Brana continues its good work on behalf of Felicja Blumental with these recordings taped between 1963 and 1969. Two were with the Vienna Symphony and one with the very characterful Prague Symphony; the latter with larger than life woodwind principals. None is without interest, of course, though the Romance Cantabile is really a historical footnote and whilst the Emperor shows powerful signs of her command it’s the Rubinstein that makes the greatest impression, not least by virtue of her splendidly conceived pianism and control of architecture.

The Emperor has the drawback of an empty hall acoustic which can deaden the sound. The recording isn’t subtle with the piano balanced too far forward and thus obliterating some string lines. I’m sure there was nothing Brana could do much to mitigate this so one has to grin and bear it. Her playing is metrically quite slow though there’s a gruff, hectoring quality that some may find convincingly Beethovenian – as opposed to the small scale Concerto playing one sometimes finds. She cultivates a battery of intriguing right hand voicings in the finale and rhythmic nuances, which create an individual perspective. But unfortunately runs aren’t climactic enough, especially in the first movement, and there’s a fatal lack of orchestral heft at tuttis throughout, which I put down to recording limitations.

It was the Rubinstein that grabbed me most. The fine winds of the Vienna Symphony, are heard in better perspective here. Also notable is the fusion of Saint-Saëns’ airiness and Romantic effusion, laced with Blumental’s splendid sense of logic and development. The tempo is a good, firm and forward-looking one. The bravura is unimpeded by technical considerations. The binding of what can in other hands sprawl is a testament to the collaborative excellence on display.

I believe the Rubinstein was last available on Ars Classicum which only enjoyed limited circulation. In fact I’ve never seen a copy. It sounds excellent here. It’s for the Rubinstein really that I’d recommend this latest souvenir of Blumental’s art.

Jonathan Woolf

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