Wandering Around

[Todd A]

Pavlos Hatzopoulos. Hatzopoulos essentially goes the no-nonsense route. His Allegro con fuoco is quick, but not too quick, has fine dynamic shifts, clean and clear articulation, nice amounts of lyricism, and so forth, but it never really sounds anything other than nicely executed. The somewhat quick Adagio starts fairly quick and sternly, but mixes up things nicely, with some lyrical playing and some powerful climaxes. The Presto is quick and clean, as is the concluding Allegro.

 

[Todd A]

Eri Ikezi. Ikezi starts fast and stays fast in the Allegro con fuoco. She plays the fortissimo with real power, and she keeps the piece moving forward at all times. While the playing takes on a lyrical sound at times, this is more of an aggressive take. The Adagio is slower and cooler, and the bass rich open sounds like a Schubert lied, Chopin march hybrid. Despite the fairly broad overall tempo, Ikezi keeps things taut throughout, and predictably she belts out the fortissimo sections with suitable power. Also predictably, she zips through the high energy Presto and Allegro sections, keeping the whole piece about scale and drive and energy.

 

[Todd A]

Jean-Rodolphe Kars. I wanted to get a decent array of versions in before revisiting a recording that has been a favorite since I first heard it in 2014. Kars starts off the Allegro con fuoco a bit slow, a bit deliberate, and loud, though not imposingly so. The playing does sound serious and purposeful and lyrical enough. Even in pretty old sound by today's standards, one can appreciate Kars' dynamic terracing and clarity. Nice. Much better than nice, and where Kars is at his absolute best, and where he is unsurpassed, is in the pianissimo playing. He goes slow, but not too slow, and he plays with differing dynamics, typically allowing the melody to take precedence, and he creates a simultaneously fantastic and profound and almost dreamy sound. As such, it is in the very slow Adagio that Kars shines. The section starts off dark and very much in an end of Winterreise style in the theme, and then it just gets better in the hypnotic and deliberate – in the best attainable way – playing. Kars suspends time. (He does it even better in the second movement of D946 from the same disc.) True, the fortissimo outbursts lack the thunder or superficial bite of some other versions, but the effect is more dramatic and darker as played. And the sheer beauty and tenderness of the playing that follows, and the perfectly controlled, anti-virtuosic right hand runs, elevate the music still further. In the second fortissimo climax, Kars does play with greater speed and power, showing that his approach is entirely purposeful. The Presto is fairly conventional and well executed to open, but when the music slows down, Kars slows way, way down, stretching the musical line, using pauses and sustaining single notes and chords in such a way as to take the suspension of time style about as far as it can go. He then picks things up again and then builds up to a closing Allegro that is a bit broad, but deliberate, emphatic, and dramatic in perfect proportion. Overall, not only does the recording hold up after several years, but it's even better in a comparative context.


Amazon UK link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00HT88XV4/?tag=pinkfishmedia-21

 

[Todd A]

Tristan Pfaff. Pfaff starts off the Allegro con fuoco at a brisk clip, lending a nice amount of left hand heft to the proceedings, though it’s not the most imposing fortissimo. He then slows down nicely for the pianissimo music, thus using a fairly common fast+loud, slow(-ish)+quiet approach. He seems more at home playing fast and loud. Pfaff sees no reason to take the Adagio at a slow pace, starting it off with quick, punched out playing, again emphasizing the left hand. The tempo seems more like an Andante or even an Allegretto, and is more pianistic than lied-like in approach. A fast open also means that the fortissimo climax has to be taken at a really fast pace to offer contrast, and that's what Pfaff does as he plays it at an almost ridiculously fast pace. The playing never dives deep. It doesn't even really snorkel. After such a fast Adagio, Pfaff has to rev up even more in his Molto Prestissimo take on the Presto. To be sure, he's got the chops to dazzle and pull it off, but the musical result is a bit slight. Same with the hyperspeed Allegro that closes the work. Dude's gotta record some big dollops of Liszt.

 

[Todd A]

Lili Kraus. Kraus starts her standard tempo Allegro con fuoco with some slurred, bass rich playing, generating a nice approximation of scale while also masking some playing that could probably have been a bit tidier. (It didn't help coming right after a whippersnapper who can play stupidly fast with ease.) The quieter playing sounds nice, but a bit gruff. Kraus plays the Adagio at a standard tempo as well, and it's sort of dark and gruff to open, in a good way. The fortissimo climaxes are a bit wanting, but in the music that follows, Kraus keeps things nicely tense. The Presto is like the opening section for the most part, and Kraus plays some passages with an almost waltz like feel, and in the Allegro Kraus revs up a bit and plays pretty cleanly, with a stark staccato. It's no wilting ending.

 

[Todd A]

Herbert Schuch. Schuch is another pianist whose recording I know I rather fancy, so it was unsurprising that I like the way he handles just about everything. His Allegro con fuoco is neither rushed nor slow, but within his overall timing he allows himself ample leeway in every aspect of playing. The opening pages are bold, powerful, slurred and quasi-orchestral in scale. His dynamic control is super-fine, though more tilted toward the forte-fortissimo end of the spectrum. That's not to say that his quiet playing lacks a high degree of refinement, because it most certainly is refined. He never really plays really slow, but he does veer toward the loud-fast, quiet-slow interpretation approach. Some of his little touches, like nifty accelerandos and extra-punchy sforszandi, sound just swell, and the ease and naturalness of his transitions is hard to resist. Schuch does go for a slow, dramatic Adagio to start, but it's not especially lied-like. It's austere, dark, and abstract compared to other takes. He then hammers out the fortissimo passages in fast fashion, contrasting dynamics and tempo effectively. Schuch then plays the Presto in much the same manner as the preceding two sections, lending a sort of inevitability and cyclical feel to the piece, though it does not have the formal structural exactitude of Pollini. The closing Allegro finds Schuch displaying his dandy technique to invigorating effect to close strongly. To be sure, there's a very pianistic element to this recording, but when it's this well done, that's OK.

 

[Todd A]

Anton Kuerti. Fast, slurred, gruff, and kind of ugly sounding, Kuerti goes edgy, lean, and tight to open, and expertly uses stop on a dime playing, as well as fingerwork about as nifty as anyone's. He also does nice things creating a sort of undulating, tempestuous sound. The slower music is suitably lyrical, but just a bit unsettled as well. The Adagio opens slow and dark and a bit cold. Unsurprisingly, the fortissimo outbursts are intense and fast, and much of the slow, quiet playing retains the somewhat unsettled sound evident in the Allegro con fuoco, and the second fortissimo passage sounds almost frantic. The Presto is tense, taut, lean and forward moving, which is nothing compared to the fully jacked up Allegro, sounding more like a brutal Prestissimo, which is cleanly played and has ample dynamic contrasts to go with the speed. If a pianist is gonna go for a borderline nutso tempo, this is how it should sound. Unique, idiosyncratic, perhaps over the top, but ultimately, it's more satisfying than it should be.

 

[Todd A]

George Emmanuel-Lazaridis. GEL goes for a light and tight Allegro con fuoco, and at least as recorded, does not generate a massive, quasi-orchestral sound as well as some other pianists. That written, some of his more delicate playing is really quite captivating, as he plays some music with a deft combination of speed, clean articulation, clarity, and delicacy. The Adagio, while well-paced, lacks a lied-like feel or real drama, though the second fortissimo outburst is rather potent. The Presto and Allegro both sounds like riffs on the opening material and display all the same traits. So, a very well-played version that doesn't really float my boat. YMMV.

 

[Todd A]

Arthur Rubinstein. Rubinstein plays the Allegro con fuoco at a standard overall tempo, but the playing sounds a bit stiff and measured, with limited dynamic range (more the close, dry recording than the playing), and a not especially lyrical sound in the quieter passages. Better is the Adagio. Slow, somber, lyrical, and lied like, Rubinstein sounds superb as he lets the slow music unfurl. The fortissimo outbursts are not particularly effective, unfortunately, and Rubinstein's playing in the last two sections assumes the sometimes stiff and blocky style of the opening material. Not one of the pianist's best efforts.

 

[Todd A]

Elizabeth Leonskaja. Leonskaja doesn't fool around. She launches the Allegro con fuoco at a brisk tempo, plays with ample scale at the outset, and she doesn't really slow down much or scale down the playing in the quieter music. It's large scaled and forward moving and unsentimental. The Adagio is very much the same, and it's on the swift side. Here, the forward momentum sort of offsets the mf-ff dynamic range, and in both the Presto and Allegro, Leonskaja plays with energy, forward drive, and weight, the last trait more obvious in the extra-beefy, left hand dominated Allegro. The piece comes off as a sort of musical locomotive.

 

[Todd A]

Seymour Lipkin. Lipkin launches with an Allegro con fuoco that sounds bass rich and pulsating, if not especially grand in scale. The pianissimo playing retains a sort of gruffness, never sounding especially lyrical, which is not to say that it sounds unpleasant. Lipkin keeps things taut in the Adagio, which works nicely, but the fortissimo climaxes are limited in impact, and some of the playing in the more purely lyrical sections doesn't flow especially well. Strangely enough, despite that, D664 came to mind while listening. The Presto and Allegro are both brisk and energetic and a bit gruff and congested rather than grandly scaled or extra high energy. Nice enough, I guess.

 

[Todd A]

Georgy Tchaidze. Revisiting this still new-ish to me version makes me appreciate what Tchaidze does well, and what is a bit lacking. What he does well he does very well. The work holds no difficulty for him, and he plays the opening Allegro con fuoco with ample scale, speed, admirable accuracy, and a colorful, bright sound. It does indeed sound quasi-orchestral. He then slows way down in the Adagio. It sounds dark and rich and then exceptionally beautiful, but the playing never really seems anything other than surface level. There's no real sense of drama, or a sense that it could be support for a lied, nor even a sense that it is a symphonic slow movement. Predictably, the fortissimo playing is dispatched with nary a worry, though the playing is not as powerful as some others. The Presto is so easily played that it sounds relaxed and breezy and dreamy at times, a Schubertian flight of fancy. The closing Allegro sounds heftier, but it retains something of the overall breeziness, and Tchaidze dashes off passages quite handily. The version fares better in a shootout, though it's not top tier stuff.

 

[Todd A]

Vladimir Ashkenazy. Ashkenazy tears into the Allegro con fuoco with nearly fearsome intensity and virtuosic command second to none. The steely sound of the fortissimo playing magnifies the quasi-orchestral effect of the music. He backs off in the quieter music, which doesn't sound pianissimo, but he plays with a deft combination of breeziness and tension, as if ready in a beat to blast out more thundering playing, which he does. He starts the Adagio slow, dark, dramatic, and late-lied in mien. He roars in the fortissimo climaxes, and he very much treats the section like the theme and variations it is, never resorting to excess, though it is possible to think lyricism gets shorted a bit. The Presto is possibly the best in the survey because Ashkenazy delivers the most Scherzo-like playing. His rhythmic sense is more vital and almost playful at times, and there's a lilting sense to the quieter music. He then tears into the bass rich opening of the Allegro, and he pushes through to the end in a full steam ahead fashion, not even bothering to try to do anything other than deliver a virtuosic, large recital hall filling take, right through to the sure to evoke a standing ovation, crowd-pleasing coda. Ashkenazy delivers a great version in one of his greatest recordings.

 

[Todd A]

Anatol Ugorski. As is his wont, Ugorski goes for a long, slow overall approach laden with idiosyncrasy. He launches the Allegro con fuoco with grand, large-scale playing possessed of steely hardness, delivering true fortissimo playing. It's not especially fast, but it sounds unstoppable. He then drops the tempo drastically in the pianissimo playing, and plays in a halting manner that hampers the musical flow, but it sort of makes sense. Then – whoosh – grand, large-scale, metallic playing returns. He alternates as appropriate until he starts the Larghissimo sounding Adagio. The music barely holds together – if it does – as he stretches out some arpeggios and phrases to an almost absurd point. He also drops the volume way down, which allows for maximum contrast in the climaxes, but the playing becomes a bit too episodic. It's certainly not bad, but it is purely self-indulgent and very much Ugorski's take. The Presto is closer to standard in conception, though the fast-loud, slow-quiet interpretive approach dominates, and rubato, some subtle and some not, peppers the playing. The Allegro opens extra-heavy, sounding like another Schubertian Bydlo, though the playing picks up speed as the coda approaches, which is a suitably entertaining flourish. There is certainly a lot to like here from a self-indulgent interpretation standpoint, but it's more of an outlier than a go-to.

 

[Todd A]

Matthias Kirschnereit. Kirschnereit starts his Allegro con fuoco off fast, fast, fast, sacrificing maximum volume and scale, but imparting a sense of well-structured urgency. The quieter, more lyrical music finds the pianist backing off appropriately, and playing with no little lyricism, but one always has the sense, as with Pollini, of everything being played within the context of a grand vision. That's a good thing. This is reinforced as he transitions to a slow Adagio, which while emphatically different, seems perfectly timed to contrast with what came before. There's a dark sound, a serious sound, but not one of gloom or excess drama. (And holy crap, dig the left hand arpeggio!) No, there's a sense of serenity, and a really rather cool use of dynamic gradation, creating subtle, rapid rises and falls in volume en route to the first fortissimo climax. Kirschnereit takes the fact that the movement is theme and variations very seriously, and mixes up styles, introducing a hurdy-gurdy sound and dreamy Schubertian sound on his way to the second climax, and transitioning to a babbling brook sound to end the section before launching into an energetic and lively and rhythmically vital Presto. The Allegro finds Kirschnereit revving up quite a bit, and goodness, the right hand playing early on, not to mention the clear and stable accompaniment, sounds rather engaging. Here's another version that fares much better in a shootout setting.

 

[Todd A]

Sviatoslav Richter. I saved a titan till last. Maybe the Titan. But a titan I've never really clicked with in this work. For purposes of this survey, I went for the BBC recording first. The Allegro con fuoco certainly possesses ample speed and energy and forward drive, and Richter knows just how and when to back off. But this is also very much a live recording, with everything that can mean. There are moments when he presses too fast and too hard and one can hear it. I dare say in person it would be more satisfactory than it is on disc. The Adagio starts off with Richter's slow-is-profound Schubert style, and it works well enough. As he moves into the variations, he demonstrates his ability to play beautifully and lyrically as well as, well, as well as Sviatoslav Richter. Again, in a live setting, he pushes things too far and fast in the fortissimo outbursts. Richter was obviously in a groove in this recital, because the Presto and Allegro both demonstrate exactly the same traits as the faster music played before. Again, this probably worked better in person.

And so the much vaunted studio recording for EMI finishes things off. In the confines of a studio, Richter's playing is cleaner and clearer (as is his pedaling), and he goes for the large-scale opening Allegro con fuoco imbued with drive and drama. The quieter music does indeed display no little amount of lyricism, though others offer more of both sets of attributes. Richter then does the full stop version of slow-is-profound style, which sounds lovely and austere, and then he handles the left hand playing in the transition to the first climax as a sort of extended set of bass trills from D960. He amps up the playing, and the pedaling, for the climax, before switching back to slow-is-profound, and then back to an almost exaggerated second fortissimo climax. In the Presto and Allegro, the studio again allows Richter to realize a tighter version of the high-impact, high-energy, quasi-orchestral effect he went for in the BBC captured performance, and it sounds more compelling. That written, this has always been something of a myth buster recording for me, where the huge reputation exceeds the music delivered. That written, it is a fine version.

 

[Todd A]

As always, I feel impelled to put artists in their place. To be sure, I did not come in with no idea where individual pianists would land, but some surprises occurred. That's sort of why I do this sort of thing.

Top Tier
Jean-Rodolphe Kars
Paul Lewis
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Herbert Schuch
Maurizio Pollini
Wilhelm Kempff
David Fray
Jamina Gerl
Michel Dalberto
Giuseppe Albanese

Second Tier
Anton Kuerti
Matthias Kirschnereit
András Schiff
Michael Endres
André Watts
Georgy Tchaidze
Sviatoslav Richter (EMI)
Elizabeth Leonskaja
Vladimir Feltsman
Murray Perahia
Evgeny Kissin
Eri Ikezi
Anatol Ugorski

Third Tier
Sviatoslav Richter (BBC Legends)
Arthur Rubinstein
Lili Kraus
Seymour Lipkin
Pavlos Hatzopoulos
George Emmanuel-Lazaridis
Tristan Pfaff
Alfred Brendel
Gary Graffman I
Gary Graffman II
Julius Katchen
Hideyo Harada

 

[mjw]

Once again, superb signposting for those of us who don't have your stamina. Thanks very much, @Todd A

 

[iaxel]

Once again, superb signposting for those of us who don't have your stamina. Thanks very much, @Todd A

+1 Thanks Todd!