This may strike you
as a slightly odd thing to do, coupling
two solo sonatas with a selection of
duets and in the process stretching
things onto two discs. Well, if you’re
a fan of the artists you’ll be glad
to know that it’s a ‘two-for-one’ package,
and in superb sound. As for the thinking
behind the programme, I can only assume
that the key of A major (and its relations)
is the unifying factor. Whatever the
case, Pires has done this sort of thing
before and made it work, as in her coupling
of the Chopin 24 Preludes and the Piano
Concerto No.2.
I’ve already mentioned
the piano sound, which is exceptional,
because it does have a bearing on the
type of listening involvement you will
have. The Yamaha grand is regulated
and tuned to perfection, itself a pleasure,
and is recorded very warmly and quite
closely. This makes for an intensely
intimate experience, as if the piano
is in your front room and the recital
is for your benefit. This is fine for
some of the music, which is indeed reflective,
soul-searching stuff, but it does mean
another, grander dimension is sometimes
missing.
Take the finest of
the duets, the great Fantasie in
F minor. The famous slow tread that
opens the piece is suitably world-weary,
emerging from the speakers with an uncanny
realism. But later, when the fireworks
really get going, I preferred the grander,
more epic playing of Lupu and Perahia,
whose live Snape Maltings version has
long been a benchmark with critics.
Maybe it’s the tangible audience presence
that lifts the performers, but there
is definitely an air of danger, an edge-of-the-seat
tension that is lacking for me in this
latest version. The playing is immensely
cultured, but does not take wing as
in the Sony version, staying resolutely
earthbound. This may suit some listeners
as a fine for a ‘library’ recording,
but Lupu and Perahia involve one even
more in the big moments (like the later
fugue) while missing none of the hushed
mystery.
The other two duets
do not approach the Fantasie for greatness,
but are very well done here, even though
it could be argued they are more fun
to play than listen to.
The two solo sonatas
are shared between the two pianists,
Pires taking the A major, D.664
and Castro the A minor. I have
to say I preferred Castro’s overall
playing. D.784 is one of Schubert’s
bleakest utterances, the opening unison
melody achingly pregnant with tragedy.
Castro captures this to perfection,
his pianissimo touch a joy to hear.
He doesn’t perhaps command as much attention
as, say, Andras Schiff (Decca) in the
bold dotted figure (especially in octaves)
that dominates so much of this first
movement. Likewise, Schiff has more
abandon in the finale, but Castro is
beautifully poetic in the slow movement,
the piano once again caught with amazing
reality.
Pires’s D.664
is slightly disappointing, at least
on initial acquaintance. She adopts
a very flowing tempo, so the famous
singing melody of the first movement
moves along at quite a lick. This is
not in itself a problem, until you hear
how Schiff phrases the tune, allowing
for the contours and letting it breathe.
Pires also has a rather mannered way
with the stormy rising octaves in the
development section, holding the first
of the run slightly longer, in a tenuto
fashion. This is irritating on repeated
hearings, especially when you compare
it to Schiff’s abandoned bravura. The
sparkling finale is well done, but overall
there is nothing that raises this version
above those by rivals in more economical
sets.
Don’t expect your knowledge
of Schubert’s piano style to be advanced
by the booklet note. Pires has always
enjoyed commissioning something different,
but this time she’s gone surely too
far. In an essay entitled ‘Resonance
of the Original’, we get the musings
not of a music critic, but of a psychoanalyst.
Thus we get treated to such gems as
‘…a primary sensitivity which would
be doomed to the fatal lacerations of
intensity in all its implacability…’
and ‘...woven like a fine existential
skin which can quicken only by being
enfolded in a sound-space, experienced
as a "merging dyad"’. Priceless.
There are certainly
things to enjoy here – the artists are
too good for there not to be. But given
the quirkiness of the programming and
packaging, I simply can’t imagine buyers
being tempted away from much safer recommendations.
Lupu and Perahia are on mid-price Sony
(coupled with the Mozart Sonata in
D for 2 Pianos, equally enthralling)
and there is any number of combinations
for the two solo sonatas.
Tony Haywood
Maria João Pires and Ricardo Castro
(piano) 
