A new musical tale from one of The Brothers Lim. I first attempted to listen to this recording via streaming at Amazon. Not yet having gone high res, the sound was too lossy, with garbled highs, so I aborted the effort and immediately started a hunt for a download. Fortunately, it was at the second site I selected (Presto), so I was able to get down to business. My first listen rather wowed me, as did my second. So good is this disc that it was evident that I needed to do some comparisons with other top shelf recordings. The top priority was to compare Chopin's Scherzi, and the choices there were obvious (more on that forthwith), but I decided to do the same with
Kinderszenen, you know, just 'cause. Here goes.
First up, the First with Kevin Kenner. Kenner opens the piece with ample speed and dexterity and power, with a sort of under wraps aggression informing the faster music. It's certainly presto but Kenner also displays fluid and effortless transitions to slower, more beautiful music, and then he transitions to the central, gentle lullaby and plays with tenderness and tonal beauty aplenty. He hammers out the left hand chords as he transitions to the return of the opening material, which he plays with even greater vehemence. He dispatches the coda with speed and accuracy to satisfy anyone and delivers a kick-ass reading. Next up, my long term reference, Ivo Pogorelich. A brighter opening chord, followed by a more nuanced second chord is followed by playing so fast yet so insanely well articulated that it seems almost super-human. Too, Pogo transitions to slower playing with such perfect control and fluidity that it not only masks the more extreme changes in tempo, but makes it sound perfectly normal, the way things are supposed to be. He holds the last notes before the lullaby until they fade to silence, then he proceeds to play the lullaby at what initially seems like a ridiculously slow tempo, but what after 2-3 notes max morphs into the most beautiful, gentle, touching version imaginable. I mean, he makes a quick right hand arpeggio turn into a moment of musical depth, and that's just one instance of many. He transitions back to the opening material expertly, returning from a static, heavenly dream to something stormier and darker, and his ability to seemingly play left and right hand parts at slightly different tempi and different dynamic levels with perfection is, well, perfect, and his coda is ridiculously fast leading up to the ridiculously loud and perfectly controlled final chords. It's still the bomb. Now for Lim. In updated sound, Lim comes close to replicating Pogo's opening before launching into the fast playing in the quickly dispatched movement (coming in at 9'31"). Lim then introduces rubato unlike the prior two pianists, starting off some phrases slowly and then accelerating. He repeats this throughout, so it is a mannerism one may either like or dislike. (I like it.) Lim also manages to make some of the most difficult passages sound both chaotic and precisely controlled, and he also plays with varying dynamic levels simultaneously as well as anyone. There's a large-scaled, manicured aggressiveness to the playing. Lim plays the lullaby a bit on the quick side, and he sees no reason to play it with too much beauty or sentiment, instead playing with a bit of cool detachment. Nice. The return of the opening material is dispatched quickly and in supremely well-controlled fashion, shedding some of the quasi-chaotic feel of the playing prior to the lullaby, and as Lim approaches the coda, his already bright right hand playing becomes even brighter, and the run up to the coda is satisfyingly virtuosic. Lim nearly matches Pogo for overall levels of satisfaction.
Starting with Kenner again for the Second, the pianist hammers out the fortissimo chords to perfection, but it is the arpeggios up and down the keyboard where he delivers much more nuance, at times delicacy, at other times tenderness, and at yet other times playfulness. Tenderness reemerges as one of the main traits as the piece moves on, with Kenner demonstrating an ability to play in the
pp to
p range with variation equal to just about anyone's. Throughout, whether playing fast or slow, loud or soft, Kenner keeps the piece moving forward with an unerring pulse. It's really quite magnificent. Pogorelich, in his much longer take, opens the piece in darker, more theatrical fashion, and then dispatches the multiple arpeggios with a more crystalline and emphatic style, as opposed to Kenner's more flowing style. Every time Pogo returns to the loud playing, one gets to revel in thundering fortissimo playing imbued with dynamic nuance, but the even more purely pianistic conception than Kenner's ends up turning into more a display of pianistic prowess - and what prowess. In the slower middle section, Pogorelich does a masterful job of creating a hazy dreamy atmosphere, if only in fleeting bursts, before moving back into ultra-super-virtuosic playing. It's magnificent, if less so than Kenner's. Lim again comes close to replicating Pogo's opening stylistically, and certainly his fortissimo playing sounds pulverizing. The playing after blends clean left hand playing and sharp, loud right hand playing with more pronounced simultaneous dynamic variation. Lim tosses in some rubato here and there, and sort of luxuriates in miniscule personal touches before playing the middle section in slower, more somber, but cooler fashion. It's like a more detached, less virtuosic by design approach when compared to Pogorelich, and it pays off bigly. Kenner's take is the best of this lot, but Lim shows that he's got what it takes.
For the Third, Kenner opens intense and fast, playing supremely well, with left hand playing that is simultaneously clear and intense, almost aggressive, with the melody softening things up a bit. Kenner is not afraid to play up the showy parts of the music, and he see no reason not to play the descending arpeggios quick 'n' clean, but he also slows down and plays the chorale with no little beauty and lyricism. Overall, a supremely satisfying version, one of the best around. Pogorelich, in his second recording, opts for a longer overall take, but as with the earlier pieces this owes mostly to the extended tempi in the slower music. He opens the piece with some fierceness and drive, but it lacks the degree of relentlessness of Kenner while sounding a bit harder. Too, the left hand playing is not as obvious and powerful. The descending arpeggios are played daringly slow, and the chorales benefit from Pogo's penchant for stretching out material while keeping everything together, and he ends the piece by playing with a combination of speed, power, and accuracy that few match and none surpass. Another of the best around. Lim goes for a possibly more idiosyncratic approach than Pogorelich by starting off fairly slow, not just in the opening bars, but for most of the octaves theme. It sounds left hand dominated and heavy, though the left hand playing is not clean in the manner of Kenner. The descending arpeggios are fast and taper off at the end, and the chorales are heavy yet attractive. Curiously, the rhythm is often kind of kludgy or non-existent, but Lim makes it work, and he offers huge dynamic contrasts, seemingly wider than even Pogorelich. Lim ramps up a bit for the end, but he maintains a sense of absolute control and restrained aggression. It's unique and different and maybe the best around.
Finishing with the Fourth, starting with Kenner again. Kenner keeps his playing light, quick, and nimble, with really rather nuanced dynamic shading throughout, sometimes subtly changing volume to superb effect. His articulation is quite fine, and the piece not only sounds at times playful, it also sounds
fantastic. The central section is gorgeous, and while Kenner can play with oomph with the best of them, here it's the folk song that brings out his best playing, with perfectly judged note values and pauses. It's quite affecting. Then it's back to more heated, virtuosic playing on through to the end. Kenner's disc is one of the few that offers a fair match up to Pogorelich, and in the case of the Second, he surpasses the Croat. Pogorelich does the faster-than-fast, ridiculously-but-perfectly-executed-and-conceived slow music thing again in his take. The sound is heavier and more dynamically wide ranging than Kenner's, offering less of a fantastic feel and more of a meandering, at times dark dream feel. And yes, in the middle section, Pogorelich delivers magic nearly as effective as in the lullaby of the B Minor Scherzo. Of course he plays the last section of the piece magnificently. Lim opts for an overall speed between the two prior pianists, opening with some quite comfortable sounding playing that still has satisfying dynamic heft. Lacking (purposely) the fluidity and speed of Kenner, Lim plays more sternly than the other two, though he still does the mock-laughter thing almost as well as the American. Lim allows his right hand playing to dominate for a while, nearly washing away the accompaniment, and its bright and colorful and beautiful sound beguiles. It's contrived and calculated and I don't care. The middle section sounds simultaneously dreamy and potent, rich and bright, beautiful with hints of hardness. It's all very well controlled - perhaps too much so for some - but it works magic. Lim ends with a more restricted final section than either Kenner or Pogorelich, but that is not to say that it is anything less than fabulous.
For many years, Pogorelich's disc was my go-to for the Scherzos, and it was not until I heard Kenner's take, which also includes a generous amount of filler, that I found a rival. Now, shortly afterward, Lim joins him, creating a trio of takes that sound just swell. Sweet!
Kinderszenen is actually first up on the disc, but it was only after working through the more important Scherzi that it made sense to go for the Schumann. I actually don't know how many recordings I own of this piece since it ends up as disc filler in so many cases, and I've never really established a favorite. (I mean, if Arcadi Volodos records it, based on evidence of his
Waldszenen and everything else, then that would probably be my reference, but the pianist hasn't seen fit to consult me on what he should record.) I selected a couple reliable old hands for comparisons: St Annie and Nelson Freire. Ms Fischer, on EMI, per usual plays with real engagement and passion and a fully acceptable if not perfect level of technical accomplishment. Some of the playing is perhaps a bit intense for music meant to evoke thoughts of childhood, and maybe
Träumerei isn't the dreamiest around, but quibbles are quibbles and this is quite fine. Mr Freire, older of person but surer of hand when he recorded his set, plays a pianistically most satisfying take. There's more of a sense of playfulness and joy in some pieces,
Träumerei sounds quite fine if not
quite dreamy enough (while I'm no big fan of Horowitz, his different takes on this piece achieve something quite special), and if perhaps there's less direct engagement for the whole than I truly want, it, too, is pretty nifty.
Now to Lim. Right from the get-go, there's some there there. In
Von fremden Ländern und Menschen, Lim's right hand playing is bright and dominates, though his left hand playing is clean 'n' clear. There's a sense of wistfulness and, dare I say, innocence in the extremely well prepared piece.
Kuriose Geschichte, infused with some personal rubato to go along with Lim's sound, has a bit of fun injected into the idealized sound, and as the individual pieces progress, Lim proves to be a master of playing with either Eusebian poetry or Florestanian vibrance as needed, even if it remains studied. He also sees fit to hammer out
Wichtige Begebenheit to superb effect, exaggerating the scale, and also offering maximum contrast with the very slow
Träumerei, which comes in at 3'20", and which allows Lim to stretch out some not values and arpeggios to their maximum extent (this side of what Tzimon Barto might do), and the overall effect of the playing is really quite spectacular, creating an intellectualized dream, if you will. After a couple perfectly executed pieces, he plays with a similar style in Fast zu ernst and it's probably more perfectly realized. Even with all that came before,
Kind im Einschlummern offers something special. While studied, it is tender, exact, and possessed of super-fine dynamic and tonal shading. It's breathtakingly beautiful. Lim achieves something nearly as good with
Der Dichter spricht to close the set. I'm not sure if I can say that Lim's recording is my top choice, but it is certainly a top choice, and one to which I will happily return.
Just shy of SOTA sound - there are hints of congestion in spots.
A purchase of the year.