Dunelm
records continues its connection with and support of Chetham’s
School of Music in this celebrity recital. Bernard Roberts
is known for his Beethoven sonata series recorded for Nimbus
in the mid-eighties. That cycle was my introduction to the
glorious last movement of the Op 109 sonata.
Dunelm,
as some may know, is truly a grass-roots firm, with Jim and
Joyce Pattison, who head the label, record the performances,
write the liner notes, construct and print the booklets and
individually burn the CDs. With all of this work, they donate
the profits of this recording - as well as the profits of
another disc I reviewed - to Chetham’s. The Pattisons take
what they do quite seriously, obviously from love of music
and the artistry evident in the performers.
The live
performance here is restrained, distinguished, and a wonderful,
if somewhat short, program. I should add that it is difficult
to discern that it is in fact a live performance: only a
couple of distant coughs over the course of the recording
betray the presence of an audience. The opening Beethoven
Rondo Op. 51 No. 2 is a restrained, wonderfully performed,
similar generally to the recording of the work that Brendel
made for Vox in the early sixties, and a good deal more laconically-inclined
than Kempff’s performance for Deutsche Grammophon.
Regarding
the Schumann, the first movement is done exceedingly well;
a more restrained performance than Brendel’s (Philips). Roberts’ playing
has definition and keeps its tone distinct and unmuddied
in the opening minute of the piece. He keeps us well-grounded
in the music, with little flash, little sentimentality, and
little reliance on effect. What we have here is simple and
unpretentious, which in itself displays an uncommon artistry
all its own.
The slow
second movement is especially effectively performed, again
with no reliance on effect other than the music as it is,
played simply. Brendel has more of an emotive impact, and
for repeated listenings, remains one I’d pick over this performance
of this movement in particular. Roberts bests Brendel in
the definition and grace of the scherzo movement, with more
distinctness and sparkle, as well as more time spent enjoying
the beauty of the middle section — Roberts’ performance clocks
in a full minute longer in this movement. Whereas the opening
of the last movement in Brendel’s performance carries a somewhat
wistful backward glance at what has gone before, Roberts
looks forward and delivers more crisp definition.
As almost
an appendix, likely the encores for the recital, we have
two of the Op. 119 bagatelles of Beethoven, No. 4 and No.
10, both in A. If only more of the bagatelles would have
been performed! It is an unfortunately somewhat short programme,
but one that makes up for its brevity with solid performance
and intimate recording. The miking is close - not excessively
so - and audience noise is practically non-existent. An
enjoyable recording.
David Blomenberg
see also reviews by Philip
L Scowcroft, Ian Milnes and Dominy
Clements
AVAILABILITY
Dunelm
Records
Bernard Roberts
(Piano) 
