Comparisons:
Handel Variations - Fleischer/Sony,
Katchen/Decca, Cohen/Vox
Eroica Variations - Richter/Music
& Arts, Roberts/Nimbus
This Helios disc is
a reissue of a Collins Classics recording
from the early 1990s and offers excellent
performances of two of the most well-known
variations compositions for solo piano.
Seta Tanyel is not among the most intense
of pianists, but she delivers elegant
and lovely readings combined with an
exceptional display of playful personality
when needed.
Brahms composed the
Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel
in 1861 for Clara Schumann's 42nd birthday.
She played the work in public for the
first time in Hamburg later that year.
The Variations have their genesis in
a theme in Handel's Keyboard Suite in
B flat where the theme is subjected
to five variations. Brahms enlarged
the scope to 25 variations and added
an extended fugue.
Debate could go on
for days concerning the merit of the
Handel Variations in comparison to Bach's
Goldberg and Beethoven's Diabelli. I
love each of these works dearly, and
would hate to make comparisons. Suffice
to say that each work displays a wide
and inspirational variety of music and
is a staple of the keyboard genre.
Leon Fleisher's account
of the Handel Variations has been one
of my favorites for many years, and
I have to say that Tanyel is not far
behind his superlative performance.
The gorgeous phrasing she offers in
the Theme is a good example of the priority
she places on the sheer beauty in the
work. Her rhythmic lift is always excellent
and particularly appealing in Variations
3 and 10. When exuberance is called
for, as in Variations 4, 7, and 8, Tanyel
is fast out of the gate and never looks
back. She also provides a melting lyricism
that pierces the heart, Variations 11
and 18 being prime examples. To add
to the allure of her performance, she
creates compelling mystery in Variations
5 and 21. This is the area where I find
Tanyel better than Fleisher. He doesn't
place a high priority on mystery, and
his dry acoustic is of no assistance.
I do have a few quibbles
about Tanyel's Handel Variations. Her
trills are generally not perfectly formed,
a little problem most noticeable in
Variation 1. The result is that the
trills do not seem an integral part
of the musical argument. My other reservations
concern some lack of tension in Variation
9 that dampens the sense of intense
struggle, and a uniform lack of menace
to Variations 23 and 24; the rolled
chords in Variation 24 are particularly
benign (although loud). These are reservations
that hold the performance back from
being outstanding, for it is an excellently
played interpretation that I have enjoyed
very much over the past few weeks.
Beethoven's Eroica
Variations is based on a binary theme
from the finale of his ballet Prometheus
written in 1801. The composer also used
this same theme for one of his contredanses
and in the finale of his Symphony No.
3. Beethoven considered the Eroica Variations
to be highly unconventional in form,
and its beginning is ample proof. Instead
of starting with the presentation of
the Prometheus theme, Beethoven creates
an introduction where the theme's bass
is presented in octaves, then two parts,
three parts and four parts. The Prometheus
theme then takes over and is followed
by 15 variations and a fugue.
When I listen to the
Eroica Variations I am always impressed
with its consistently brash and playful
nature. A performance that well conveys
these two qualities along with the intense
melancholy of Variation 24 routinely
gets my approval. Tanyel delivers on
this front, with the work's playful
nature given center stage. I do wish
she had placed greater emphasis on an
aggressive presentation in the manner
of Bernard Roberts, but the interpretation
remains vital and rewarding. By the
way, do try to hear the Sviatoslav Richter
version on Music & Arts; the sound
is not very appealing, but the performance
has the most compelling and concentrated
arpeggios I have ever encountered.
With excellent sonics
having an ideal level of reverberation,
I warmly recommend this Seta Tanyel
disc at budget price. The performances
are not among the best on record, but
Tanyel's playful Beethoven and loving
Brahms make for a very attractive coupling.
Those further interested in Tanyel's
artistry might like to know that she
has several other recordings in the
catalogs including two volumes of the
Hyperion Romantic Piano series and a
few discs on Helios devoted to the piano
works of Moritz Moszkowski and Franz
Xaver Scharwenka.
Don Satz
for details
Seta Tanyel, piano 
