This is the seventh box in a row from the annual Lugano Festivals,
and the quality shows no sign of decline. We get more or less
what we have always had: from undisputable masterpieces to unknown
works, mostly piano and strings (no woodwind), some piano four-hands
(and even six-hands) and one concertante work. This year the
music is predominantly Romantic, which gives this sequence a
stronger sense of unity than before.
In the three of the works on Disc One Martha Argerich
takes the driver’s seat, and the other performers have the tricky
task of catching up with her. They do manage it, and some even
try to out-Argerich Argerich. This results in energetic and
somewhat rough performances. Such competitiveness works excellently
for Chopin’s Introduction and Polonaise brillante, with
Gautier Capuçon. The piece shines and sparkles like gold in
the sun and has an unceasing forward momentum. I cannot imagine
a better performance, and join in the well-deserved applause
in the end.
Argerich and the Capuçon brothers present an assured and expressive
account of Schumann’s Fantasiestücke. True, this is not
the finest of Schumann’s creations. Each part raises a question
“Didn’t he already write it somewhere else, and better?” But
in Argerich’s hands no Schumann is bad. The musicians are gentle
and yearning in the short opening Romance. In the Humoreske
they excellently convey the down-to-earth spirit of the folksy
dance, and the Romantic pathos of the mini-Kreisleriana in the
middle episodes. It builds to an impressive Handelian climax.
The pressure may be too hard, but there’s no brooking the energy
of these players. The slow movement pours forth - a heartfelt
love-song, where melancholy and longing are lit by a fleeting
smile. This is like a mini-version of the slow movement of the
Piano Quartet. The finale is not easy to manage: it is so similar
in structure to the Humoreske. The framing episode is
an energetic march, and the middle episodes are less interesting
than in the Humoreske. The performers do their best but
it emerges heavy and noisy. The closing coda comes as balm,
with a shimmering fairy-tale glow.
I did not like the four-hand rendition of Mendelssohn’s Midsummer
Overture and Scherzo, played by Argerich and Cristina Marton.
I do not feel the spirit of the piece, do not hear the light-footed
elves. It’s all too hurried. Maybe the recording is too close:
letting in a little mist would probably have helped. There is
no magic, regrettably, just a lot of nimble finger-work.
Mendelssohn’s Piano Sextet was written before the Midsummer
Overture, when the genius boy was 15. It combines the openness
and candour of youth with virtuosity and mastery of form. The
music is very Mozartean, and the performance, led by Khatia
Buniatishvili, is a lacework of sunbeams. The piano throws showers
of silver sparks around the violin’s lark-song in the first
movement. The Adagio is tranquil and sunny, far from
Schumann’s deep passions. The short and agitated Minuet
is a sudden gust of cold wind. The finale is genuine Mendelssohn,
a relentless bubbling stream of swinging excitement. The last
two minutes are irresistible. The recording is rather dry and
presents a concert-hall perspective, not especially spacious.
The high strings sound thin. Still, this is an exciting performance
of an undeservedly neglected work.
Disc Two is more diverse.
It opens with Bartók’s Second Violin Sonata, exquisitely
performed by Renaud Capuçon and Khatia Buniatishvili. Here the
recording quality is first rate, and the listener is submerged
into the center of the music. The violin soars, the violin cries,
the violin purrs and roams around like a cat. The piano surrounds
it with objects to jump on, and paints shadows in the corners.
In the second movement the music gradually enters a boisterous
dance, dark-hued and muscle-rolling, with sinister glances and
dangerous leaps. It is long and winding, very Hungarian, and
the ending returns us to the beginning of the Sonata. Renaud
Capuçon is excellent. The performance does not have a trace
of dryness, a quality so often associated with Bartók: the music
plunges in and plumbs the depths.
Argerich and Mauricio Vallina return to the gallant times with
Liszt’s two-piano Réminiscences de Don Juan. These are
more musings and ruminations than a true paraphrase: a treat
for those who can’t get enough of the small details of Mozart’s
music, the harmonies, the twists of the tune, the melisma, the
rhythms. These will be repeated and twisted and turned the better
to view every facet of this music. For a 15-minute piece, Liszt
takes into work a surprisingly small number of themes, but he
is really thorough about exploring them. A wide range of emotions
is covered: the dark rumbling depths of the Underworld, the
mellifluous courtship of “La ci darem la mano”, the ecstatic
hurry of the Wine Song. Argerich and Vallina present a leonine
performance, unrushed, assured, well coordinated. They are so
enthusiastic that the piece comes out more attractive than it
probably deserves to be.
Each one of Lugano’s boxes had surprises. The 2009 has at least
one big one, and I just can’t stop returning to it. I never
imagined that a Glinka Sextet could be so much fun! I am pretty
sure that this is Glinka’s Grand Sextet – but then what
did they play under that name in 2007? Whatever. The music is
as alluring and elegant as Mendelssohn at his best – and more
compositionally effective than young Felix’s Sextet on
Disc One. For instance, the double-bass really works here! But,
however good the music is, it is the performance that carries
the impress of greatness. Polina Leschenko leads the ensemble
- a Brünnhilde leading a flock of Valkyries. The first movement
has inextinguishable Rossinian drive. The playing is so fiery
that it makes me wonder what kept the audience from applause
at the end. OK, they are Swiss. The second movement starts in
honey-sweet Romance, and then catches us off-guard with a tango
– a true tango, no kidding! It’s given a twist, just a little
bit, but the effect is jaw-dropping. The finale, marked Allegro
con spirito, is really spirited, swinging between polonaise
and polka. The playing is light and brilliant. The string instruments
are recorded not as close as the piano, but still the recording
remains vivid, and the sound is full enough.
Starting like the slow movement of the 2nd concerto
– uncannily similar - the 6-hands Romance by the teenage
Rachmaninov already contains the unmistakable traits of his
mature style: the quiet swaying of harmonies, the bells, the
wide flow of rapturous melody. The tiny Waltz, also for
six hands, is unpretentious and naïve. It isn’t close to being
great music, but it is pretty, and the performance of both pieces
is light and natural.
Rachmaninov’s Russian Rhapsody is another early piece,
a set of variations on a Russian theme. Some echoes of Tchaikovsky
are audible. The performers, Lilya Zilberstein and Alexander
Mogilevsky, are good in expressing the shy Romanticism of the
more lyrical episodes. In the more energetic sections they never
press too hard: even the loudest moments have delicacy. There
is a lot of filigree work, of utter precision and coordination.
Comparing this version with the more rough and “Russian” one
by Alexeev and Demidenko (on Hyperion), Zilberstein and Mogilevsky
are more on the salon side and less convincing. Each approach
works well for this piece.
On Disc Three we come to what could become the brightest
star in this collection: Argerich’s Nights in the Gardens
of Spain. It could attain that sort of fame but it falls
short. What we get is more like Polovtsian Dances in the
Gardens of Spain. The reading is bright, energetic, expressive
– all of these probably in excess. It is beautiful, yes. But
I grew up on the old de Larrocha/Comissiona recording. So I
miss that lazy magic, the nocturnal breezes, perfumes that slowly
spread through the air, not leap at you like a jack-in-the-box.
Here we see dazzling Spain, no denying that – but what we miss
are the Iberian Nights. Except, maybe, for the last half of
Córdoba. The recording “from the side” does not help
the case.
All this is even more noticeable when the direct neighbor is
such a wonderfully atmospheric rendition of Ravel’s Rapsodie
espagnole. Prélude is an impressionistic walk through
the night, with glimmering stars and a sudden breeze in the
treetops. Malagueña rocks and rolls. Habanera
is static and sensual. Finally, Feria is a festive fireworks
display, with a slow, voluptuous middle section. I can’t praise
enough the playing of Karin Lechner and Sergio Tiempo, their
technical brilliance, balance and coordination, the understanding
of the music, the subtlety and the energy.
This could form a great optimistic close for the collection.
But in an interesting, non-standard move, the producers decided
to end the disc with a dark and serious piece. Ernest Bloch’s
Piano Quintet No.1 starts with Bartók’s barbaric urgency
and an almost orchestral wall of sound. Angry agitation alternates
with soft, plaintive episodes. Some quarter-tones are employed,
to unsettling effect. The slow movement is creepy and mysterious.
Its dark steady progress is alarming and enthralling. The long
final movement is almost Mahlerian. It starts as a disordered,
menacing gallop, which after several diverse episodes consolidates
into a frantic march of Doom. When the intensity becomes almost
unbearable, we are suddenly swept along by a big Romantic wave.
The gloomy landscape brightens. There is no full sun yet, but
light behind the clouds. Despair gives way to hope. The quintet
ends on a “maybe”.
We have another great performance here. Listening to it is one
of those experiences that squeeze you out and leave you breathless
but thankful: a revelatory, purifying experience. The recording
quality is also on a high level, placing us right inside the
conflict of sounds. This is one of those recordings where it’s
impossible to stop in the middle.
Martha Argerich’s portraits on the Lugano boxes show more and
more gray hair with each passing year. But her fire burns as
high as ever, and it’s catching. Her friends are like her battle
companions – faithful, trusty. The 2009 box has its weaker places,
yet it maintains the high level of preceding years - and, unfortunately,
the same minimal documentation. If you already own some of these,
feel confident to add another bead to this shiny necklace. If
you don’t have them yet, and you like chamber music – don’t
hesitate. This is a colorful collection of chamber music, off
the beaten path, played with enthusiasm, devotion, and an electricity
that sparkles in these live performances. It also in many cases
has the technical brilliance of the best studio recordings.
And some performances are just stunning. I can’t wait for the
2010 box!
Oleg Ledeniov
Complete tracks and performers:
CD 1
Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Fantasiestücke for Piano, Violin and Cello, Op. 88 (1842) [19:21]
Renaud Capuçon (violin), Gautier Capuçon (cello), Martha Argerich
(piano)
Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
A Midsummer Night's Dream Incidental Music, Op. 21: Overture
and Scherzo (1826/42) [14:56]
Martha Argerich, Cristina Marton (piano)
Frédéric CHOPIN (1810-1849)
Introduction and Polonaise brillante for Cello and Piano in
C major, Op. 3 (1828/30) [8:59]
Gautier Capuçon (cello), Martha Argerich (piano)
Felix MENDELSSOHN
Sextet for Piano and Strings in D major, Op. 110 (1824) [29:14]
Khatia Buniatishvili (piano), Dora Schwarzberg (violin), Nora
Romanoff-Schwarzberg (viola),
Lida Chen (viola), Jorge Bosso (cello), Enrico Fagone (double
bass)
CD 2
Béla BARTÓK (1881-1945)
Sonata for Violin and Piano No.2, Sz76 (1922) [21:22]
Renaud Capuçon (violin), Khatia Buniatishvili (piano)
Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Réminiscences de Don Juan for 2 Pianos, S656-R379 (c.1841) [15:30]
Martha Argerich, Mauricio Vallina (piano)
Mikhail GLINKA (1804-1857)
Sextet for Piano and Strings in E flat major (1832) [22:28]
Polina Leschenko (piano), Alissa Margulis (violin), Géza Hosszu-Legocky
(violin), Lida Chen (viola), Mark Drobinsky (cello), Enrico
Fagone (double bass)
Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943)
Romance and Waltz for Piano 6-hands (1891) [6:33]
Daniel Gerzenberg, Anton Gerzenberg, Lilya Zilberstein (piano)
Russian Rhapsody for 2 Pianos in E minor (1891) [9:02]
Lilya Zilberstein, Alexander Mogilevsky (piano)
CD 3
Manuel de FALLA (1876-1946)
Noches en los jardines de España (1911-1915) [23:23]
Martha Argerich (piano), Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana/Alexander
Vedernikov
Maurice RAVEL (1875-1937)
Rapsodie espagnole (arr. for 2 pianos by the composer) (1907-1908)
[15:17]
Sergio Tiempo, Karin Lechner (piano)
Ernest BLOCH (1880-1959)
Quintet for Piano and Strings No.1 (1921) [33:47]
Lilya Zilberstein (piano), Alissa Margulis (violin), Lucia Hall
(violin), Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg (viola), Mark Drobinsky
(cello)
rec. June 2009, Lugano, Switzerland. DDD
