warsovian summer From humble beginnings, the festival has companies with a long career in radio. His
night. Devised by artistic director Stanisław grown to accommodate a packed schedule approach to programming demonstrates
Leszczyński and organized by the Fryderyk of opera, symphonies, chamber music and, deep understanding. Four hundred pages
Chopin Institute, the festival sets Chopin in at its heart, legendary piano recitals. It was of carefully curated bilingual programme
the context of 19th-century Europe. Chopin’s Leszczyński’s vision which persuaded not only notes accompany the festival, and as he
works are programmed alongside the music Brüggen but many other artists to experience proudly points out, ‘there is no marketing or
of his contemporaries and later composers Chopin on period instruments. ‘Artists have advertising in the text’.
influenced by him, and pianists perform on to taste this magical sound, to discover the Historic and artistic connections abound.
historical instruments owned by the Institute. shape of the music’, says Leszczyński with This year’s festival opened with Kurpiński’s Te
The festival’s focus on period instruments infectious enthusiasm. He loves both historic Deum and Cherubini’s Requiem in the Basilica
was inspired by a concert that took place and modern approaches, but stresses that ‘in of the Holy Cross where Chopin’s heart is
30 years ago with Frans Brüggen and the art it is most important to compare’. interred. Kurpiński was Chopin’s teacher, and
Orchestra of the 18th Century. The orchestra, Described as a walking encyclopedia, Cherubini’s treatise on counterpoint was held
heard in Warsaw for the first time, performed Leszczyński leads a research team at dear by Chopin. Cherubini was also esteemed
Bach’s Mass in B minor. It was a revelation. the Institute with a holistic approach to by Beethoven, whose quartets were performed
Hardly straightforward for a western orchestra programming. This year, he was awarded in three concerts with tremendous verve by
to visit Poland under communism, the Poland’s Gloria Artis for services to music, the Belcea Quartet.
performance of a Catholic mass dedicated to a honouring his tireless commitment Chopin and his Europe is also a festival
Polish king only heightened the symbolism of and outstanding work. A specialist in of celebrations. From glittering keyboard
this momentous concert, showing support for interpretative analysis, he was formerly virtuosi Martha Argerich and Nelson Goerner
the Solidarity trade union. programme director of the National to young artist debuts, with every shade of

FESTIVAL FOCUS
True camaraderie: Tobias Koch and Janusz

Olejniczak perform on period pianos
WOJCIECH GRZEDZINSKI Formidable technique: Yulianna Avdeeva
Philharmonic Hall resonating with historical Fanny Hensel, and Mendelssohn completed
symbolism and meaning. the programme. Even a two-year-old was
Leszczyński, with good humour, explains silent, transfixed throughout, evidence of
that while he is flexible, ‘Nothing is by this compelling artistry. The critics were first
accident. There are strong discussions with to give a standing ovation. Later Yulianna
artists regarding content’. Piano concertos Avdeeva, another Chopin Competition laureate,
ranged from the rarity of Giovanni Paisiello’s showcased the full symphonic power of the
to the popular Rachmaninov Third Concerto modern piano with formidable technique. A
performed with breathtaking virtuosity by bravura programme combined Chopin’s Third
Nelson Goerner. Leszczyński makes clear that Sonata with Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy and
‘everything is connected’, as three concertos Schumann’s enigmatic Fantasiestücke.
followed seamlessly in a magical concerto There were too many wonderful concerts to
night conducted by Howard Shelley. Eric mention them all, but especially memorable
Lu gave a sensitive Mozart K488, Shelley were Evgeni Bazzano’s imaginative Liszt
WOJCIECH GRZEDZINSKI
gallantly conducted the Hummel F major B minor Sonata, a pearlescent Fantasy on

Concerto from the keyboard, and 2015 Chopin Polish Airs from Vadym Kholodenko, Kristian
Competition silver medalist Charles Richard- Bezuidenhout’s elegant clarity in Mozart,
Hamelin concluded with an eloquent Chopin and a promising debut from 18-year-old
E minor. A sell-out event, people stood awe- Piotr Alexiwicz. His exquisite Scarlatti
struck in the aisles. encore showed poise that belied his age. As
pianism in between, each year has a special Tobias Koch, a regular pianist at the festival, Leszczyński emphasises, debuts are important.
focus. This year, opera was a central theme, says Leszczyński has ‘an artistic soul and is ‘They are strong debuts, from talented young
marking the 200th anniversary of Polish opera a good friend behind the stage too.’ Creative artists.’ Still, it was Martha Argerich who
composer Stanisław Moniuszko. Cyprien planning and a commitment to music reigned supreme, delighting audiences with
Katsaris charmed with a colourful concert of ensures there are no politics or borders. One a sparkling Liszt concerto. Wildly cheering,
transcriptions. Embracing the lyricism of the programme commemorated the outbreak crowds leapt to their feet as the last note was
19th-century composer, charismatic Ensemble of the Second World War and the invasion ringing. Leszczyński mentions jokingly that he
Dialoghi combined a Moniuszko aria with a of Poland, featuring Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ and is proud that Argerich almost never cancels
Glinka trio and enlivened the witty repartee of Chopin’s Fantasy on Polish Airs Op 13. True on him. She is a favourite in Warsaw, stunning
Mozart’s wind ensembles. A humorous encore camaraderie shone in the unusual two- audiences since she won first place in the 1965
as they danced around the keyboard left the period-piano programme performed by Koch Chopin Competition.
opera house in stitches. and Janusz Olejniczak, featuring Rameau, Leszczyński’s imaginative approach and
Celebrating 100 years of Japanese relations, Schnittke and Piazzolla. The festival brings ability to select the best performers ensures
pianist Akiko Ebi received thunderous artists together and generates new ideas. the festival turns music-making into an art
applause for her Chopin F minor Concerto A personal highlight was the comparison form. Judging by the packed concert halls of
on a Pleyel with the Bach Collegium Japan. of two Russian piano recitals the same concentrated listeners, it is a winning formula.
Naruhiko Kawaguchi featured in Chopin’s evening. Dmitry Ablogin, finalist in the The commitment to perfection – not only
Rondo à la Krakowiak, and the Hiroshima Chopin Competition on Period Instruments, the rapturous applause – keeps musicians
Symphony and Sinfonia Varsovia collaborated mesmerized the audience, revealing inner coming back, encores and flowers guaranteed.
for Penderecki’s Threnody to the Victims of depths and intricacy to Chopin’s poetic genius Following a journey through time, across
Hiroshima and Andrzej Panufnik’s Procession in the Préludes with subtle colouring on the a continent without borders, the festival
for Peace. Despite sweltering heat, this spine- Pleyel. Works by two 19th-century female celebrates a wealth of international artistry. IP
tingling concert made the blood run cold, the composer-pianists, Maria Szymanowska and festiwal.nifc.pl

REVIEWS • CONCERTS
E
E
E
Formidable: Katya Apekisheva and Charles Owen
UK reflects her grounding in the Russian School,

where she learned to put weight and power
behind every note. Mozart’s Sonata in F major
one might almost say she made the music
sound better than it actually is.
Owen’s rendition of two Liszt Légendes
LONDON K280 might seem too dainty a nut for such had a lovely fluency, and although he gave
treatment, but not the way she played it. The Dove’s Catching Fire a brilliant sheen – Ligeti
London Piano Festival Allegro assai came with a forceful sound, there blended with Glass – that piece far outstayed
Katya Apekisheva and Charles Owen was nothing winsome about the plangency of its welcome. Then another piano was brought
ctober the Adagio, and the concluding Presto, which on and the pair delivered Poulenc’s Sonata
Christian Ihle Hadland ctober went extraordinarily fast, had an exhilarating for Two Pianos – an interesting work which
Wigmore Hall mercuriality. The boldness of her playing deserves to be heard more often – plus an
Jonathan Biss ctober brought this intimate work into high relief. appropriately thunderous La Valse.
Royal Festival Hall Next, she gave us two miniatures by No other pianist has a touch like that of
Paul Lewis ctober Jonathan Dove. Bindweed was designed to Christian Ihle Hadland. What’s his secret?
evoke a climbing vine, and its two minutes He gave one or two hints in an interview
K atya Apekisheva and Charles Owen

are a formidable four-hand duo, but the
great pleasure of their concert at the London
of chromatic tinkling and twinkling did that;
a one-minute study entitled Hop, Skip, Jump
toyed with effects. Then came three Lyric
with this magazine (IP September 2019,
pages 26-27) but although I’ve heard him a
number of times, I still feel there’s a mystery
Piano Festival was that each shone in their Pieces by Grieg. Having already established there. Opening his King’s Place recital with
own right. While Owen’s USP lies in his Bach her pre-eminence as a Grieg interpreter with Schubert’s Sonata No 6 in E minor D566, he
and Late Romantic repertoire – his latest a luminous album (Quartz, 2008), Apekisheva infused the first chord plus legato phrase with
release is a fine recording of Brahms’ late created poetic spells with ‘The Brook’, ‘The magic, then let the ideas unfold as though they
piano works on Avie – Apekisheva’s playing Lonely Wanderer’, and ‘Scenes of Country Life’: were in charge and he merely the spectator;

CONCERTS • REVIEWS
the Lied-like second movement was filled with panache of his recordings would have been
the most delicate poetry. Composed when disappointed by the first of his recitals. Op 2
Schubert was 20, this rarely performed work No 1 was suitably big-boned and assertive,
was a revelation. but the same approach didn’t work for the
Schumann’s Waldszenen came next – ‘Vogel subtler and more intimate Op 14 No 1, or
als Prophet’ sounding exquisitely prophetic for Op 27 No 1 (‘quasi una Fantasia’). For Op
– with Rachmaninov’s great Sonata No 2 in 26 and the ‘Waldstein’, however, he found
B-flat minor forming the pièce de résistance. his proper voice; we shall watch this cycle’s
This had the power one expects, but Hadland progress with interest.
typically put his own spin on it. The spiky Meanwhile, the International Piano Series
contours of the first movement were softened saw Paul Lewis in top form. He opened
without losing any of their force, the slow his recital at the RFH with a delicately
movement suggested the most intense shaded Haydn sonata and Brahms’ Op 117
nostalgia, and the Allegro molto culminated Intermezzos, but the centrepiece was a
in a magnificent sunburst of virtuoso performance of the Diabelli Variations which,
pyrotechnics. after a monochrome start, opened out
As befits a man who has dedicated his life into a riveting pianistic display. The whole
to performing and writing about Beethoven’s Beethovenian kaleidoscope of emotion was
piano oeuvre, Jonathan Biss is working up a there, securely grounded yet with the fast
fine head of steam for the 250th anniversary. variations going extremely fast and careering
He has released all but one of his recordings off in every direction, finally reaching a
of the sonata cycle and is interlarding a wonderful serenity. Nice to see Lewis’ mentor
Wigmore recital series with Q&A sessions Alfred Brendel joining other pianists in the
with audiences, something he excels at. audience to give Lewis a deserved ovation. IP Magic touch: Christian Ihle Hadland
But anyone familiar with the precision and MICHAEL CHURCH
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THE WORLD
IS LISTENING
SIXTEENTH
VA N C L I B U R N
IN TERNATIONAL
PIANO
COMPETITION
MAY 28–JUNE 12, 2021

FORT WORTH, TEXAS USA
CASH AND CAREER MANAGEMENT PRIZE PACKAGES VALUED AT MORE THAN $2 MILLION
JURY Marin Alsop* I UNITED STATES Stephen Hough I UNITED KINGDOM APPLICATION DEADLINE:
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet I FRANCE Anne-Marie McDermott I UNITED STATES OCTOBER 15, 2020
Rico Gulda I AUSTRIA Gabriela Montero I VENEZUELA
Wu Han I TAIWAN / UNITED STATES Orli Shaham I ISRAEL / UNITED STATES
Andreas Haefliger I SWITZERLAND Lilya Zilberstein I RUSSIA CLIBURN.ORG
* Jury chairman
CD PREVIEW
Odes to autumn
An elusive twilight quality pervades Brahms’ late piano music, says Boris Berman
BOB HANDELMAN
rahms’ late piano works are one of the
great monuments of the Romantic
repertoire. The final four opus numbers,
in particular, form a cohesive body of
work which Russian pianist Boris Berman
describes as occupying ‘an elusive twilight, in-
between emotional state, for which the term
“intermezzo” is so suitable’.
Berman, a longtime faculty member at Yale
School of Music in New Haven, Connecticut,
has recently turned to these works in the
studio, setting down recordings of all the late
Brahms Klavierstücke from Op 76 through to
Op 119. What made him wait until now to
commit these works to disc?
‘At various periods in my life I have
thoroughly explored different areas of the
repertoire,’ he explains, reeling off an extensive
list that includes ‘early music, modern music,
sonatas by Scriabin, all the solo piano works
by Prokofiev, piano and chamber works by
Schnittke, and most of the piano works by
Debussy. Disparate as these styles were, they
all appealed to me in various ways.’ Although
Brahms was ‘also part of my musical universe’,
it is now, in his seventies, that the late works
‘with their autumnal quality’ have begun to
resonate so strongly for Berman.
He also regards them as quintessential Complex textures are another hallmark of grand dating from 1867. This marked a radical
expressions of the composer’s personality: these pieces, requiring utmost sensitivity from departure from Berman’s usual practice of
‘The pervasive melancholy, alternating the performer when voicing Brahms’ subtle performing on modern instruments and
with moments of serenity or light-hearted layering effects. ‘Sincerity and immediacy of was, he says, ‘a very special – and meaningful
bonhomie, punctuated by eruptions of expression are combined with sophisticated – diversion’. This experience ‘taught me to
bitterness and pain, reflect his conflicted compositional techniques,’ says Berman. ‘It strive for the intimate voice of Brahms’ piano
personality perfectly.’ is a particular challenge for the performer to pieces – a quality I hope I have succeeded in
Berman cites an incident recorded in Brahms’ elucidate the formal design of the pieces while capturing on the modern Steinway.’ IP
biography by his friend Max Kalbeck, which still sounding spontaneous.’ (Musicologist
further illuminates the composer’s character. Paul Berry, Berman’s colleague at Yale, has
‘During the summer of 1892,’ he explains, ‘when provided meticulous programme notes which
Opp 116 and 117 were composed, Kalbeck enumerate many of these intricacies.)
visited Brahms and overheard the sounds of Typically, Berman says he crafts his
him playing the piano accompanied by “the interpretations by referring only to the score,
strangest growling, whining, and moaning”. but in the case of Brahms’ late works he found
Kalbeck entered the room to find Brahms alone, himself listening to recordings ‘more than
“his face red and beard glistening with tears. usual’. The performers whose playing he found
Embarrassed, Brahms wiped his face with the ‘especially illuminating and moving’ were Boris Berman’s double album of Brahms’
back of his hand and slowly returned to his Radu Lupu and Murray Perahia. Klavierstücke Opp 76, 79 and 116-119 is now
usual joking self ”.’ For Berman, this episode Berman’s discography also includes Brahms’ available from Le Palais des Dégustateurs
provides ‘a vital glimpse into the composer’s Cello Sonatas with Clive Greensmith on the (PDD018). lepalaisdesdegustateurs.com
inner emotional world’. Biddulph label, for which he played a Bechstein

REVIEWS • CDs
Critic’s choice BY BRYCE MORRISON
Scarlatti Between Heaven & Hell Alkan

52 Sonatas Works by Liszt 25 Préludes Op 31
Lucas Debargue (pf) Joseph Moog (pf) Mark Viner (pf)
Sony Classical 19075944462 – 4 CDS Onyx ONYX4195 Piano Classics PCL10189
L ucas Debargue’s vehement and ultra-

precise Scarlatti readily recalls the
harpsichord for which the sonatas were
J oseph Moog’s ultra-demanding Liszt
programme confirms his status as a pianist
of an engulfing technical command. Yet in the
F or the second disc in his gargantuan 17-CD
project to record all Alkan’s piano music, Mark
Viner gives us the 25 Préludes with an exemplary
written, while celebrating the range of a B minor Sonata you end by recalling more of musicianship and assurance. Viner’s album will
modern Bösendorfer. Excelling in many of the his aplomb than his subtlety, in music that do much to alter the perception of a composer
lesser known sonatas, he revels in Scarlatti’s forms a milestone in the history of keyboard once dismissed as eccentric and unplayable. Even
lack of orthodoxy, in the unnerving fluctuation writing. A special moment of repose comes in when compared with Olli Mustonen’s early Decca
of K250, or in the way contemplation turns the slow descending scales near the close of version of the Préludes, Viner’s readings capture a
into manic bursts of laughter in K242. the central Andante, the nodal and expressive special sense of Alkan’s richly inclusive character.
Yet elsewhere in gentler, more amiable centre of the sonata, but in the following fugue Whether in the tranquillity of No 1, the solemnity
requirements, where Scarlatti’s endless wit he is off like the proverbial greyhound in what and distant chimes of No 6, or in the robust and
and charm should raise a smile, he can be may well be the fastest performance on record. mettlesome fugue of No 10, he makes you eager
unyielding. One is not asking for levity, but Moog can sound blunt rather than numinous for further issues from this outstanding and
Debargue’s intensity is sometimes relentless, in the two Legends (has anyone come near most enterprising pianist.
even forensic, and it can make repeats less Wilhelm Kempff ’s inwardness and magic in his
welcome than they should be. But make no early Decca recording?) and although his storm
mistake: this is a remarkable achievement, and stress in the ‘Dante’ Fantasia leaves you
even if you will turn to Horowitz or more agog, he ends with a heavily distorted reading
recently to Sudbin for a less one-sided view of the Csárdás obstinée. A few bars of Brendel
of Scarlatti. Sony’s sound is superb and their tells you how much can be achieved with a
presentation lavish. necessarily more relentless focus and directness.
Grieg
Lyric Pieces from Opp 12, 38, 43, 47, 54,
62 and 65
Mendelssohn
Lieder ohne Wrote from Opp 19, 30, 38,
62, 67 and 102
Denis Kozhukhin (pf)
Pentatone PTC5186734
I f Denis Kozhukhin wanted to erase images of

Russian pianists as exclusively barn-storming
virtuosos, he could hardly have succeeded more
Outstanding: Mark Viner
completely than in this Mendelssohn and Grieg

CDs • REVIEWS
recital. Tonally refined and subtly inflected,
MARCO BORGGREVE
his joy in such music is almost palpable. His
singers in Mendelssohn’s ‘Duetto’ perform
ALBUM OF
in an idealised harmony, while the ‘Bee’s
Wedding’ is a gentler, more intimate view than
THE MONTH
Rachmaninov’s legendary virtuoso recording
(complete with a mannered hiccup on each
appearance of the theme, the sort of gesture
alien to Kozhukhin’s more reserved nature).
He is sweetly singing in the opening ‘Arietta’
of Grieg’s Lyric Pieces, and if his ‘Butterfly’ and
‘Brooklet’ can never make you forget Eileen Joyce’s
matchless charm and agility, his performances are
always touchingly beautiful. His ‘Elegy’ (Op 47 No
7) reminds you of Grieg’s fundamentally autumnal
and melancholic nature, and in the central section
of ‘Wedding Day at Troldhaugen’ there is a sense
of passing regret amid the festivities. This is a
debut disc of a special warmth and affection.
Iberia y Francia
Works by Mompou, Debussy, Albéniz,
Clarity and command: Nelson Goerner
Ravel and Falla
Imogen Cooper (pf)
Chandos CHAN20119
E ven in a crowded marketplace of great
recordings (Lupu, Katchen and Curzon
a hint of opacity that can threaten even the
finest Brahms pianists. Granted, no one
M oving from her beloved and often

memorable Mozart and Schubert,
Imogen Cooper now turns to more exotic fare,
in the Sonata; Anda, Michelangeli and
Katchen in the Paganini Variations) Nelson
Goerner joins these heady ranks with
is more magisterial than Michelangeli or
more fanciful than Anda in these variations,
but Goerner brings his own authority to
all of it with underlying French and primarily playing as moving as it is imperious. Less every bar. A superb addition to his rapidly
Spanish themes. But while her poetic empathy rhapsodic and subjective than Lupu in the expanding discography.
is never in doubt in Ravel’s Pavane pour une sonata, he creates a fine balance between
infante défunte, her love of confidentiality sense and sensibility. An epic performance
becomes excessive elsewhere, making you of an epic work – one where, for Clara
long for greater impetus and vitality. Schumann, ‘the young eagle has spread
She misses the fierceness inseparable from his wings’ – everything is finely graded
the Spanish character in her very English- within Brahms’ storming rhetoric. There
sounding Albéniz. She is strenuous in ‘El Puerto’ is heartfelt inwardness in the Andante
from Iberia book 1 (try Benjamin Grosvenor’s espressivo, prefaced by the words ‘the
2009 recording for a truly authentic verve and twilight falls, the pale moon gleams, two
brilliance) and she misses the sultry fantasy at hearts unite, embraced in rapture’, and a
the heart of ‘Fête-dieu à Seville’. Her take on magnificent, triumphant homecoming in
Debussy’s L’isle joyeuse is insufficiently extrovert the Finale’s coda. Brahms
or joyeuse, and if there is a welcome burst of Again in the Paganini Variations ( for Clara Sonata Op 5; Variations on a Theme by
vivacity in the final dance section of Mompou’s Schumann, daunted by their demands, these Paganini
Cancion y danza No 6, it comes too late to were ‘witch variations’) Goerner’s clarity Nelson Goerner (pf)
compensate for a lethargy which only some will and command are absolute – there is never Alpha ALPHA557
mistake for poetry.

REVIEWS • CDs IN BRIEF
BY COLIN CLARKE The Romantic Manifesto Nicolas Namoradze: Live at Honens 2018
Complete Ballades of Chopin and Brahms Works by Rimsky-Korsakov, Bach and
Bach Sylvia Thereza (pf) ro o e
Six Partitas UANÁ Association for the Arts UN003 Nicolas Namoradze (pf), Phillip Addis (bar),
Angela Hewitt (pf) Jonathan Crow (vln)
Hyperion CDA68271/2 – 2 CDS Perhaps it is not the Honens 201901CD
best idea for manifestos
‘There is no greater to be printed with a mix The only solo piano
music’, says Hewitt in of font and background work here is Bach’s Sixth
her note on re-recording that renders them Partita, sandwiched
the Bach Partitas. Her near-unreadable. A pity, between a set of Rimsky
first recording for too, the recording lacks songs (Op 40, beautifully
Hyperion dates from presence, with somewhat muffled bass, as and passionately sung
over 20 years ago. For Thereza’s readings are mature and compelling. by Addis) and
Hewitt, Bach’s music is a never-ending well: She revels in the expanse of Brahms’ Second Prokofiev’s First Violin Sonata. Georgian
her recent performance of the Goldberg Ballade and there is a splendid sense of pianist Nicolas Namoradze is the most recent
Variations in Manchester proved her readings impulsiveness to the Third. Honens laureate, following in the footsteps of
become ever deeper. Chopin’s set of Four Ballades offers a more Bavouzet and Kolesnikov.
Now, Hewitt is unafraid to allow more varied take on the form, decidedly narrational. Namoradze is a fine accompanist, sensitive
space in the Partitas. The Sarabande of No 1 Thereza allows the slower sections to unfold and bending in Rimsky’s glorious outpourings.
seeks the eternal while No 2 has a different naturally, bringing out the inner voices. The The Prokofiev is glowering in its opening; the
profundity, housed in C minor. The Sixth is the intelligently textured Second is her highlight, dry recording suits the Allegro brusco. Crow,
summit of both Bach’s Partitas and Hewitt’s featuring elemental explosions of raw emotion. concertmaster of the Toronto Symphony, is
readings, Bach soliloquising (perhaps, as sweet-toned and expressive.
Hewitt suggests, in conversation with his god). Dora Bright and Ruth Gipps The Bach is well-controlled, with more pedal
Hewitt’s Fazioli is perfectly calibrated. All Piano Concertos than many would dare, but ultimately not
the core traits of Hewitt’s Bach are here: clarity, Samantha Ward, Murray McLachlan (pfs); compelling. The Air is the finest movement.
focus, devotion. Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra/
Charles Peebles Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1
Scarlatti and Clementi Somm Recordings SOMMCD273 Prokofiev Piano Concerto No 2
Keyboard sonatas Haochen Zhang (pf); Lahti Symphony
John McCabe (pf) A treat for fans of Orchestra/Dima Slobodeniouk
Divine Art DDA21231 – 2 CDS English music: two BIS SACD 2381
piano concertos by two
Wonderful to see John ladies, Dora Bright Gold medallist at the
McCabe finally being (1862-1951) and Ruth 2009 Van Cliburn
recognised as a pianist. Gipps (1921-99). Bright’s Competition, Shanghai-
Recorded on a writing in the concerto born Zhang worked
Bösendorfer in 1981, the is highly Romantic, gesturing towards with Gary Graffman at
sound of these Schumann and Brahms, but the material is the Curtis Institute. His
revelatory Scarlatti and undeniably English. The music is breezy, 2014 Proms
Clementi sonatas is astonishingly present. something the RLPO clearly enjoys. Ward is a performance of Liszt’s First Concerto with the
Nice to see more Scarlatti on the piano, fine player, as her previous disc of Freckleton China Philharmonic was memorably dramatic.
too, especially since there are only two proved, finding just the right flow for the A determined opening to the Tchaikovsky
overlaps with Lucas Debargue’s superb new appealing melodies. The Intermezzo-like is perhaps misleading: Zhang is a hyper-
set (see Bryce Morrison’s review on page 70). central movement’s melody has a Schubertian musical player who finds huge subtleties.
Both pianists revel in Scarlatti’s exploratory rightness, ceding to an airy finale. Bright’s Slobodeniouk and his Lahti forces are on the
side. McCabe’s use of sustaining pedal and Variations are splendidly imagined, including a same page – there is power, but staggering
generous sound offer a full-fat experience; deliciously tripping waltz. detail. The magic comes from Zhang, the
Debargue is leaner. Gipps’ music is better served in the cadenza containing miracles of jeu perlé.
Both Horowitz and Michelangeli catalogues. Nice to have the attractive Joyous abandon characterises the gossamer
championed Clementi, and McCabe’s tone-poem, Ambarvalia. The indefatigable passages of the second movement, while the
performances boast a special sort of advocacy, McLachlan shines in the solo part of Gipps’ recording showcases the explosion of the
the finale of ‘Didone abbandonata’ (Op 50/3) postwar concerto. Soloist and orchestra work finale’s opening, a gritty dance.
a case in point. McCabe sees Clementi’s in communion, exuding a sense of discovery; Zhang does not try to out-glitter Yuja Wang
music as powerful and multi-faceted. Witty, the Finzi-like Andante is a dream. in the Prokofiev. His cadenza is one of the
affectionate booklet notes complete an Both concertos benefitted from musicological most multi-faceted, while the Scherzo and
indispensable release. input from Valerie Langfield. Unmissable. Intermezzo offer the heart of the composer. IP

JAZZ CHOICE
Hokusai
Aki Takase (pf)
Intakt CD327
H okusai is a brilliant album conceptually, a tribute to the painter

of one of the world’s best-known images, ‘The Great Wave off
Kanagawa’. It’s also one of the finest by a great jazz pianist at the 14THTHCC OO MMPPEETTI ITTI IOONN
14
height of her powers, drawing on her remarkably diverse influences.
Aki Takase studied classical piano at Toho Gakuen School of Music 16-26
16-26 APRIL
APRIL 2020
2020
and made her first recording in 1978; in her second, in 1980, she led a
quartet including Dave Liebman. She has played in duos with Maria
João Pires, her husband Alex von Schlippenbach, David Murray and
Rudi Mahall, and co-led the Berlin Contemporary Jazz Orchestra
with Schlippenbach. She has lived in Berlin since 1987, participating
in the free jazz movement.
In the year of her 70th birthday – highly significant in Japanese Maroussia Gentet,
culture – this album was recorded over two days at the Sendesaal 1st Prize 2018
© Pino Montisci
Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, mostly in the studio but with some live Blanche
BlancheSelva
Selva11ststPrize:
Prize:12
12 000
000 €€
pieces. All compositions are by Takase and are performed solo except BEG
BEGIngénierie
Ingénierie22ndndPrize:
Prize:88 000
000 €€
‘Hokahoka Hokusai’, in which Takase recites in Japanese before being Chevillion-Bonnaud33rdrdPrize:
Chevillion-Bonnaud Prize: 55 000
000 €
and
andspecial
specialprizes/concerts/cd
prizes/concerts/cd
joined briefly by author Yoko Tawada, and ‘Bach Factory’ by Takase for
fora atotal
totalamount
amountofof
and Schlippenbach, which begins as a performance of Bach’s Prelude
No 2 in C minor before transmuting into a motoric improvisation.
120
120 000
000 €€
This isn’t the only classical tribute – the opening ‘Crane’, SALLE
SALLEDEDEL'INSTITUT
L'INSTITUT(ORLÉANS-FRANCE)
(ORLÉANS-FRANCE)
THÉÂTRE
THÉÂTRED'ORLÉANS-FRANCE
D'ORLÉANS-FRANCE
presumably referring to Hokusai’s ‘Cranes’ from 1823, is infused THÉÂTRE
THÉÂTREDESDESBOUFFES
BOUFFESDUDUNORD
NORD (PARIS-FRANCE)
(PARIS-FRANCE)
with the Tristanesque yearning of Berg’s Piano Sonata Op 1. Takase
plays celesta on the plangent and playful ‘Nihon Bridge in Edo’, MANDATORY
MANDATORYPIECE
PIECE BY
BY APPLICATION
inspired by Hokusai’s wood carving of the same name and based on PASCAL
PASCALDUSAPIN
DUSAPIN DEADLINE
the koto’s pentatonic scale. ‘Hokusais Meer’ is a turbulent piece of
FINAL
FINALROUND
ROUND DEC 2, 2019
free jazz improvisation showcasing Takase’s beautifully controlled
ENSEMBLE
ENSEMBLEINTERCONTEMPORAIN
INTERCONTEMPORAIN AGE LIMIT: 36
high-energy playing. Overall, the album has a wealth of incident Simon
SimonProust,
Proust,conductor
conductor
packed into 12 performances. Exploiting the full range of dynamics, SOLOISTS
SOLOISTS
OFOFTHE
THEORCHESTRE
ORCHESTRESYMPHONIQUE
SYMPHONIQUE D’ORLÉANS
D’ORLÉANS RULES
RULESONLINE
ONLINE
WWW.OCI-PIANO.COM
WWW.OCI-PIANO.COM
spontaneous in improvising, stylistically diverse, lucid and logical,
passionate and sensitive, this is jazz pianism of the highest order.
ANDY HAMILTON
Member
Member
of ofAlink-Argerich
Alink-ArgerichFoundation
Foundation
REVIEWS • CDs
Year in reviews
IP’s critics pick their piano recording highlights of 2019
Private Passions reading. Even better is the briefer ‘Alma strains and stresses of solo playing. Highlights
Mark Bebbington (pf) brasileira’ (Chôros No 5, 1925), which receives a include an evocative Prélude à l’après-midi d’un
Somm Recordings SOMMCD 0193 nicely polished performance. Guarnieri’s faune with her long-term partner Stephen
Lundu is jaw-droppingly virtuosic. Kovacevich, Ravel’s surrealist nightmare La
The main event on this GUY RICKARDS valse with Nicholas Angelich, and an enchanting
intelligently programmed account of Carnival of the Animals with Lilya
disc is Bax’s Sonata in Minuetto: The Art of the Regal Dance Zilberstein. There are fine performances by
E-flat minor (1921). The Alessandro Stella (pf) many other artists, but this is essentially about
white-hot intensity in the KHA Records 0017 Argerich’s glory in an album crowned with
music may be a response striking photographs of all concerned.
to the loss of life in the This album shows how BRYCE MORRISON
Irish Easter Uprising of 1916, and Bebbington imagination can
catches the music’s anger and grief superbly in illuminate and stimulate. Beethoven Piano Sonatas Opp 109-111
playing of enormous range and power. First-rate Alessandro Stella’s rapt Steven Osborne (pf)
sound completes a splendid release. playing is nothing short of Hyperion CDA68219
GUY RICKARDS transportive. His Mozart
(the Minuet from the
c
Steven Osborne’s
Mozart in Love Duport Variations) is decidedly ruminative and STEVEN OSBORNE
third Beethoven
PIANO SONATAS
OP 109 IN E MAJOR
OP 110 IN A FLAT MAJOR
OP 111 IN C MINOR
Luiza Borac (pf) the nostalgia of Ravel’s Menuet sur le nom d’Haydn recital for Hyperion
Profil Medien PH18092 is perfectly captured. Music by Krieger (Menuet is an endlessly
from the Sixth Partita) and Dussek (Op 28/1) enlightening
Mozart in Love is a lively should gain friends for these less well-known album. His
and intelligently-built composers. Superb, fascinating and unmissable. nuances and
programme. The three COLIN CLARKE shading are so fine as to be barely perceptible.
Mozart works are played In particular, he offers a magnificent overview
with winning, exquisite Influences of the final sonata’s polarity between the
charm by Borac but Tamara Stefanovich (pf) temporal and spiritual. His Arietta is hushed
different qualities are Pentatone PTC 5186741 and reverential yet without a trace of excess, a
required in the three adaptive works, all true ‘drift towards the shores of Paradise’ – in
deriving in varying degrees from Don Giovanni This album examines Edward Sackville-West’s poetic words.
– in which love figures in many different forms. how composers are BRYCE MORRISON
As on her previous double album, Inspirations influenced by the world
and Dreams, Borac finishes with a concertante around them. Colour and Light: 20th-Century British
piece, offering a coruscating performance of Stefanovich gives a fine Piano Music
Chopin’s Variations on ‘Là ci darem la mano’. A performance of Ives’ Nathan Williamson (pf)
delightful programme. First Piano Sonata, a rich Somm SOMM0196
GUY RICKARDS reading of Bartók’s Improvisations on Hungarian
Peasant Songs and a chiselled account of This is a memorably
Latin Soul Messiaen’s Cantéyodjayâ. Luminously played, enterprising programme
Fabio Martino (pf) this is an unmissable disc. of British piano music
Tico Classics TC002 COLIN CLARKE performed with
unwavering
A self-recommending Rendez-vous with Martha Argerich commitment and
disc with bright, clear Avanti 541470610572 – 7 CDs intensity, His recital
sound, this is the third ranges from traditional to progressive and
solo album by Martino, Don’t miss this includes a first recording of Anthony Herschel
a serial competition opportunity to hear the Hill’s Litany and Toccata, which contrasts a
participant with over 20 world’s most ‘spiritual, transcendent world’ with trailblazing
first prizes to his name. extraordinary pianist brilliance. No praise could be high enough of
The largest item is Villa-Lobos’ marvellous sharing her joy in Williamson’s performances, which unearth
Ciclo Brasileiro (1936-7), the slow movement of collaboration with close buried musical treasure beyond price. IP
which is given a beautifully shaped and fluent friends, far from the BRYCE MORRISON

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10/09/2019 10:34:39
JAKUB GARBACZ
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BOOKS • REVIEWS
Yes, with great tenderness and love but still

with arm weight. It’s Beethoven, not Chopin;
there’s more core to the sound.’
And in the Courante movement of Bach’s
Partita No 6 in E minor BWV 830, we are
informed: ‘It would be beneficial to play the
left hand alone, just the single notes, until they
make some sense to you, until it’s like a picture
for you. It must be clear; it must say something.’
Indeed, Pressler’s instruction may speak more
clearly in such transcriptions than in previous
years, as he notes that since he will be 96 this
December, he no longer leaps to the keyboard
to demonstrate for students how passages
should be played: ‘Now that I have difficulty
with walking, I don’t play in the classes that
much, so I have to do it verbally, and that’s
The Piano’s Allure Master Classes with Menahem difficult; but I am willing, and I am happy to.’
(In French: L’attrait du piano) Pressler Pressler’s candour is admirable. He avows,
Philippe Roger William Brown ‘There was a time in my life when Liszt played a
Yellow Now; 112 pages Indiana University Press; 248 pages great role, but now I find some of his rhetoric a
little pompous. It’s true, and it’s actually because
my wife disliked hearing me practice Liszt.’
BY BENJAMIN IVRY for including a piano transcription of Delius’ To keep the tone cheerful, droll anecdotes are
Summer Night on the River played by a included in such vignettes as a page-turner who
A
re fictional fantasies about pianos blind character in the film Saboteur (1942), checked his watch each time he rose to perform
more compelling than musical reality? supposedly because Delius too went blind his duty throughout a recital, until Pressler
Philippe Roger, who teaches cinema at after 1918 due to syphilis. It appears unlikely asked him: ‘Did you have to catch a train?’ Nor
the University of Lyon, relishes famous films that Hitchcock, his music supervisor or the is he averse to being the butt of some jokes, as
featuring pianos. From comedies directed screenwriters were fully informed about when he reveals that his teacher Egon Petri
by Ernst Lubitsch to stern reveries of Carl Delius’ medical history. scolded him: ‘Why is your nose so close to the
Theodor Dreyer, pianos are seen as onscreen Perhaps the most fascinating example keyboard; does it smell good to you?’
vehicles for expressing different identities. cited here is nonfictional: Péter Sülyi’s short A passion for pianism is the lasting aroma
Another director who saw pianos as dream documentary Motion Pictures of Béla Bartók of this book, with such works as Ravel’s
objects was the surrealist Luis Buñuel, whose (1988), coproduced by Hungarian Television, ‘Ondine’ and ‘Scarbo’ from Gaspard de la
Tristana (1970) features Catherine Deneuve features the eminent pianist Erzsébet Tusa Nuit, and Valses nobles et sentimentales
as an amputee who pedals with her solitary (1928-2017) faced with a few snippets from silent described as giving Pressler ‘some of the most
left foot through Chopin’s Revolutionary Étude. home movies showing Bartók playing the piano. intense emotional feelings of any composer;
Buñuel included a close-up of the piano’s By scrutinising and following Bartók’s fingerings, those feelings are emotional, are sexual. He
brand: H C Bay, a manufacturer in Bluffton, Tusa identifies bars being played from specific is writing in a way that takes your whole
Indiana, that thrived in the early 20th century. works, relying on her own encyclopaedic being, becoming a partner with him.’ As he
When his camera wanders beneath the knowledge of Bartók’s oeuvre which she had approaches his centenary, Pressler retains
piano to show Deneuve’s lonely leg pedalling, recorded on the Hungaroton label. a legion of fans and students as partners in
the result recalls the fetishistic heyday of ongoing pianistic adventures. IP
directors Erich von Stroheim and Busby
E ureka moments in keyboard sleuthing are ALINE PALEY
Berkeley, also obsessed with limbs or their no less thrilling in a follow-up to Menahem
absence. Buñuel presented the piano as a Pressler: Artistry in Piano Teaching (Indiana
visual symbol of eros in a later film, Phantom University Press, 2009): performance advice
of Liberty (1974), in which a character from the former pianist of the Beaux Arts Trio
requests that his sister, garbed only in a pair of and legendary pedagogue.
stockings, stop playing the ‘Chopin’ movement Pressler is insightful and amusing in equal
from Schumann’s Carnaval and instead launch doses, as lionised astutely by his former
into Brahms’ Rhapsody in G minor Op 79/2. student William Brown, himself a professor
Still another under-the-piano camera shot of emeritus at Southwest Baptist University in
the latter performance is redolent of a skin Missouri. So, about the first movement of
flick, as much as surrealist discourse. Beethoven’s Sonata No 31 in A-flat major Op
Sometimes Roger overeggs the Gallic 110, Pressler asks, ‘When [Beethoven] says
analytical pudding, praising Alfred Hitchcock “con amabilita” what do you think he means? Legendary pedagogue: Menahem Pressler

REVIEWS • SHEET MUSIC
sketch-like. This embryonic quality immediately noticeable in the

– almost as though the music is extended, if rather repetitive, first
incomplete – can also be heard in movement. Perhaps this could
movements 7-9. benefit from a few cuts. This leads
Twenty-first-century listeners into a charming Waltz theme which
might struggle to resist smiling is used for a series of five colourfully
at the naivety with which Dussek contrasted variations before the
paints the guillotine’s descent mosaic-structured third movement
at the end of the penultimate concludes the sonata impressively
movement – a fortissimo glissando in quasi-orchestral guise.
followed by pianissimo syncopated
writing – but it is certainly striking.
Chiara Corona and Andrea
Coen’s eloquently presented
edition is persuasive, and the
Dussek music is undoubtedly fascinating. Evgeny Kissin
The Sufferings of the Queen Four Piano Pieces Op 1
of France G Henle Verlag HN 1372
UT Orpheus
J an Ladislav Dussek (1760-

1812) is often considered,
H ere is a delicious surprise that
will give much pleasure to
pianists with large hands! Evgeny
alongside fellow London School Kissin, one of the outstanding
composers Clementi and Field, artists of our time, proves himself
as being of crucial significance in to be a composer of excellent flair
the development of 19th-century and craftsmanship. Kissin’s music
piano music. Dussek’s 34 sonatas Ravel is persuasive and well-written,
have been cited as important Jeux d’eau making excellent audience-friendly
influences on Beethoven, and there Bärenreiter BA 10824 recital material. His Op 1 comprises
are certainly connections between four wonderful character pieces
several passages in Dussek’s and
Beethoven’s respective works.
But this 10-movement outpouring Jan Randall
T his elegantly presented
edition of Ravel’s Jeux d’eau
contains an exceptionally
that leap off the page with colour
and idiomatic understanding.
Reminiscences of Prokofiev,
is quite different from the Dussek Sonata for Piano detailed editorial commentary, especially that composer’s Op 4 set
sonatas: it is programmatic, Vista Heights Music explaining the decisions made by of piano pieces, are evident. The
over-the-top and improvisatory. It Nicolas Southon over the smallest first of Kissin’s pieces, ‘Meditation’,
outlines in scenic form aspects of
Marie Antoinette’s imprisonment,
trial and demise in 1789. Written
J an Randall is a prolific Canada-
based composer with over 800
TV and film credits to his name.
of matters. This new presentation
of such a well-loved, familiar work
is impressive and authoritative,
with its lugubrious textures and
bass ostinato, is clearly related
to Prokofiev’s ‘Despair’ Op 4
‘for piano or harpsichord’, it His music is evidently nourished complete with vivid, often No 3. ‘Dodecaphonic Tango’ is
seems orchestral, even operatic, in on influences from blues, jazz and strikingly inspiring performance a wonderful fusion of Piazzolla
conception. This is especially true pop as well as more traditional tips from Alexandre Tharaud: and Schoenberg that will make
of the opening movement ‘The classical models. The melodies of ‘You may play with freedom and professionals and enthusiastic
Queen’s Imprisonment’ and the this direct, energised and user- rubato for a moment, but always amateurs alike smile (though
concluding ‘Apotheosis’. friendly score come from music with great moderation… Practice your left hand needs to span an
The music comes vibrantly originally written by Randall for a using images: the glistening of the augmented 10th in the six-note,
alive when imagined in terms figure skating ballet in 1991 entitled water, the conflicting currents of single-hand cluster in bar 37!).
of breathing and bowing. The A Midsummer Night’s Ice Dream – a the river, the reflection of the sun.’ ‘Intermezzo’ is a spartan but
declamatory gestures, dotted work which subsequently formed Tharaud also provides fingering deeply poignant two-part elegy,
rhythms and sweeping semiquaver the basis of TV compositions and – which will inevitably lead to and the concluding ‘Toccata’ is
passagework belong more in the an orchestral suite. division of opinion – but it is a real showstopper, alternating
opera house orchestra pit than the The piano sonata took shape touchingly democratic (and jazzy semiquavers in a manic
drawing room. ‘Her resignation between 2010 and 2018. It has surprisingly unusual, even in boogie-woogie idiom with melodic
to her fate’ sounds like an 18th- many lovably Puckish moments of modern editions) to see six material – reminiscent of early
century aria, while ‘They separate mischief and energy that post- alternate pairings of fingerings Kapustin. Ambitious players of all
her from her children’ and ‘They Grade 8 students will pick up offered for consideration in bar 24. levels and ages need look no further
pronounce the sentence of death’ easily and enjoyably. The dance- A bumper-packed release that for their next encore piece! IP
are fragmentary, episodic and like origins of the material are offers extensive extras. BY MURRAY McLACHLAN

InternationalPiano.94x273.qxp_Layout 1 08.10.19 17:30 Seite 1
Edition
Profil Günter
Hänssler
NEW RELEASES
Beethoven
Anniversary Year 2020
The Complete Piano Works
Martino Tirimo
16 CDs HC19032
NEXT ISSUE
JANUARY 2020
BENJAMIN EALOVEGA
Evgeni Koroliov turns 70
Anniversary Edition
Koroliov plays Bach,
Haydn, Mozart, Handel
9 CDs HC18053
200th Anniversary of
Clara Schumann
The Complete Works
for Piano Solo
Susanne Grützmann
FULL
4 CDs PH19054 (Re-Release) CYCLE
American pianist Jonathan Biss is a wide-
ranging artist whose accomplishments span
performing, writing and teaching. We meet to
discuss the completion of his nine-year project
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
Piano Concertos
to record Beethoven’s 32 sonatas
CD 1: Wq.23 / Wq.31 / Wq.112/1 ON
CD 2: Wq.17 / Wq.43/4 / Wq.14
CD 3: Wq.22 / Wq.43/5 / Wq.46 EQUAL SCORES SALE
CD 4: Wq.26 / Wq.44 / Wq.20 Was Beethoven’s conception of the 17 DEC
Michael Rische orchestra fundamentally pianistic?
4 CDs HC19043 Jonathon Brown explores the art and history of
transcribing the symphonies for keyboard
STRIKING DIFFERENCES
Ronald Brautigam compares his experience
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
of performing Beethoven on modern and
Piano Sonatas historic pianos
Jean Muller
HC18068 Vol. 1 LATE FLOWERING
NEW HC19074 Vol. 2 Steven Osborne on Beethoven’s Op 109
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Haenssler Alliance Distribution Piano summer courses in 2020
TAKE FIVE
Ahmad Jamal
Ahmad Jamal is a virtuosic jazz phenomenon who brings structural perfection, dynamic
contrast and unrestrained joy to everything he plays. Andy Hamilton reports
COURTESY OF THE ARTIST

‘Jamal’s light touch
remains one of the
most compelling
among jazz pianists’
M
any years ago, after reading about Born Frederick Russell Jones in Pittsburgh hits from these years include ‘Ahmad’s Blues’,
Bill Evans’ place in jazz history, in 1930, the pianist changed his name to ‘Poinciana’, ‘But Not For Me’ and ‘Billy Boy’.
my first listen to him was a Ahmad Jamal on his conversion to Islam in the Jamal’s near-contemporary Miles Davis, at
disappointment: wasn’t this cocktail piano? early 1950s. He formed his first trio, the Three the time of his first great quintet in the mid to
(‘Light inconsequential (usually jazz-based) Strings, in 1951. After appearing at the Embers late 1950s, proclaimed rather extravagantly:
background music’, says the Oxford English in New York, he attracted the interest of John ‘All my inspiration today comes from Ahmad
Dictionary.) Of course it wasn’t – and so my Hammond from Columbia Records, producer Jamal’. Much later, in his autobiography, Davis
education began. of Billie Holiday and later Bob Dylan. In 1958, commented that Jamal ‘knocked me out with
With Ahmad Jamal’s earlier work, in contrast, with bassist Israel Crosby and drummer his concept of space, his lightness of touch,
the ‘cocktail verdict’ isn’t always clear. There Vernel Fournier, he recorded the influential At his understatement... a great piano player who
are tracks on his most popular album, Ahmad the Pershing. Crosby died in 1962 but the trio never got the recognition he deserved’. Maybe
Jamal at the Pershing, that have a cocktail ethos, continued with bassist Jamil Nasser, recording Davis meant ‘critical recognition’, but I’m not
whereas others, such as ‘Surrey with the Fringe for Argo/Cadet, Impulse and 20th Century. sure even that’s true – the pianist developed a
on Top’, have a more powerful momentum. The archive label Mosaic has produced an large following for his challenging but theatrical
Fortunately, his popular economical style, with exhaustive set of live and studio recordings performing style, and made enough money
its use of space and simple embellishments, – The Complete Ahmad Jamal Trio Argo from At The Pershing to buy his own jazz club.
evolved in directions that couldn’t readily be Sessions 1956-62 on nine CDs – made for the Jamal’s extended vamps, light touch, melodic
associated with the cocktail hour. pianist’s most important label, Argo. Jamal’s and rhythmic economy and abrupt dynamics

TAKE FIVE
had a decisive influence on pianists such as Red The Awakening is one of the great jazz piano with unpredictable or false endings. He was
Garland, McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock. albums, with a dancing, mercurial ethos that’s clearly in charge of the trio, directing bass and
Unlike almost all other jazz players, who utterly mesmeric. The pianist’s virtuosic, drums with nods and finger signals – many
improvise predominantly on harmonies – or orchestral conception features dramatic use probably unnecessary given how long the
ideally, on both melody and harmonies – of the sustaining pedal – yet the sectional group has been playing together, but good
Jamal often foregrounded the melody in itself, juxtapositions mean the overall effect can theatre. Hearing him subsequently at Bergamo
following the model of Art Tatum to create be curiously if beguilingly static. The album’s in 2010, I was astonished at his undiminished
shifting textural and rhythmic backdrops. The influence has even extended to rap and hip- power at the age of 79 – I’m not sure there’s
result is closer to classical variation technique, hop artists such as DJ Premier of Gang Starr, another comparable pianistic virtuoso of that
presenting the melody in a variety of different and Common Sense, who have sampled it. age, though he knows how to conserve his
harmonic, textural and dynamic settings. ‘I Love Jamal’s light touch remains one of the most strength and defer to his musical partners.
Music’ on The Awakening (Impulse, 1970) is an compelling among jazz pianists, and he brings Jamal remains a jazz phenomenon. IP
example. Jamal freely investigates Hale Smith’s space, silence and dynamics into a music
haunting theme, at first unaccompanied at ad not always noted for these qualities. Like Bill
lib tempo; the trio eventually enter, providing Evans, he made unobvious standard material Take Five:
further textural contrasts. his own, so much so that his hit ‘Poinciana’ is Ahmad Jamal
‘Wave’ from the same album is even more often mistaken for an original composition. 1 ‘Wave’ from The Awakening (Impulse)
remarkable, and here the pianist moves from Unrestrained joy and formal perfection seem 2 ‘I Love Music’ from The Awakening
classical variation technique to thematic consistent across his remarkable output, (Impulse)
development. He begins his exploration of revealing to us that rare figure in the jazz 3 ‘Poinciana’ from Live at the Pershing (Argo)
Jobim’s gentle bossa nova in a strident, even world, a well-adjusted major talent. 4 ‘Swahililand’ from Jamal Plays Jamal
bombastic, modal idiom, before shifting I first heard Jamal at Yoshi’s in San Francisco (20th Century)
to a gently pellucid theme-statement. The nearly 20 years ago, where his performance 5 ‘But Not For Me’ from Live at the
improvisation juxtaposes and synthesises was divided roughly equally into standards Pershing (Argo)
these contrasting moods in a bravura display. and originals. There was plenty of dry wit,
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MUSIC OF MY LIFE
INTERVIEW BY JEREMY NICHOLAS
Musical
miracles
Arnaldo Cohen marvels at
the expressive capabilities
of the voice and the violin
I
fell in love with Schwarzkopf ’s recording of
Four Last Songs because as a violinist – as
I was then – I could hear the expression
in the voice: the slides like the slides of
a violin, the crescendos on one note… I the applause he came back and played the say, it’s how you say it. And that is what
concluded that playing the piano is the work entire Mozart concerto again. It was fabulous. Horowitz is all about. It doesn’t matter about
of an illusionist because you have to cheat Of course, I had to buy the recording. the wrong notes, or that he rushes here – it’s
peoples’ ears. Especially in the third song Now the Vivaldi. What Bartoli can do a miracle. More and more I try to understand
‘Beim Schlafengehen’, where the violin and the with her voice is a miracle. For me the music music as an expression, not as a sport –
voice repeat the same thing, I thought ‘How portrays death – but from the side of life. especially as a pianist where you become an
would the piano do that?’ I was about 20 and Musical styles present very precise ideas. instrumentalist rather than a musician.
playing second violin in the opera house in And Vivaldi in this aria portrays incredibly The piano should be the voice. Back to where
Rio. All this came to my mind because in the strong emotion, an almost physical form of we began! IP
mornings and evenings I heard voices literally something we have to face. The contrasts and
on top of my head (I was in the pit!) and in the the strength and the voice of Bartoli… I can’t Strauss
afternoons I practised the piano. imagine a better medium for expressing this. Four Last Songs
I had studied engineering at university. Next, we have another miracle: Kissin. How Elisabeth Schwarzkopf; Berlin Radio
My parents weren’t very happy about me can you explain a 12-year-old boy playing like Symphony Orchestra/George Szell
becoming a pianist, but I played for Jacques this? Kissin is proof of our ignorance, of not Warner Classics 9659412
Klein in a masterclass at the insistence of an being able to answer the question, ‘How is
Brahms
old girlfriend. After I played, he said, ‘I want this possible?’ But he is living proof that it is Violin Concerto Op 77
to talk to you. You don’t know anything about possible. This magic box we call our brain has David Oistrakh; French National Radio
music.’ I made to leave and he said, ‘Calm so many secrets. What kind of energy exists Orchestra/Otto Klemperer
down my boy. I want to tell you that you have that can produce what we see this boy doing? EMI Classics 74724
all the ingredients to become a first-class Perhaps that is for the future to discover.
Vivaldi
pianist’. International? Paris, Berlin, London? There is a video of him playing Chopin’s First
‘Gelido in ogni vena’ from The Vivaldi Album
Yes. So I abandoned everything else and Concerto about a year later and you look Cecilia Bartoli
decided to become a pianist. Klein introduced in his eyes – you know there is something Decca 4783388
me to the Schwarzkopf recording. I went crazy. mysterious about it. It is magic.
I bought the record and listened to it every Finally, Horowitz’s 1951 recording of Chopin
Piano Concerto No 2 Op 21
single day. It holds a lot of emotional history. Rachmaninov 3 with Reiner. It explains vividly
Evgeny Kissin; Moscow Philharmonic
A bit later, when I was still a student what a mistake is... or better, what it is not. Orchestra/Dmitri Kitayenko
in the early 70s, I was in Lugano visiting Because he makes so many musical mistakes! Melodiya 1001994
some friends and I heard that Oistrakh was It’s a mess. In the last movement, if the left
playing a concert there – a Mozart concerto hand can’t play it, he plays it in the right hand. Rachmaninov
and the Brahms concerto. I couldn’t miss So many things... But my point is, what is a Piano Concerto No 3 Op 30
Vladimir Horowitz; RCA Victor Symphony
that! So, I went to the concert and was a mistake? The emotional force of the playing
Orchestra/Fritz Reiner
little disappointed with the Mozart. But the – I look at Horowitz’s face. It’s the same as
Naxos 8110787
Brahms! How can anyone play like that? After Kissin’s. They are cousins. It’s not what you

BURKARD SCHLIESSMANN
Recipient of Goethe-Prize 2019 of Frankfurt/Main, Germany
Global Music Awards 2018:
2 Gold Medals “Awards of Excellence” (Schumann)
3 Silver Medals “Outstanding Achievement” (Bach)
3 Silver Medals “Outstanding Achievement” (Chopin)
“A fantastic Bach recital

all around, and in an
SACD recording that
projects the piano right
into your listening space
with a three-dimensional
effect that spreads the
keyboard in front of you
from left to right and the
full length of Schliessmanʼs
Steinway concert grand
from front to back. This
earns the strongest of
recommendations.”
Jerry Dubins, Fanfare
“I rank this Chopin among

the best available. With
both the technique and
intellect to do just about
anything he wants,
Schliessmannʼs strength
is in the lyrical, legato
“Schliessmannʼs playing is
melodies that make
representative of the best of
Chopinʼs music such a
the modern school ...”
cornerstone of the piano
Harold C. Schonberg,
repertoire ...”
The New York Times
James Harrington,
American Record Guide
www.schliessmann.com | divine art

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No. 62 • December 2019 • £5.

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