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Availability
CD: Russian CD Shop
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Ludwig van BEETHOVEN
(1770-1827)
Piano Sonata No.
14 in C sharp minor ("Moonlight"), Op. 27/2 (1801) [14:44]
Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor ("Tempest"),
Op. 31/2 (1801-02) [18:11]
Piano
Sonata No. 30 in E major, Op. 109 (1820) [16:32]
Piano Sonata No. 31 in A flat major, Op. 110
(1821) [16:44]
Heinrich Neuhaus (piano)
rec. Moscow 1946-50
RUSSIAN COMPACT DISC (RUSSIAN
PIANO SCHOOL) RCD16245 [66:50]
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Neuhaus's Tempest
Sonata is a splendid example of the implacable strength of his approach.
Recorded in 1946 by which time he was fifty-eight it's certainly not
note-perfect by any means. But such matters as the dropped notes in the opening
movement are of little account when measured against the sense of engagement
with the music that Neuhaus stakes out. There is no sense of externalised music
making in a performance such as this, simply an accumulated concentration on
what Neuhaus locates as the music's essence - conveyed in a way that can be
terse and maybe even clipped, but that rewards the listener with the gravity
and depth of the understanding. You'll also find it on APR 5660.
The Moonlight
reprises these qualities of
rugged nobility of utterance. There's gravity in the opening
movement's unfolding but no bogus sentiment. The accelerandi in
the finale are visceral, voicings strong, dynamics powerful, the
music making one of unostentatious dynamism. Op. 109 shows us the
so-called 'philosopher' Neuhaus - I've always found the
appellation a bit forced; he hardly needs such descriptive
raiment. He etches the bass with adamantine control and whilst
it's true that he can be technically fallible, not least in the
hair raising Prestissimo, this is of far, far less importance than
the sense of engulfment he summons. It's known that he referred to
Beethoven as 'the father of impressionism' and the slow movement
of this sonata in particular as a 'divine prayer and song'. He
plays it with the wisdom of a stoic, not too slowly, but with
absolute intellectual probity. There's occasional wow or
distortion especially at 5:77 in this movement.
When
Neuhaus wrote about Op.110 he did so principally in pictorial and
narrative terms. The 'dreamy instability' of the sonata's opening
alternates with the strongly hewn exploration of the Allegro molto
central movement. He brings a strong linear control to bear
finding culminatory, consolatory fell in the fugue. It's a reading
of the utmost probity and moving control. The recording here, as
elsewhere, is of the somewhat rough and ready type, typical of the
period in Moscow.
There are interesting booklet notes in
perfectly serviceable English. If you've not encountered Neuhaus
in this repertoire then this concentrated focus is a good place to
start.
Jonathan Woolf
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