Comparison Recordings:
Passacaglia, Sonata in e: Marc-André
Hamelin Hyperion CDA 67300
(same) [North America only] Musical
Heritage Society 5169562
Passacaglia, Schubert transcriptions,
etc: Antti Siralla NAXOS 8.555997
Sonata in e, etc: Scherbakov Marco Polo
8.223899
The full title of the
Passacaglia includes "...44
variations, cadenza and fugue on the
opening of Schubert’s ‘Unfinished Symphony.’"
It and the Piano Sonata (1911) are the
only surviving long works by this composer
who was more famous for shorter pieces
of dazzling virtuosity and brilliant
invention. The theme of the Passacaglia
(composed to mark the centenary of Schubert’s
death) is the doublebass statement at
the beginning of the Schubert Symphony,
and in the fugue the violin entry which
follows and some whiffs of the Erlkönig
are used as counter-subjects. The work
has a sombre, monumental feeling and
moves forward inexorably, recalling
the Bach Chaconne for violin
in mood. Its substantial length makes
it a solemn meditation, not suitable
for light listening. For this reason,
it’s all but impossible to compare performances
in detail for each artist will shape
the work for its overall and cumulative
effect. Modern recording technique is
required to capture the depth and subtlety
of the piano sonority in this work,
and this (and the difficulty of performance)
maybe why the work did not achieve recognition
previously.
The Schubert song transcriptions
are about the same length as the original
songs, and vary from being more or less
straightforward presentations of the
songs to mini-fantasias involving expansion
of counterpoint and harmonies into regions
Schubert would never have imagined.
Some of them are deceptively difficult
to play. Pianists hate works like that
— works that are so difficult they have
to struggle to get the notes right,
and yet sound so easy to play the audience
wonders what all the fuss is about.
Godowsky used to insist that his music
wasn’t difficult for anyone — not just
him — to play, but since he was self-taught,
nobody else in the world played like
he did. Eventually they figured how
he did it, and now everybody can play
like Godowsky if they want to.
Scherbakov and Hamelin
evidently want to, and both turn in
first rate performances of the Passacaglia.
While the Scherbakov is less expensive,
the Hamelin fills out the disk with
the e minor Piano Sonata and is available
in North America on a Musical Heritage
Society club release at mid-price. To
obtain the Hamelin program you must
buy two Marco Polo disks but you will
also obtain some shorter works. On Naxos
there is yet another choice (which I
have not heard) for the Passacaglia
with Antti Siralla, attesting to the
rapidity with which the marvellous work,
unknown only a short while ago, has
become a standard in the repertoire.
Still not widely known
is how Godowsky’s son Leo was one of
the inventors of Kodachrome film, the
first really successful consumer colour
film, but that’s a long story for another
time.
Paul Shoemaker
Konstantin Scherbakov, piano 
