Recorded in concert at the Meany Theatre, Seattle in 1994,
the performances of the Opp. 28 and 45 Preludes constitute an undertaking
that Craig Sheppard meets with considerable reserves of imagination and
technique. His tone is one of great beauty and the inevitable digital
failings, mostly minor, one major, are of only passing concern. What will
be more contentious however is his personalised attitude to the degree
and application of rubato necessary to bring individual and collective
life to the Preludes. Some, albeit intriguing, executive decisions have
been made with regard to tempo relation, rubati and the shaping of the
works - more often than not the slower Preludes. These do call attention
to themselves.
He brings a wonderfully rich tone, warm and entirely lacking hardness
or brittleness, to the Preludes; his warmth is unignorable in the Fourth
Prelude of the Op 28 set. Here he is expressive and affectionate but
perhaps lacks assertiveness at the climax. In the Sixth, again attractively
phrased, he tends to layer tonal weight rather more than someone such
as, say, Moiseiwitsch (whose 1948 recording fuses indelible beauty with
architectural assurance). He cultivates tonal beauty prominently in
the Ninth Prelude but in the Thirteenth, at a slow tempo, he is rather
too much inclined to indulge in a degree of elasticity that buckles
the arch of the Prelude. Metrical freedom also courses through the Fifteenth
but one that to me retards and anticipates the rhythm in a way antipathetic
to the structural dictates of the piece. I found Sheppard too quick
in the Allegro molto, the Eighteenth, whatever the tempo designation.
His downward right hand runs are also not clearly articulated - skated
over, something he attempts to cover through overuse of the pedal. The
mishap in the Twenty-First is actually quite well camouflaged in the
circumstances and he recovers immediately; No. 24 is expressive and
technically adroit and a fine ending.
Scriabin's Twenty-Four Preludes Op. 11 seem to me slightly, though
not comprehensively, more successful. Once again his warmth and his
cultivation of colour are admirable features of his pianism. His musicianship
is never in doubt and his technique is strong. And yet here and there
a distinct rhythmic imbalance creeps into his playing. He can inflect
the line too sharply one way or the other to the detriment of both the
internal harmony of the particular Prelude and on a larger stage to
the cohesion of the set as a whole. Against that his tone is once again
unfailingly beautiful, enhanced by the naturalness of the recording,
and he is generous in his exploration of texture and colour.
Sheppard also wrote the notes - attractively to the point. As I said
there is little to fault with the sound quality of these live performances.
Jonathan Woolf
see also composite
review by Christopher Howell
Craig Sheppard (piano)