AVAILABILITY
http://vistavera.chat.ru
Denon and Arlecchino
have both issued a series of Sofronitsky
re-releases; the former in generally
better transfers but without English
notes, was issued in Japan. I believe
the Denon series ran to thirteen or
so volumes, releasing 17 CDs in all,
mostly presumably derived from Melodiya
LP source material. The Russian company
Vista Vera has now embarked on its own
Sofronitsky programme.
An individualist of
powerful personality Sofronitsky’s last,
live recordings – he preferred them
to studio ones - have generally been
shrouded in rumour as to his state of
health. His early death has been ascribed
to alcoholism but arrhythmia has been
convincingly advanced as a reason for
his increasing debilitation during those
final years. Certainly these Schumann
performances enshrine uneven musicianship
which at its best rises to exceptionally
eloquent heights but which can also
rely on less immediately appealing characteristics.
In Carnaval for instance he takes time
– understandably – to warm up but also
indulges in some precipitous voicings
and some harsh accents (in Préambule),
quixotic tempo acceleration (Pierrot)
and heavy handed phrasing (Coquette).
This is the kind of performance to be
judged on its own terms and reference
to say, Rachmaninov’s or Myra Hess’s
legendary recordings is best put to
one side. Sofronitsky is aptly full
of vigour and incisive rhythm in Lettres
dansantes (though his speed here is
relatively sedate) but does tend to
make a bit of a meal of the rubato,
voicings and dichotomy between rough
rhythm and legato in Estrella.
Kreisleriana amplifies
these occasional extremes of response.
In places he’s quite expansive, and
he tends to prefer relaxed nobility
of rhythm to say, Horowitz’s sense of
momentum. That said his gravity and
weighted chords in the fourth of the
pieces (Sehr Langsam) is undeniably
affecting and taken at a convincing
tempo. Arabesque is also fine and an
attractive reading.
Uneven yes but unsettlingly
human and with a technique still able
to cope with most demands, Sofronitsky
remains one of the troubling giants
of post-War pianism.
Jonathan Woolf
Vladimir Sofronitsky (piano) 
