Regular readers of Musicweb reviews
will be familiar with the name Joyce
Hatto. It was at the beginning of 2003
that I received the first of her discs
for review,
Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 3.
Her name on the cover took me back to
the sixties and many happy hours spent
sifting through cheap and cheerful LPs
in second-hand shops. I had never heard
her play, however, whether in concert
or on record, and was expecting something
routine and workmanlike. How wrong I
was! The performance held my attention
from those simple opening octaves: it
is a stupendous reading worthy of a
place amongst the finest.
Since then I have reviewed
a few of her discs here and have had
the privilege of providing the insert
notes for quite a few more. Her discs
are regularly reviewed by my Musicweb
colleagues. Readers might be forgiven
for thinking that this site was running
a single-handed campaign to promote
her work. There have even been accusations
of bias. Well, doubters can now look
elsewhere, for there has recently been
an upsurge in interest in this remarkable
artist in other publications as well.
An interview
with Richard Dyer in the Boston Globe,
for example, which was followed by a
long piece on this site by Ates
Orga. Then, of course, and not a moment
too soon, came recognition from the
Gramophone, in an article about her
where she is described as "one of the
greatest [pianists] Jeremy Nicholas
has ever heard".
Here she is in a collection
of operatic transcriptions, an issue
which forms part of her huge Liszt discography.
Liszt's catalogue of works contains
an astonishing number of piano transcriptions
of works by other composers. Some of
these are extremely faithful to the
original one thinks of the Beethoven
symphonies or the fearsome Erlkönig
amongst many Schubert Lieder whereas
others are more rhapsodic, taking themes
from here and there in larger works
and treating them to more or less free
development. These latter pieces are
more properly referred to as paraphrases,
and one of the most remarkable aspects
of them is how they manage to sound
like Liszt and the original composer
at the same time. Joyce Hatto writes
the insert notes for this disc, where
she carefully explains Liszt's lifelong
interest in Italian opera, embarking
on more than one project, though none
ever reached completion. These transcriptions
and paraphrases, then, are as close
as we can get to a Liszt Italian opera.
The recital opens in
an atmosphere of devotion with a transcription
of the passage Verdi composed to replace
an Ave Maria whose removal was
ordered by the Milanese authorities
before the first performance of I
Lombardi in that city in 1843. The
Ernani Paraphrase is, as the
title suggests, a kind of fantasy based
on themes from the opera, dramatic,
fiery and passionate, a piece of virtuoso
piano writing which nonetheless retains
its theatrical atmosphere. As does Liszt's
way with Don Carlos, beginning
with a burst of dance-like energy and
about which I can do no better than
to quote the pianist, who writes that
Liszt "... managed to convey the main
ingredients of the vast score in about
twelve minutes flat. All the great tunes
are there, or suggested in some instances
..." About the Aida paraphrase
she writes that it is one of the most
difficult, though perhaps typically
she refers not to the cascades of notes
she dispatches with astonishing skill
but to the problem of creating "a seamless
transition" between life (the Sacred
Dance) and death (the final duet)
as well as the contrast between the
sacred world and the profane. The piece
itself is a remarkably moving act of
homage on the part of one great composer
to another. The Rigoletto Paraphrase
concentrates on the great Act 3 quartet
and sent me back to Verdi's score to
appreciate Liszt's extraordinary skill
in bringing out not only the music but
the character of each of the protagonists.
And the disc is almost worth buying
just for Joyce Hatto's amusing backstage
story recounted in the booklet ... or
if not, for the stunning octaves with
which the piece ends! Most listeners,
will, I think, be familiar with the
melody of the Miserere from Il
Trovatore, but Liszt's transcription
will, as is so often the case with this
remarkable collection, open their ears
to a new way of hearing the piece. The
final Verdi-based piece carries Liszt's
rather charming title Réminiscences,
implying much more than a simple transcription.
And so it is, an extended piano piece
in Liszt's later, less overtly flamboyant
style, presenting and developing a number
of themes from Simon Boccanegra
in a most inventive and varied way.
This is perhaps the piece which most
clearly encapsulates the qualities of
this extraordinary pianist, particularly
the middle section which features stunning
virtuosity as well as playing which
is both poised and beautifully sensitive.
The disc ends with
the Waltz from Gounod's Faust.
The ferocious outer sections of this
ten-minute work enclose a central section
based on the love duet Ô nuit
d'amour. Let us turn a final time
to the pianist's own words. Quoting
her teacher, Serge Krish, she writes
that "
bravura does not just
mean velocity. It encompasses every
aspect of a performance, tone, colouring,
inner voices, crescendos and
decrescendos, accelerandos, and, above
all, that spontaneous manner that must
always disguise the many hours of preparation,
consideration and practice that it takes
to formulate a performance that still
follows the composer's wishes and not
one's own." I think these words are
better than any I might write as a way
of appreciating Joyce Hatto's playing
as well as her musical and personal
integrity, placing herself always at
the service of the composer.
The disc is well recorded
and presented. If the programme appeals
it is not to be missed.
William Hedley
Complete
Concert Artist Catalogue
see also Joyce
Hatto by Ates Orga
Joyce Hatto (piano) 
for
details
