Joplin’s Rags are malleable
enough creations to withstand a variety
of approaches. Strict classicists, who
adhere to the letter, number Joshua
Rifkin; out and out jazzers such as
Marcus Roberts have gone on record with
more inflammable results. Alexander
Peskanov adheres rather more to Rifkin’s
approach whilst still retaining individuality,
although sometimes at the expense of
propriety. Peskanov, who was born and
studied in the Ukraine, and later at
Juilliard, is also a composer and one
senses in his decorations, fills, and
occasionally idiosyncratic approach
to tempi a composer’s touch at work.
I liked his pleine
air approach to Pine Apple Rag and the
way he turns on the heat in the final
bars of Paragon Rag (something of a
bravado flourish in which he indulges
throughout the disc). I’d not heard
Country Club Rag before and Peskanov
certainly brings out the cocky varsity
rhetoric lying naughtily at its heart,
And the Concert Waltz, Bethena, much
the longest of these pieces, benefits
from his concern for form and for decorum,
even if it does outstay its welcome
in a performance as slow as this one.
And yet there are times when he follows
in too studied a way. Solace could do
with some Dick Hyman vitality (when
is his set going to be issued on CD?)
– despite Peskanov’s indulgence in unmarked
ritardandos and a smattering of other
romantic devices it’s still too slow
and not romantic enough. Of course Joplin
was famous for his admonition to play
Rags slowly – but they shouldn’t, it
seems to me, sound too slow. Yes, his
playful rubati in a joyous masterpiece
such as Elite Syncopations are titillating
in the extreme and it’s true that his
phrasing melts deliciously in The Strenuous
Life but he ambles through Pleasant
Moments – until he over compensates
at the end with a mighty ride-out flourish
- and some of the espressivo parts of
The Strenuous Life, do, on second hearing
sound just too ripe. As for Maple Leaf
Rag he takes it fast – though no one
has ever taken it as fast as Sidney
Bechet and his (collectively inebriated)
Feetwarmers back in 1932 – with some
doublings to thicken the texture.
The recital has been
attractively and sympathetically recorded
with decent notes and documentation.
Mixed views about Peskanov’s playing
then – much is warm and understanding
but some of the playing lacks a sense
of vitality and verve.
Jonathan Woolf
see also
review by Patrick Gary
Alexander Peskanov (piano) 