Ever since I heard American pianist William Wolfram’s Liszt/Donizetti
disc – review
– I’ve been looking forward to more from this arresting virtuoso.
Naxos must be pleased with the progress of this series, which
has garnered such positive comments here and elsewhere. And
just seconds into this Bellini album I was sure this was going
to be something rather special. That same commanding keyboard
presence and a fine recording – what more could one possibly
want?
As Keith Anderson’s excellent liner-notes remind us, operatic
paraphrases, fantasies and transcriptions were the virtuoso’s
stock-in-trade. Liszt had few peers in this field, as his coruscating
take on Bellini’s celebrated sleep-walker amply confirms. Artful
as ever, he weaves disparate threads from the opera into a thrilling
tapestry, full of drama and high contrast. After those opening
staccati Wolfram goes on to phrase and shade this music
with astonishing skill, complex inner details laid bare; but
that’s not all that Wolfram reveals, for behind the more extrovert
gestures are quiet, reflective moments essayed with grace and
sensitivity. That said, it’s the free-flowing rhythms that really
impress; indeed, one senses Wolfram has unwavering sight of
Liszt’s longer spans, which gives his performance a wonderful,
inexorable logic and shape.
Norma is Bellini’s most enduring and accomplished opera,
as anyone who knows the Callas and Sutherland recordings will
surely testify; and for those who like to see their opera as
well there’s a DVD of Caballé’s formidable priestess, filmed
at a wind-swept outdoor performance in Provence. As for Norma,
hers is a classic operatic dilemma of private needs and public
duties, a dichotomy that Liszt captures so well in this epic
synthesis; the inner – and inward – voices are beautifully articulated,
Wolfram purposeful in the valleys and surefooted on the peaks.
After that final peroration all that’s missing is the roar of
an appreciative audience. A thrilling performance all round.
If anything, the remaining pieces, based on Bellini’s I Puritani,
are more overtly dramatic, Wolfram colouring the music with
great care; indeed, it’s a mark of his skill that he does so
without mannerism or artifice. Again it’s that supple, unbroken
sense of rhythm that makes the most impact, a powerful well-spring
from which Bellini’s melodies flow. But what I admire most about
Wolfram is the easy assurance of his playing – especially welcome
in such bravura pieces – and his ability to dazzle and yet remain
firmly focused on musical structures. A rare talent in an age
stuffed with superficial and generally self-regarding keyboard
artists.
There’s really nothing to criticise here; the playing is top-notch
and the recording is pretty good too. Keith Anderson’s liner-notes
are a model of their kind, and one I wish more labels would
emulate. Yes, the music is paramount but for me a well-written
and presented booklet is not an after-thought but a perfect
and necessary complement to great music-making.
Dan Morgan
See also review
by John Sheppard.
William Wolfram (piano) 
