Too often one has to complain about pianists who are
speed-merchants; here, perhaps the opposite applies. The remarkable
thing about this recording of the Paganini Variations is that it takes
just over 25 minutes as opposed to the usual 21 or so – a big difference
in a piece of this length. I say ‘perhaps’, for some listeners may warm
to the deliberate tempi which Zeltser consistently opts for: they certainly
allow every one of Rachmaninov’s numerous felicitous orchestral details
to make their mark (as is not always the case). As against that, the
faster variations lose something of their forward momentum (sample
1) while the slower variations are a touch languid (sample 2). But
there’s a splendid eighteenth variation and the final dash for home
is just as it should be.
Beautifully played and accompanied in a well-balanced
(the piano mercifully not too forward) and spacious recording (as is
that of the Prokofiev which follows).
The same deliberate approach to tempi also characterises
Zeltser’s interpretation of the Prokofiev, though at 30 minutes – as
opposed to the standard 27 minutes – the differential is here rather
less noticeable. And here and there he does allow himself a little rush
of blood. Occasionally the result of this steady-as-she-goes approach
is stolid; on the other hand it pays off elsewhere, as in the second
movement’s ‘misterioso’. Overall Zeltser’s robust approach to the finale
is spot-on, and you couldn’t wish for a riper account of its ‘big tune’
and its reflective interludes. And he brings great panache to that wonderful
hurtling coda.
Leaving questions of tempi aside, the most striking
thing about this disc is Zeltser’s wonderfully clean and crisply articulated
piano-playing, and this is the disc’s strongest recommendation. In addition,
Barshai and his forces provide excellent and sympathetic accompaniments.
Adrian Smith
Orchestra/Rudolf Barshai - Recorded in the Philharmonie, Cologne in
1999 (or possibly earlier)