The qualities
of these and other Brendel recordings, made by Vox and Vanguard
in Vienna in the early- and mid-1960s, are so well known
as almost to need no further recommendation from me.
I remember the
excitement caused by the first releases of Brendel’s Mozart
on World Record Club. These subsequently became more widely
available on the Turnabout label at 19/11 (99p). Several
of these formed the nucleus of my Mozart Piano Concerto recordings
until the changeover to CD. His performances of Sonata No.8
(K310), the Fantasy in c (K396), Piano Concertos 9 and 14
with the Solisti di Zagreb, and other solo pieces remain
available on an inexpensive 2-CD Vanguard Archive set, ATMCD1890. Regis
offer a budget-price CD of Piano Concertos 17 and 27 with
the Vienna Volksoper Orchestra and Paul Angerer, one of those
Vox recordings that first made the headlines in its WRC incarnation
(RRC1154). Tuxedo, in the same price range, offers Concertos
22 and 25 from those early recordings (TUXCD1046). There’s
also a low-price 2-CD Vox set of Concertos 19, 20, the 2-piano
Concerto, etc., on CDX5177.
It soon became
apparent that Brendel’s talents were not just for Mozart:
his Liszt, Beethoven and Schubert also began to attract attention. Regis
have a CD of the complete Schubert
Impromptus from
the Vox era (RRC1019). He was soon taken up by Philips,
which gave his recordings wider availability. I particularly
treasure his ADD Schubert recordings from this early period
with Philips. These include, notably the
Impromptus (Philips
mid-price 442 543 2)
‘Wanderer’ Fantasia (currently
unavailable?) and the late Piano Sonatas, now on 2-CD Philips
Duo 438 703 2 - in some ways preferable to his later digital
remakes.
The budget label
Alto, too, has played its part in making Brendel’s early
recordings available. They have a CD of Schubert’s Piano
Sonatas Nos.15 and 19 and 16 German Dances (ALC1040), another
Brendel recording which has long formed a valued part of
my collection in its earlier Vanguard CD incarnation. Now
this new reissue serves to remind us of the virtues of Brendel’s
Schumann.
Competition in
the
Fantasie is much stronger now than it was in 1966
and Brendel’s performance will not be to all tastes. Though
he famously declares that he plays ‘plastered’, this doesn’t
mean that his performances are inebriated, merely that he
protects his finger tips with strips of sticking plaster. In
fact his version of what many regard as the central plank
of the romantic piano repertoire is too cool, too Beethovenian
for some. Personally, I like the way that he reminds us
of the extent to which this work stands in the line of development
from Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. Others will prefer Sviatoslav
Richter, recently available in this same, lowest price-bracket
on EMI Encore.
Surprisingly,
this Encore CD seems to be no longer available. It’s well
worth looking for remainders or second-hand copies (5 575233
2, with
Faschingsschwank and
Papillons). Richter’s
version of the
Fantasie remains available on a slightly
more expensive EMI Great Artists CD (5 62960 2), with the
Schubert
‘Wanderer’ Fantasia. You can download the
Encore recording from iTunes but, at £7.99, that’s little
cheaper than buying the mid-price version. There’s also
a classic Pollini recording on mid-price DG Originals, also
aptly coupled with Schubert’s
‘Wanderer’ Fantasia (447
451 2), available from iTunes for £7.99 – again, a very small
saving over buying the CD.
I’d describe Brendel’s
playing as reflective rather than cool. For my taste this
is appropriate for a composer who famously considered himself
to have an introspective Eusebius side to his personality
as well as an impetuous Florestan. The
Fantasie, a
product of his love for Clara, contains as much
Sehnsucht,
or longing, as passion.
The opening movement
is marked
Durchaus phantastisch und leidenschäftlich zu
vertragen, stressing the fantasy and suffering inherent
in the music. Brendel certainly captures both this and the
energy in the second movement.
Durchaus energisch,
wholly energetic, or energetic throughout, says the direction – so
it’s not all Eusebius here. There’s passion in his playing,
too, where appropriate. At times his performance of the
final movement brings Beethoven’s
Pathétique Sonata
to mind. If it weren’t for those reservations that I know
exist in some quarters, I’d make this Bargain of the Month.
Richter is slower
than Brendel in the outer movements and considerably faster
in the second but I never felt that Brendel’s tempi were
anything other than right within the context of his overall
interpretation. The difference between his 8:15 and Richter’s
6:45 and Leif Ove Andsnes’s 6:54, on another EMI recording,
in the second movement is not reflected in any sense that
Brendel is too slow here – as I’ve said, there is actually
plenty of energy. As so often, tempo is less important than
keeping the music moving, which Brendel certainly does.
This music is
susceptible to a wide variety of emphases and tempi: the
highly regarded version by Andsnes on EMI, very recently
reissued on budget-price Encore (2 35741 2, with the
Piano
Sonata No.1) is actually faster than Brendel in the first
movement and almost exactly in agreement with him in his
tempo for the finale. If you can tolerate the obtrusive
advertising on each track, you can listen to this Andsnes
version free on We7.com. Yet, though Andsnes doesn’t lose
sight of the
phantastisch and
leidenschäftlich elements
of the opening movement, I think Brendel captures them slightly
better. I don’t think, however, that you’d go far wrong with
the Encore reissue and you may well prefer the coupling to
Brendel’s
You can also hear
Michel Dalberto’s version (Warner Apex, with the
Abegg
Variations) free on We7, with tempi much closer to Brendel’s
than most of the competition.
The other rival
in this lowest price-bracket is Alicia deLarrocha on Eloquence
476 9910, which Christopher Howell found too middle-of-the-road
and not well enough recorded – see
review.
Few will buy this
Alto reissue for the sake of the coupling, the
Etudes
Symphoniques, but these are well worth hearing; Brendel’s
playing is idiomatic and sympathetic and he brings the house
down in No.12 on the final track.
Prospective buyers
need have no serious reservations about the quality of the
1966 recording, the age of which Alto make no attempt to
hide. It doesn’t sound fresh-minted but it’s much more than
serviceable. The notes, too, are short but serviceable. For
me this is a marvellous reissue, but bear in mind those reservations
which some have expressed and the availability of the Andsnes
reissue in the same price-bracket.
Brian Wilson
Alfred Brendel (piano) 
