The thing about long surveys is that there's always a chance that a new recording or two - or three - may pop up in the middle of the survey. That happened here. It would be downright rude not to include the newbies here.
Igor Levit. Levit starts off with a peppy Allegro, sticking with fast fast movements, which he more or less does through the cycle. He just keeps the thing moving forward the whole time. There's a sense of fun, but the speedy effects seem more done for effect, as though properly planned out. Not that I'm complaining. To the extent I can kvetch - which I can - dynamic range is a bit limited, but whatcha gonna do? Levit keeps the Scherzo zippy - zippier, even - and plays with better dynamics. Some of the playing takes on nearly Pienaar levels of jitteriness at times, which is a good thing. Levit also keeps the outer sections of the Menuetto extra zippy, and while lovely, it's more tense than lovely, while the Trio sounds fun 'n' punchy, if, again, dynamics are often limited, though a couple passages offer dynamics sufficient to produce ample aural spiciness. Predictably, Levit plays the Presto with a very high degree of zip, and fortunately his fingerwork is quite nifty and up to the challenge, though dynamics do flatten just a tad. Overall, a high grade reading nestling into tier two.
Jonathan Biss. Biss opens the Allegro in a slightly restrained manner, and keeps things under wraps until the first outburst, which is somewhat restrained, and then he plays with a bit more pep and fun. It's never high voltage, and it's a bit more polite than expected, but even in a more constrained than expected approach, it's got what it takes, and it elicits some smiles. Biss ups the ante in the Scherzo. Very much leading with prominent left hand playing, he plays with verve, perfecting accenting and voice balancing, and a sense of fun, though the outbursts are contained. Biss goes for tonally attractive but slightly tense playing in the outer sections of the Menuetto, and a nicely weighted Trio, if one in line with the rest of the recording in terms of overall dynamic range. Biss then zooms through the Presto, with a bit of weight added, and a snazzy rhythmic groove. Overall, quite nice, thank you.
Martino Tirimo. Tirimo starts with broad 9:24 Allegro, and if the opening chords don't betray that, most of the rest of the movement does. Tirimo's sforzandi are tangy, but energy and nimbleness are kind of not there. The Scherzo also falls on the slow end of the interpretive spectrum, and mostly just fails to satisfy, though the dynamic balance between hands is quite nice. The outer sections of the Menuetto sound nice enough and the Trio sounds potent if a bit slow. Tirimo plays the Presto at a relaxed pace, but to go with the always nice accenting he adds a fair amount of rhythmic snap. Overall, it's just not my speed.