This continues the
series of Blumental performances that
Brana has been releasing. Known for
her championing of unusual repertoire,
it is a touch surprising to find the
Grieg concerto here. The inclusion of
a warhorse is made up for by the fact
that its mates here are two rarely recorded
works: the Faure Fantasie and the Liszt/Busoni
Rhapsodie Espagnole.
Born in Poland and
a pupil of Szymanowski, Blumental settled
in Brazil and spent the next decade
there. Several composers dedicated works
to her; Villa-Lobos with his fifth piano
concerto, Penderecki with his partita
for harpsichord and orchestra, and Lutosławski’s
orchestration of his Paganini variations.
Since her death in 1991, her recordings,
as well as her fame, have faded. It
is to Brana’s credit that these recordings
are being re-released.
Sadly Brana disappoint
in that, for these historic performances,
no information is given regarding dates
or venue. Sound quality also varies
widely. The Fauré, in itself
a find, as it is rarely performed, is
the best sounding of the bunch. The
remastering has cleaned up the recording,
and there is a good dynamic change in
the crescendi. The Liszt/Busoni has
more tape hiss, but more presence and
brightness than the Fauré, and
certainly better than the Grieg.
The Grieg performance
is very oddly unbalanced, with the treble
side of the keyboard coming almost entirely
out of the left channel, the bass side
coming from the right, and all the time
the orchestra struggling in the muddy
distance. The overall effect on a good
sound system is strange. It is very
difficult to listen to on headphones,
giving the impression that one is going
deaf in one ear. This is a pity, as
Blumental here is solid overall, playing
some of the passages with a certain
urgency, but with an ear to restraint
— the comment about Horowitz’s focus
on the many levels of pianissimo
comes to mind. The pity here is that
at times the levels of pianissimo
get somewhat lost.
Blumental’s performances
are good, and this disc is worth picking
up for the Fauré and the Liszt/Busoni.
The Grieg, though well played, is far
better presented elsewhere and was unnecessary
to include in this series of re-releases.
Perhaps Brana will also include more
information on the performances in future
discs.
David Blomenberg
Felicja Blumental (piano) 
