78 GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2019 gramophone.co.ukDavidThreasherwelcomesanother
volumeofPeterDonohoe’sMozart:JeremyNicholashearsGeorgijs
Osokins’sRachmaninov:JS Bach
Four Lute Suites
Franz Halász gtr
BIS F Í BIS2285(83’• DDD/DSD)FranzHalászdoes
somethinginteresting
here.Well,ofcourse
hedoes–you’ve
heard his Henze,BerioandTakemitsu...
not to mentionhisPiazzolla,Mompou
and, yes, his Bach(thethreeSolo
Violin Sonatas).
He is one ofthoseguitarists–othersare
Sharon Isbin, definitelyTilmanHoppstock,
who provided thebookletnotes–who
successfully combinehistoricallyinformed
practice with modernguitartechniqueto
produce somethingoriginal.ButHalász’s
lavish ornamentation–histrills,turns,
mordents, divisions,appoggiaturas,
arpeggiation, notesinégalesandallthe
rest – nearly amounttorecomposition.
Even campanellaeffects,changesintone
colour and thatkindofalmostcapricious
rubato that Segoviawasfamousfor
(‘it may not beofanystructural
importance, butlet’sjuststophereto
savour this noteforitsownsake’)are
ornaments of thesortyoumightalmost
equate with theburrandshavingsleftby
a burin’s incisionsinmetal,weretheynot
themselves so preciselyweightedtoreveal
the import of aphraseoraprogression.
The C minor andEmajorSuitesare
arranged by AnsgarKrause,theother
two by Halász.Allareperformedintheir
original keys. Thepreludes–especially
that of the E minorSuite–aresuitably
improvisatory,declamatoryanddramatic;
the faster dancesareecstatic,theslower
ones intenselymeditative.
Only Hoppstockisasprodigiousan
embellisher. Butheislessdemonstrative,
even circumspect.Halászismore
individualistic,extrovert.Thisisnota
criticism of either;itismerelyaquestion
of taste. The discerninglistenerwilllove
both. William YeomanJSBach
Toccatas,BWV910 916
MahanEsfahanihpd
HyperionFCDA68244(77’• DDD)Theelementmost
characteristicofthe
toccata–fromthe
earliestluteand
keyboardpiecesin16th-centuryItalyto
morerecentexamplesbycomposersas
variedasVierne,Ravel,Debussy,Vaughan
Williams,Britten,Prokofiev,Kabalevsky,
KapustinandAdams–isthespiritof
improvisation.Andsurelyitisanairof
spontaneitythatunitesthesevenformally
diverseToccatasofBach,thoughttohave
beencomposedatWeimarwhenhewas
stillinhistwenties.
MahanEsfahani,theIranian-American
harpsichordistnowbasedinPrague,has
chosentheToccatasasthefirstreleaseof
hisrenewedrelationshipwithHyperion
(havingdecampedtemporarilytoDG).
Heplaysa 2018 harpsichordfromthe
workshopofJukkaOllikkainPrague,after
MichaelMietke,‘withthehypothetical
additionofanextrasoundboardforthe
16'registerandacheekinspiredbyPleyel,
1912’.Intheabstrusebookletnotes,
Esfahanicitessome 18 sourcesheused
tocompilehisown‘variorum’textfor
therecording.
Yet,despitetheostensibleintellectual
rigourofthepresentation,thequality
onemostyearnsforintheseperformances
isthatkeyelementofimprovisatory
spontaneity.Esfahani’srhythmcan
bemechanisticallyrelentlessforlong
stretches,seeminglydisregardingwhat
weknowofBaroquedance.Thisrigidity
ofpulseiscombinedwithareluctance
toexploitthenaturallyrich,sensuous
sonoritiesoftheharpsichord,hobbling
itsabilitytosing.Takenasawhole,in
placeoftheimaginativefreedom
inherentinBach’sToccatas,Esfahani’s
approachsoundsunyielding,pressured
andconstrained.Ratherthanexultationinthegrandeurof
openDmajorsonoritiesatthebeginning
ofBWV912,wehearahecticpile-upof
descendingchords,devoidofsensuality
orbreathingspace.TheensuingAllegro
speaksmoreofcraftyill-temperthanrustic
jauntiness.Thegrippingpathosofthe
AdagioofBWV913isobscuredbyweirdly
elaboratecouplingswhichresultin
muddysonorities.Rigidlysharp-edged,
jabbingfigurationsinthefugalfinaleof
BWV914havemoreincommonwiththe
uncompromisinganglesof1950sbrutalist
architecturethanwiththefluidcontours
ofBaroquearchitectureorpainting.
If,assomepublicityhassuggested,
thisisindeedthebeginningofaseriesof
recordingsthatwillencompassallofBach’s
harpsichordmusic,wehavealongroadin
frontofus.PatrickRuckerJSBach
DaswohltemperirteClavier,Book1, BWV846 69
KeithJarrettpf
ECMNewSeriesMb 4818016 (104’• DDD)
RecordedliveatTroySavingsBankMusicHall,NY,
March7, 1987This previously
unreleased live
performance of Bach’s
Well-Tempered Clavier
Book 1 took place in March 1987, just one
month after Keith Jarrett recorded the
24 Preludes and Fugues in the studio for
ECM. Although his straightforward and
often matter-of-fact Bach-playing proves
fairly consistent between both versions,
sonic considerations may factor into
how one perceives the interpretations
by way of the smooth and rounded patina
conveyed by the studio engineering versus
the closer, leaner, more intimately scaled
concert recording.
For example, the C major Fugue’s
strettos seem more sharply contoured live
than in its relatively generalised studio
counterpart, whereas the suave studio
C minor Prelude turns notey and grey in‘ForapianistwhohasplayedProkofievatthe
highestlevelforsolong,adelightinstringsof
semiquaversisnosurprise’ REVIEWONPAGE 84‘Thetranscriptionsprovidefurtherevidence
ofOsokins’sstylisticidentificationwith
Rachmaninov’sidiom’ REVIEW ON PAGE 84Instrumental