A disc featuring Stravinsky’s
collected works for solo piano is a
very good idea. Although he spent a
few years after the First World War
developing a career as a pianist, in
truth this was never a particularly
significant part of his musical life;
more a matter of earning a living when
the royalties from his publishers had
dried up.
Anatoly Sheludyakov
is a pianist of secure technique who
understands the sometimes brittle nature
of Stravinsky’s musical style. Accordingly
he can command the required level of
virtuosity in the most technically demanding
of these pieces, the Three Movements
from Petrushka that Stravinsky rewrote
from the original orchestral score for
the young Artur Rubinstein. The performance
is secure and at times glittering, though
the recorded sound has less depth of
perspective than the music really demands.
Also the full-toned climaxes have less
body than, for example, the much praised
rival version by Maurizio Pollini (DG)
that remains the benchmark recording.
Next on the programme
is the delightful The Five Fingers
from the same year, 1921. As the
title suggests, the approach here could
hardly be more different, and Sheludyakov’s
well articulated performance communicates
very directly. Perhaps his rendition
of the Piano Rag Music seems
a shade under-characterised, but it
is clear-textured and makes its point.
For all its brevity this is a highlight
among Stravinsky’s piano compositions.
The other short pieces, some of them
really requiring a second player at
the keyboard, were presumably performed
twice by Sheludyakov, one part at a
time, and then pasted together in the
studio. It is easy for the critic to
be sniffy about these things (and I
am) but if the result is satisfying
on disc, then no matter. The engaging
Serenade of 1925 is nicely characterised
too.
The other major work,
albeit only some ten minutes long, is
Stravinsky’s Piano Sonata, composed
in 1924 and another project of his performing
career. As one might expect, this is
a neo-classical composition from this
master of the genre. The highlight is
the delightful Adagietto central
movement.
The disc is supported
by useful documentation, though a more
careful proofing process would have
ironed out a handful of mistakes and
inconsistencies.
Terry Barfoot
Anatoly Sheludyakov (piano) 