Angela
Hewitt suddenly seems intent on conquering the world of the
piano. She made her name with Bach, methodically recording most
if not all of his keyboard works. Then she moved to things French,
from ancient (Couperin and a recent disc of Rameau) to 20th
century (Messiaen), with Chopin and Chabrier in between. I’ve
enjoyed these recordings and wrote a favorable review of the
Chabrier disc. A consideration of her strengths made me curious,
but also somewhat wary, when I saw that she had recording a
disc of Beethoven sonatas, apparently the first of a complete
set.
The
Beethoven field is an exceedingly competitive one. András Schiff
and Garrick Ohlsson are only two of the eminent pianists currently
working their way through the sonatas. Unfortunately, Hewitt’s
performances here do not offer enough to warrant high consideration.
Her
playing demonstrates a rather restricted dynamic range. Surprisingly,
given the French repertoire she has done well in, it also displays
a dull tonal palette. One might say that she is in general far
too reserved to convey Beethoven’s vision. In comparison to
my favorite recordings of Beethoven’s piano works, those by
Claudio Arrau: Philips 462 358-2 is the whole shebang: 14 CDs
of the piano sonatas, concertos, and the triple concerto — but
it’s worth it, and you should get it. Arrau greater depth of
interpretation and technique make these remastered recordings
sound much better than the brand-new Hyperion issue.
I’ll
give brief examples from each of the three sonatas. In the largo
e mesto of the Sonata no. 7 — Hewitt’s own notes refer to
the “despair of this movement — her touch and tone is so light
as often to sound almost sunny. Arrau, on the other hand, gives
the sense of feeling the depth of each note. In no. 4, listen
to the largo, con gran expressione, about three minutes
in. Hewitt’s tone is dry, staccato, almost brittle. Arrau achieves
much better effect with a fuller sound that conveys drama, rather
than just nervous energy. However, Hewiit does keep things moving
forward at times that Arrau’s pace can seem to lag.
Perhaps
surprisingly, the Appassionata is the most successful
and interesting of the three. Hewitt really digs in when it’s
called for, which makes for nice contrast to the other moments
when she deploys her lighter touch. The weirdness comes, in
the first two movements, in the rhythm. Listen to the arpeggios
in the first movement, for instance — things sound out of kilter,
like you’re hopping on one foot. In the notes she quotes Tovey,
who says that “no piano work of Beethoven has suffered more
from that vile thing known as pianistic ‘traditon’” and “urges
us to trust Beethoven and play what he writes.” Did he write
the rhythms this way? They don’t sound correct, but they do
sound interesting.
Fans
of Hewitt’s work, of which I have been one, are likely to be
sufficiently curious to snap this up and see for themselves,
despite my reservations. Though I have the CD version, it has
also been issued in SACD. Surely, though, given that the flood
of new Beethoven sonata releases is unlikely soon to dry up,
it’s worth waiting. If you are looking for new insights into
these timeless, multi-faceted works, I cannot offer an unqualified
recommendation for Hewitt’s version, though there is the interestingly
quirky Appassionata.
Brian Burtt
