Charles IVES (1874-1954)
Piano Sonata No. 1 (1901-1916, rev. 1921-1927) [40:46]
Bernhard GANDER (b. 1969)
Peter Parker
(2004) [11:23]
Charles IVES
Three-Page Sonata
(1907-1914, rev. 1925-1926) [8:10]
Joonas Ahonen (piano & celesta)
rec. August 2019, Sendesaal Bremen, Germany
Reviewed as a 24/96 download from
eClassical.com
Pdf booklet included
BIS BIS-2409 SACD
[61:27]
My reviewing year got off to an auspicious start with a splendid set of
Charles Ives’s four numbered symphonies, courtesy of Gustavo Dudamel and
the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Deutsche Grammophon). Then again, new recordings of this composer’s quirky, often audacious
oeuvre are always welcome, the solo-piano works especially. The Three-Page Sonata and Piano Sonata No. 1 have always been
overshadowed by No. 2, the so-called Concord Sonata, and one need
only hear Marc-André Hamelin’s frankly unassailable performance of the
latter to understand why (Hyperion CDA67469). That said, Ives’s two earlier
contributions to the genre can be just as rewarding, as the recordings of
Philip Mead (Metier MSVCD92037) and Tamara Stefanovich (Pentatone
PTC5186741) amply demonstrate. As for the Austrian composer Bernhard Gander
and his Spidey tribute, they’re both new to me.
According to his booklet bio, the Finnish pianist Joonas Ahonen is as much
at home with an 18th-century fortepiano as he is playing in cutting-edge
contemporary-music groups. He’s already given us a much-lauded Ives album,
which includes a fine performance of the Concord Sonata, albeit the
version for flute, viola and piano. (Richard Hanlon
made it a Recording of the Month.) One of the most striking features of
Ahonen’s playing is its emphasis on subtlety and nuance. But while that’s
impressive in itself, I would have liked to hear more of Ives the
iconoclast, and forward thinker. The Finn’s first sonata is broadly
similar, with much to admire in terms of colour and detail. (Marion
Schwebel’s transparent, utterly truthful recording is very much in sync
with the pianist’s finely calibrated approach to the piece.) Again, I found
myself yearning for a bit more poke to go with that poise. In short, I
wanted a greater sense of the composer’s craft, his spontaneity and wit,
all of which Ahonen’s rivals frame far more persuasively than he does.
The big advantage of Mead’s collection, Varied Air, is that it
contains pretty decent versions of all three sonatas, plus a selection of
sets and studies. The sound is good, too, if not quite up to BIS’s
high standards. His playing in the first sonata may not be as insightful as
Ahonen’s, but in mitigation it’s robust and communicative, with a sure
sense of shape and purpose. But neither he nor Ahonen can begin to compete
with Stefanovich, who delivers the most satisfying – the most complete – performance of this kaleidoscopic score. Those Ivesian
japes and juxtapositions are genuinely exhilarating and she modulates
easily from tough to tender and back again. Indeed, this is an exceptional
release in every way, the immersive, you-are-there recording – made at the
Teldex Studio Berlin – a wonder to behold. (What a treat it would be to
hear this pianist in the Concord Sonata; I daresay she’d give
Hamelin a run for his money.) As it happens, this 2019 Pentatone release,
titled Influences, also includes very persuasive readings of
Bartók’s Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, Messiaen’s Cantéyodjayâ and J. S. Bach’s Aria Variata in A minor.
Not to be missed.
Peter Parker, Gander’s small contribution to the seemingly limitless Marvel franchise,
finds Ahonen in arresting, highly animated form. It’s a virtuosic display
that demands lightning-fast responses and complete control of the keyboard,
and the Finn is well up to the challenge. I sense he’s very much in his
element here, and that makes for a most engaging performance. As expected,
the sound is forensic, but never fatiguing. And there’s more good news.
Ahonen’s Three-Page Sonata is augmented here by the celesta; the
latter’s bell-like tones are ideal for the Westminster chimes woven into
this compact, yet wide-ranging piece. Throw in some early serialism, dances
and ragtime and the full extent of Ives’s musical ambitions is revealed.
What a delightful performance this is, Ahonen’s ability to bring out the
kinder, gentler Ives put to good use in quieter passages. And what a
pleasure to hear the gregarious, more dissonant ones essayed with such
dynamism and character. Indeed, that goes some way towards making up for my
earlier disappointment. Mead’s performance is very appealing, too; then
again, his entire set – full of good things – is a
mandatory purchase for Ives aficionados and pianophiles alike. As for the
BIS release, Axel Petri-Preis’s very informative liner-notes are
supplemented by a list of the composer’s trademark ‘borrowings’.
The shorter pieces come off best here; fine sonics all round.
Dan Morgan
