This is a stimulating
recital, well played and well recorded.
Andreas Bach possesses not only a formidable
technique which he certainly needs in
the post-Lisztian Rhapsody but
also the intellect and musicality required
to take on these works. He even provides
his own booklet notes; more pianists
should do the same.
The Rhapsody is characterised
by an over-arching sensitivity. This
is a late-Romantic work, and Bach presents
it as such unashamedly. The slower,
more tender passages (try around 11-12
minutes) are especially effective, yet
the sense of abandon around 17’ is completely
appropriate. There is some cheeky playing
here, too, as Bach responds chameleon-like
to Bartók’s varied scenery. The
twenty seconds (no less!) of silence
Ohms Classics leave at the end of the
work is perhaps excessive, but perhaps
they think we need the breathing space.
Certainly the quiet close of the work,
with its recitative-like tendencies,
is grippingly inward - almost like some
late Liszt. Superb. This makes an ideal
complement to Zoltan Kocsis’s benchmark
CD (Philips 464 639-2; ),
which includes two versions of this
piece.
The three Etudes
of 1918 show just how far the composer
had journeyed in the intervening years.
The first shows just how much Ligeti
has been influenced by the master, with
its obsessive figures and its harmonically
intrepid language. The second is, in
contrast, twilit, exuding a sense of
time being stretched. A flighty Rubato-Tempo
giusto rounds off the set. Bach is happiest
possibly in the Andante sostenuto (the
second).
The rest of this recital
presents more familiar ground. The Suite
(1916) is shown to be a varied work,
jaunty (first movement), cheeky (second),
toccata-like (third) and finally hypnotic.
Bach seems to particularly enjoy the
humorous elements - his Bartók
loves life.
The brief Sonatine
is delightful, especially when as well
played as here. Bach’s pedal- work in
the first movement is excellent, just
avoiding blurring textures; his bear
dances mot amusingly in the second.
Out of Doors
(‘Im Freien’ as it appears here) boasts
a first movement that anticipates the
Allegro barbaro that is to close this
recital. A liquid Barcarolle is a highlight
of this performance, as is the Night
Music fourth movement. Finally, the
Allegro barbaro - one of Bartók’s
most famous pieces - is exciting without
being pounded. There is a massive temptation
to savage the piano in this piece that
Bach resists commendably.
Enthusiastically recommended.
Bach is a most musical pianist whose
understanding of the Bartókian
idiom should be sampled.
Colin Clarke
Andreas Bach (piano) 
