A few months ago I was impressed by recordings of
Beethoven’s Second and Fourth Piano Concertos by the American
pianist, Ingrid Jacoby (
review).
Now a recording of the mighty ‘Emperor’ concerto has arrived
in which, once again, she’s joined by Sinfonia Varsovia and Jacek
Kaspszyk.
I think that ICA Classics have been just a little bit naughty in their
packaging. Emblazoned across the front of the booklet is a highly enthusiastic
comment attributed to
International Record Review. The innocent
purchaser might reasonably conclude that the comment applies to this
disc but, in fact, it doesn’t; it is an extract from the review
in that magazine by Robert Matthew-Walker of the
previous release
in the series, the coupling of concertos two and four, though that’s
not made clear. Although there’s a good deal to enjoy in Miss
Jacoby’s account of the ‘Emperor’ concerto I don’t
think it’s of sufficient stature to have Mr Matthew-Walker’s
comment, taken out of context, linked to it.
It’s possible to take one of two views about the first movement
of the concerto. If you applaud energy and drive in Beethoven then you
may well like the momentum that Jacek Kaspszyk brings to the long orchestral
passage that follows the opening flourish. However, I feel that the
music demands just a bit more breadth than it receives here; there’s
no real sense of grandeur. This brisk basic tempo persists throughout
the movement though quite frequently the speed is modified momentarily
to enable an expressive point to be made; I’m not always comfortable
with these instances of slowing down. Miss Jacoby displays a lot of
clean fingerwork but as the movement unfolded I came to feel increasingly
that this is a performance in which no real depths are plumbed either
by the soloist or the conductor. Rather, one has the impression of surface
brilliance at the expense of rhetoric or thoughtfulness. I wonder if
that impression is enhanced by the sound, especially that of the piano,
which came across as rather bright on my equipment. I’m very much
afraid that at the end of the movement my overriding impression was
one of technical accomplishment but a somewhat superficial interpretation.
The second movement is nicely shaped and graceful but, once again, when
the music attained a loud volume the piano sound seemed bright, almost
brittle, to my ears. I had the impression that this movement is viewed
by these artists as an easeful nocturne-like movement between Beethoven’s
two big allegro movements. That’s a defensible point of view but
I think other pianists have found more in this serene adagio. The finale
finds Beethoven in good spirits and this performance has a good spring
in its step. Leaving aside the brightness of the sound - which may not
be an issue on other collectors’ equipment - I think this is the
most successful movement of the three in this performance.
The disc is filled out with performances of some shorter pieces which
Miss Jacoby recorded over twenty years ago - I don’t know if they’ve
been issued before. None of these works represent Beethoven at his most
profound but all are worth hearing. The brief Theme and Variations on
‘Rule, Britannia’ - not one of the movements lasts longer
than 1:30 - are pleasant and clever. They represent Beethoven in lighter
mood and they’re well done here. Miss Jacoby also does the ‘God
Save the King’ Variations successfully. These are equally pithy
and it’s only in the last variation that we find a movement longer
than 1:30. Yet even within such short time spans Beethoven can be clever
and inventive. The eleven Bagatelles, though from much later in his
career, are again very brief - the tenth one plays for a mere eighteen
seconds in this performance. They were written, at the request of a
friend, for a piano tutor and even in such a context Beethoven was incapable
of turning out music that was not original and well crafted. The Andante
favori, originally intended for the ‘Waldstein’ Sonata,
is the most substantial of these solo pieces and Ingrid Jacoby offers
a graceful performance.
Inevitably, purchasers will acquire this disc first and foremost for
the concerto and though this performance has its merits it would be
idle to pretend that there are not many better and more profound alternatives
on the market. I don’t think that this disc matches the quality
of its predecessor. Having said that, I shall be interested to hear
the final instalment in this cycle, which will feature the First and
Third concertos. Added interest in that release will stem from the fact
that Ingrid Jacoby is a direct descendant of the Prussian Prince Louis
Ferdinand, the dedicatee of the Third concerto.
John Quinn
Masterwork Index:
Beethoven
Piano concerto 5
