The prize here is Elgar’s own piano transcription
of the Enigma Variations. This gets the very occasional
outing in concert, though admittedly in very out of the way
concerts. Having recently listened to a two-piano recording
of the Grieg Piano Concerto, and to the Elgar First Symphony
in piano reduction I was curious to see – and hear – how pianistic
or un-pianistic the variations would turn out to be.
The answer is, on the whole, that this is
a perfectly workable transcription, though one not always helped
by Wass’s choice of tempo. The Theme is ponderous and suffers
from an advanced case of phrase droop. C.A.E. isn’t sufficiently
characterised so as to allow differentation from the opening
theme – a dose of the pianistic equivalent of Toscanini or Monteux
would have helped tremendously here. Once past these moments
though and things are very much better. H.D.D.-P emerges as
a surprisingly toccata-like affair in Wass’s hands. He drives
into the striding left hand patterns of W.M.B. and brings real
dignity to R.P.A. He lays Isobel bare in the wittiest terms
and also brings a commensurate sense of chordal warmth. Nimrod
is not too slow and gathers in power and passion whilst we can
trace Schumann in Dorabella, as we perhaps fail to do in the
orchestral version. B.G.N. is impressive; Wass has it splendidly.
And the finale is graced with dynamic tremolos to bring the
work to a rousing conclusion.
Most of the other
pieces are cut from salon cloth. The Sonatina is a generously
generic two movement affair. Like his early violin pieces I
think you’d be very hard pressed to name the composer. Its melody
lines however are characteristically pretty and like those violin
works – though much less technically demanding – it makes for
pleasant listening. Dream Children survives the transcription
even for those of us whose memories turn back to 78s. Une
Idylle wears its frank salon charms with unselfconscious
ease. May Song was written in 1901 – rather late to be
hinting at Chopin, or perhaps it’s never too late to hint at
Chopin. And Wass proves adept at Elgarian rubato in Sérénade
Mauresque which moves easily and with grace at a good tempo.
The arrangements
work well – even Carissima, which I thought wouldn’t.
The recording at St George’s Church, Brandon Hill is excellent
and the performances, once the Enigma has settled down, are
thoroughly convincing.
Jonathan Woolf
see also Reviews
by Patrick Waller and John
France
British Composers on Naxos page
Ashley Wass
(piano) 
