Ronald Brautigam’s
stimulating Beethoven sonata traversal continues apace with
Volume 4. Judging by various reviews and online forums, it appears
to be winning many new friends and regular readers to these
columns will know my own feelings – it is, quite simply, shaping
up to be one of the finest cycles of recent years. Given the
stature of the music, most collectors will have a variety of
performances anyhow, and I’ve repeatedly made the point that
Brautigam’s fortepiano recordings will sit very happily alongside
more ‘conventional’ renditions, my own favourites being Richard
Goode and Barenboim’s early EMI cycle. I have to say though,
that virtually every time I’ve felt the need recently for a
Beethoven sonata ‘fix’ – and that’s pretty often these days
- I’ve reached for a Brautigam disc, such is the level of excitement
and intensity of the musicianship.
Needless to say,
I can’t wait for some of the late sonatas to come round, but
here with Volume 4 we get a couple of really famous mainstream
works, so I was particularly interested in what Brautigam would
do with a ‘pot-boiler’ such as the Moonlight. In fact,
in the end it’s quite simple – he plays it blessedly straight
and fuss-free. Once again the instrument’s particular qualities
come to the fore - a beautiful bell-like upper register, even
voiced middle and sonorous (by fortepiano standards) bass. In
some cases, and the Moonlight’s first movement is one of them,
you may anticipate missing the modern Steinway depth of tone
and sustaining power, but not a bit of it. Yes, Brautigam keeps
the tempo flowing, but the instrument copes perfectly well with
what’s asked of it, and atmosphere is there is abundance. As
may be expected, the finale is tremendously exciting, full of
bravura and fire, with the piano responding magnificently. The
whole performance is admirably free of mannerism and sentimentality,
which is not to say it is bland or prosaic - it speaks directly
and lets the notes do the work.
The same could be
said of the Pastoral, where the only controversial movement
is the brisk, no-nonsense andante, nearly twice the speed
of Barenboim’s EMI reading. The flowing speed works for me,
with the tick-tock staccato accompaniment in the left hand
taking on a quite
different character to normal. The tangy rasp of the fortepiano
gives the finale’s droning bagpipes, again in the left hand,
a really earthy, peasant feel.
The other sonatas,
12 and 13, are also pretty non-interventionist and having already
mentioned Richard Goode, it occurred to me that the reason I
like his complete cycle is precisely because of this approach,
putting the music first and not drawing too much attention to
‘the playing’. Brautigam does still give sharper definition
than usual to accents and does tend towards brisk tempos - though
not as much as earlier volumes – but these more mature sonatas
are beginning to show, at least to my ears, a lessening of the
extremes without losing any character or impact. Another success,
very well filled and with superb BIS sonics to keep audiophiles
happy. Carry on collecting with pleasure.
Tony Haywood
Ronald Brautigam
(McNulty fortepiano after Anton Walther)
[77:38]
