84 GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2019 gramophone.co.uk
InstagramselfiesalongsideRaphael’s
LoSposalizioandMichelangelo’sIlPenseroso
fromthetombofLorenzode’Medici,
possiblyimitatingtheposeofthesculpture
andtweetinghowmuchhe’denjoyed
readingPetrarch’ssonnetsandDante’s
DivineComedy.Sadlydeprivedofsuch
modernmarvels,heinsteadcreatedhisown
imaginednewworldinhisthreevolumesof
travelchronicles,inwhichartisticforms,
poetryandexpressionsofdivinelove
cohabitandfeedintooneanother.
LikethefirstinstalmentofFrancesco
Piemontesi’sPèlerinageproject(8/18),his
follow-upaddsvisualstothemix,witha
DVDdocumentaryconsistingoflocation-
shotexcerpts.Iwashopingforamore
artisticexplorationoftherelationbetween
sightandsoundinRobertaPedrini’sfilm;
insteadshesimplyinterspersesfilmed
piano-playingofeachpiecewithshort
interludesthatvaryfromaquicksnapof
Michelangelo’sworkandFlorencetoan
interviewinwhichPiemontesigivesabrief
butcharmingintroductiontothe‘Dante
Sonata’.Perhapsthebestthingaboutthe
filmisthechancetohearthesonnetsof
PetrarchreadinItalian.Themusicofthe
wordsinthevernacularsuggeststhatthis
mayhavedeterminedLiszt’sresponsesas
muchasthemeaningandsubjectmatter.
OntheCD,Piemontesishowsthesame
qualitiesofsensitivityandintelligencethat
comeacrossinthefilm.Buthedoeshave
atendencytoapplyacoatingofpassion
andexultationtoalmosteverything–a
thincoat,admittedly,forthemostpart,
andonethatattimesactuallyhelpsto
keepthepiecealive.Thisislessthansubtly
appliedintheSonata.Here,comparedto
DanielBarenboim,forinstance,Piemontesi
soundsemotionallymonochromeand
lessalivetothenuancesofthework’s
dramaticunfolding.
Barenboim,andinparticularKathryn
Stott,alsolendthePetrarchSonnetsa
greaterdegreeofpoetryandnarrative
quality,withouteverdescendinginto
mannerism.Listen,forinstance,to
howStottkeepsthesingingqualityin
Sonnet47,evenasshecreatesanoasis
ofnear-timelessness.Comparedtothese
andtoArcadiVolodos’sdazzlingyethighly
rhetoricalaccountofthetwoopening
numbersoftheset,Piemontesidraws
amoreliteral,straightforwardpicture.
Volodosalsobringssuperiorindividuality
andvarietyoftoneandtexturetothefirst
ofthetwoLégendes.Giventhevoyagefocus
oftheseries,Iwonderifthesupplementary
VeneziaeNapolimighthavemadefor
amoreconvincingfiller.Despiteclose
recordedbalance,thepianosounditself
ispleasantlywarm.MichelleAssay
Sposalizio,Ilpenseroso,Légende–selectedcomparison:
Volodos(7/07R)(SONY) 88697 09612-2
DanteSonata–selectedcomparison:
Barenboim(7/94R)(ELAT) 2564 61780-2
PetrarchSonnets–selectedcomparisons:
Barenboim(3/81R)(DG) 435 591-2GGA
Stott(8/90R)(SONY) 88875 13562-2Mozart
‘PianoSonatas,Vol2’
PianoSonatas– No7, K309;No8,K310;No9,
K311.Rondo,K511
PeterDonohoepf
SommCélesteFSOMMCD0198(61’• DDD)Thesecondinstalment
ofPeterDonohoe’s
Mozartsurveywas
recordedasrecently
asthisMarch.HeandSomm’srecording
teamreturntotheBirmingham
ConservatoireandtoaBechsteinpiano
thatsoundsidealinthismusic–beautifully
sonorousbutwithoutthebrashnessa
Steinwaymighthavebroughttoit.The
sonatasarethetrilogycomposedduring
Mozart’sill-fatedtripof1777-78via
MannheimtoParis,duringwhichthe
gradualbreakfromhisfather–both
emotionallyandartistically–becamemore
inevitable,exacerbatedbyhismother’s
deathinJuly1778.
Donohoetakeseachworkatfacevalue,
keepingshiftsoftempoandimpromptu
ornamentationtoaminimumbutstill
playingwiththesensitivitythatwas
palpableinVol 1 (4/19).Nos 7 and 9
don’tenjoytheprofileoftheAminor
Sonata,No8,butDonohoeisalivetothe
almostsymphonicdimensionofthewriting
intheoutermovementsofeach.Youcan
tellheparticularlyenjoysthosemoments
duringwhichthemusicisatitsmost
‘fingery’–forapianistwhohasplayed
thelikesofProkofievatthehighest
levelforsolong,adelightinstrings
ofsemiquaversisnosurprise,andhe
purrsthroughpassagesthatcansooften
otherwisesoundeffortful.Andplaying
aworksuchasthelaterAminor
Rondo(1787)withoutartificiallyapplied
interpretativemannerismsellsitatits
fullworth.
PeterDonohoe’slaterapprochement
withMozarthascomeasasurprise
tosome.Outsideoftheobvious‘hits’,
muchofthisrepertoireremainsobstinately
underrated,soit’sverymuchtoourbenefit
thatapianistofhispersonalityand
musicianshiphaschosentoengage
withitwithsuchseriousnessofpurpose.
DavidThreasherRachmaninov
Variationsona ThemeofChopin,Op22.
Barcarolle,Op 10 No3.TheDream,Op 38 No 5
(arrWild).Fragments,Opposth. Howfairthis
spot,Op 21 No7 (arrVolodos).Inthesilenceof
thesecretnight,Op4 No3 (arrWild).Mélodie,
Op3 No3.Nowlettestthoudepart,Op 37 No 5
(arrOsokins).Vocalise,Op 34 No 14
(arrRichardson/Wild/Osokins)
GeorgijsOsokinspf
PianoClassicsFPCL10166(62’• DDD)The Latvian-born
pianist Georgijs
Osokins was one of
six artists who, having
failed to reach the finals of the 2015
Chopin Competition, received honourable
mentions. Reading the biography
accompanying this disc, one might think he
had won first prize for, described by critics
as ‘exceptional and unpredictable’, his
performances ‘received either superlatives
or led to controversy’. He is certainly the
only pianist I have encountered who gives
a booklet credit to his own bespoke
piano bench.
Rachmaninov’s Chopin Variations, each
one usefully given its own track, set off
with a luminously voiced theme played
rather too slowly and fussily for my taste,
but the performance soon takes off with
Osokins revelling in a work that is a vade
mecum of Rachmaninov’s writing –
nostalgia (Var 7), virtuosity (Var 9 might
have come straight out of the Third
Concerto) and heartbreaking lyricism
(Var 17). The pianist, like Daniil Trifonov,
omits Var 18 and decides to end the work
by repeating the opening theme at an even
more flaccid largo than that with which he
began, rather than with the defiant presto
coda or the quiet alternative offered by the
composer. This addition is not in the score.
Rachmaninov was quite capable of adding a
Goldberg Variation bookend had he wanted
to. Moreover, the booklet writer has no
business describing Nikolai Lugansky’s
choice of playing what Rachmaninov wrote
as ‘going for crass and crash’. Doubtless,
others will show more forbearance than
me over these matters and, to be fair, these,
the mildly distracting pedal noise and the
pianist’s intakes of breath are the only
factors that detract from a powerful and
cleanly articulated reading.
The remaining items on the disc are
eight short transcriptions that provide
further evidence of Osokins’s stylistic
identification with Rachmaninov’s idiom.
They include the later of the two versions
of ‘Mélodie’, Op 3 No 3, the Barcarolle,INSTRUMENTAL REVIEWS