Gramophone – September 2019

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 201 9115

P

hilippeEntremont’splayingis

habituallyajoytolistento,most

especiallyinmusicthatdoesn’t

callonthefullextentofhisvirtuoso

capabilities.Thiscollectionincludes

amongitsgenerouscontents–which

involvesnumerousrepertory

duplications–shortstudies,

sonatinasorsonatasbythelikes

ofBeethoven,Kuhlau,Clementi,

Dussek,Hasse,CPEand

JSBach,Petzold,Burgmüller

andHaydn,manyofthem

recordedinJapan(asarevarious

otherpiecesincludedintheset).

Thatsaid,TheCompletePiano

SoloRecordingsissomethingofa

misnomergiventhatifyouturnto

SonyClassical’searlierandequally

admirablecollection‘PhilippeEntremont:

TheCompletePianoConcerto

Recordings’(or,moreaccurately,‘The

CompleteRecordingsofWorksfor

PianoandOrchestra’)youencounterthree

RachmaninovPreludesandaMozartsolo

Sonata(K282)whicharenotincludedin

thepresentset,sucharetheconceptual

limitationsof‘originalalbum’presentation.

Furthermore,this‘solo’collectionincludes

numerousworkswherethepianistisheard

eitherwithorchestra/chamberensembleor

induetwithanothermusician.I’mthinking

ofRavelandSatiemélodiescharacterfully

sungbyRégineCréspin,andbeautiful

performancesofBeethovenandBrahms

cellosonatas(Nos 3 and 2 respectively)

withMauriceGendron,ratherlikeacello-

sonataequivalentoftheclassicFrancescatti-

Casadesuspartnershipinviolinsonatas

(seepage117),readingsthatparadesimilar

virtuesofvibrantlyexpressedstring-playing

setagainstsculptedpianism.

Asfortheworkswithorchestra,there’s

anentertainingdiscfeaturingbrilliantly

dispatchedperformancesofDohnányi’s

VariationsonaNurseryTune,Richard

Strauss’sBurleskeandLitolff’sScherzowith

theNationalPhilharmonicunderOkko

Kamu,andanentertainingpresentationof

Saint-Saëns’sCarnivaloftheAnimalswhere

EntremontisjoinedbyGabyCasadesus

andawholerangeoffineinstrumentalists

includingYo-YoMa.AlsowithCasadesus,

thereareSaint-Saëns’sBeethovenVariations

andthePolonaise,Op77.

Somuchfor‘Entremontwithfriends’.

Regardingthesolomaterial,Iturnin

thefirstinstancetoHaydn,hisDmajor

Sonata,HobXVI:37,theexcitedbusyness

oftheopeningAllegroconbrioandthe

shockingcontrastwiththedarklymajestic

Largoesostenutothatfollows.Ifyouneed

proofofEntremont’sacutesensitivityto

dynamics,trytheopeningModeratoof

theCsharpminorSonata,HobXVI:36.

Thenthere’sthenimbleclosingRondo

ofClementi’stinySonatinainF,Op 36

No 4 – playingakintoHorowitzinits

lightnessandwit–orthesheerfunof

Beethoven’sconciseOp 79 Sonata,the

openingmovementespecially.

Entremont’s‘completesoloRavel’

(mid-1970s)hasalreadybeenouton

SonyMasterworksbutwereItochoosea

highlightfromhisRaveldiscography,I’d

inclinemoretowardsaslightlybroader

versionofthePavanepouruneinfante

défuntefrom1970,wherethemusicunfolds

withwarmthandaffectingsimplicity.As

to‘Alboradadelgracioso’(fromMiroirs),

again,I’dchoosethecolour-conscious

1970 option.WithDebussytherearetwo

separateCDprogrammesplusadditional

singletracks,Pourlepianoperhapsbest

illustratingEntremont’snaturalfeelforthe

music’sveiledlanguageandhisappreciation

oftheinherentmysteryin,say,thecentral

‘Sarabande’,orindeedafinelynuanced

accountof‘HommageàRameau’from

ImagesBook1,whichbenefitsfroman

impassionedcentralsection.

Entremont’swaywithChopincan

bebothexcitable(FirstBalladeandthe

‘Revolutionary’Étude,especially

in1967)andstructure-conscious

(FourthBallade);alwayswith

him,therearesignificant

ingredientsandyettheresultant

flavourneverbringsanyone

elementexcessivelytothefore.

He’stoomuchtheartistfor

that.We’regiventheBallades

andScherzoscomplete,

withgenerousselectionsof

WaltzesandPolonaises.Inthe

‘Raindrop’Preludehemakes

muchofthechorale-stylecentral

section,thougheverythingiskeptin

proportion.Evidenceofthisbalanced

approachcanbeheardinnumerous

individualperformances.Takehis

controlledhandlingofJesu,joyofman’s

desiringoroneofthemostfamiliarofall

pianominiatures(thecollectionisfullof

tiny,imaginativelyturnedgenrepieces),

Dvo∑ák’sHumoresqueinGflat,genuinely

pocolentoegraziosoonthisoccasion,with

finelyjudgedrubato.

There’ssomuchtosavourthroughout:

imagination,invariableagility,chords

sometimesdesynchronisedtoexpressive

effect,afeelingfortheoverallshapeofa

phrase,afrequentsenseofspontaneous

involvementwiththescoretohand,not

tomentionrefinedsensibilitiesasicing

onthecake.AndEntremont’splacein

thelate-vintagerosterofSonyClassical

pianists?Toquotejustahandful,I’d

saylessintellectuallyuncompromising

thanSerkinoraudaciouslyvisceralthan

Horowitz,moreromanticallyinclined

thanCasadesus,andlightyearsremoved

instylefromthejackpot-winningwildcard

GlennGould.Letmeputitthisway:ifas

anaspiringyoungpianistI’dhavechanced

uponmuchofthisrepertoireinthese

particularrecordings,andhadsubsequently

beenaskedhowI’dliketointerpretthat

repertoirepersonally,Imaywellhave

answered‘likePhilippeEntremont’.The

soundqualityvaries,sometimesclosely

balancedinCBS/Sony’sfamiliarhouse

style,sometimesmoreresonantorambient,

butalwayswithpresenceandclarity.Only

thefirsttwoCDsareinmono.Avery

happyrecommendation,withexcellent

notesbyJedDistler.

REISSUES

PHOTOGRAPHY:

DICK MILLER/SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
THE RECORDING
Philippe Entremont
The Complete Piano Solo Recordings
Sony Classical S k 19075 89944-2

he stylish onsieur ntremont

Rob Cowan on an elegant pianist whose French repertoire demands to be heard