Looking at this disc
one might be forgiven for thinking that
most gypsy-inspired art music emerged
from Hungary and the surrounding territories.
Certainly a lot has, but it is good
having some Spanish material and French
too in Augusta Holmès. Featuring
eleven composers’ (counting Bizet and
Schubert) individual takes on gypsy
idioms is either likely to appeal a
great deal or not much at all. In his
lucid eight page accompanying note Goldstone
makes the case for acknowledging more
openly the Gypsy influence on western
art music and draws out the threads
between the works. His playing makes
the case with equal eloquence and his
instrument is recorded within a tightly
focused frame.
A strength of this
disc is that it places cheek by jowl
the familiar in unfamiliar form, a few
works commonly known in their present
form and some lesser known repertoire.
Goldstone’s own arrangements show his
affection for the works whilst affording
him the opportunity to showcase his
talent. Those of the other arrangers
(Busoni and Enescu) set him similarly
daunting fences to hurdle, but more
on them later.
Goldstone opens with
his own ‘translation’ of Kodály’s
Dances of Galánta, a veritable
rush of high-powered pianism that would
challenge many a keyboard artist. The
result though is a thoroughly enjoyable
and faithful account of Kodály’s
orchestral score made naturally at home
on the piano. The Haydn finds Goldstone
momentarily more relaxed and reflecting
with ease upon the vague Hungarian influence
that permeates the work – the purpose
of which is a means to an end in colouring
the piece.
To my ears the Liszt
and Brahms works were perhaps a little
too similar in vein, undoubted showpieces
though they are and delivered with all
the sweep and verve that one could require
for such late romantic repertoire. The
sheer audaciousness of Busoni’s Chamber
Fantasy on Bizet’s "Carmen"
provided exactly the kind of change
in terms of mood and material that was
needed. Like much else here, it’s unashamedly
virtuosic and played with sensitivity,
passion and technique equal to the task.
Some may pall at the thought of Busoni
or Liszt’s opera paraphrases – but they
form a rich stream of piano literature
that could bear more frequent airings.
Dohnányi returns
us firmly to Hungarian soil in one of
his most inventive rhapsodies – and
here Goldstone captures a lilt and sway
to the rhythms that I had not before
picked up on, and in so doing effectively
communicates the gypsy influence within
the work. The fluid quality Dohnányi’s
flowing writing calls for might not
be as outwardly ambitious with regard
to technique as the Busoni, but it is
no less impressive for that.
The works by de Falla
and Holmès may not count amongst
the disc’s first recordings, but they
do effectively serve to diversify the
musical diet at this point in the disc.
The former provides authentic Spanish
inflections to neatly counter those
arranged by Busoni. If Arthur Rubinstein,
its commissioner, found the work "too
long and complicated" there are
elements that interest; and also extend
knowledge of de Falla’s piano writing
beyond the oft-heard Fire Dance
and Nights in the Gardens of Spain.
Holmès would
seem a composer, rather like Amy Beach,
whose music has inner strength and worth
but has never found an audience willing
to regularly receive it seriously. Her
idiom steers a course between Franck
and devotion to Wagner yet captures
a certain personal edge (indeed, one
might understand why Saint-Saëns
called her "untamed"!)
For the finale we come
to Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody no. 1
– in his own concert arrangement. Goldstone
describes it "well night unplayable".
Over the past few years I have listened
to all of Enescu’s output in great depth
– one might expect a violinist to write
strong string parts, but more and more
for me it is his piano writing that
impresses. Whilst Goldstone captures
the quirky playfulness of the work,
unlike many orchestral conductors he
also pays careful attention to metronome
markings with their fluctuating tempi
that accompany unequal bar lengths.
It ends in a thunderously resounding
battery of chords.
A pianistic tour de
force without a doubt, and most warmly
recommended.
Evan Dickerson
Anthony Goldstone (piano) 
