George GERSHWIN (1898-1937)
Rhapsody in Blue (1924) [16:12]
Catfish Row – Symphonic Suite (1936) [23:45]
Concerto in F for piano and orchestra (1925) [29:02]
Rialto Ripples (1917) [4:35]
Stefano Bollani (piano)
Gewandhausorchester/Riccardo Chailly
rec. 28-30 January 2010, Gewandhaus, Leipzig
DECCA 478 2739 [73:37]
There is no shortage of recordings of these pieces around, but the energetic
action shot on the cover of this new version promises to deliver plenty of
good things. I can however imagine people standing in their local shop or
gazing at the computer screen, wondering if the renowned Leipzig Gewandhausorchester,
with its long tradition of top-notch classical music performing, has the chutzpah
to bring Gershwin’s style of jazz to life.
Starting with Rhapsody in Blue we’re in hotly contested waters from
the outset, but any concerns one might have had are dissolved immediately.
I’m not sure quite what Chailly has done with his orchestra, but I’ll bet
a big box of bouncy balls that no-one hearing this blind and without prior
knowledge would say, ‘ah, this is of course the renowned Leipzig Gewandhousorchester’.
This piece has to compete with the likes of the excellent Steven
Richman recording on the Harmonia Mundi label, which had something of
a coup by getting the original clarinetist Al Gallodoro to kick off the piece
with that marvelous siren solo. Thomas Ziesch gets us off to a very good start,
and all of the percussive touches and brass ‘wha, whaa’ effects are done very
convincingly indeed. This is the more compact Ferde Grofé ‘jazz band’ version,
but mere orchestration is no automatic guarantee of genuine swing. What makes
this recording stand out from the rest is jazz pianist Stefano Bollani’s touch
in the solo part and his take on the cadenza passages in this piece, which
involve a certain amount of improvisation. Gershwin did this kind of thing
as well, and the license for some freedom is well taken. Bollani’s first solo
is a jaw-dropping pianistic masterpiece, and his playing is full of fun and
little throwaway inflections where the score allows for such flexibility.
He doesn’t stray too far from Gershwin’s idiom or outstay his welcome, and
there are no extended self-indulgences. The second solo in the twelfth minute
takes us into softer, almost impressionistic fields, but this sparing dip
in dynamic allows the music to build from almost nothing to that big repeated-note
cadenza and those fanfare flourishes which lead into the last big tune. This
is a pianist whose jazz pedigree allows for the kind of virtuoso surprise
that audiences would have demanded from their soloists in the Baroque era,
and it is his contribution that lifts this performance beyond the merely excellent
to the stunningly special.
Without solo pianist, Gershwin’s suite on the music for Porgy and Bess,
Catfish Row is relatively uncontroversial. Riccardo Chailly draws blood
and tears from his orchestra however, and is alive to the music’s connection
to other composers like Stravinsky and, to my ears, the Broadway style of
Leonard Bernstein. All of those beautiful tunes such as Summertime
are allowed to speak with clarity, without being pulled around or distorted.
The playing is superb as you would expect, but also with a genuine feel for
the idiom – you can sense that the players, allowed to let their hair down
for once, take the opportunity with both hands and live the music to the full.
There’s no improvising from our soloist in the Concerto in F, but once
again all of the playing is full of finesse and zing. Having a player with
a jazz background does make all the difference, though it is sometimes hard
to put your finger on why. Stefano Bollani has a way with phrasing, harmonic
voicing, inner lines and rhythm which is just ‘different’ in subtle ways which
take the music into regions other than one might expect or be used to from
a classical performer. Bollani is certainly never out of his comfort zone
in a technical sense, and his performance here is the equal of any alternative
I could name. The first movement is a joy from start to finish, and I especially
like the syncopated material in the last few minutes. The central Andante
is rich in lovely orchestral detail, and the piano’s cheeky notes are
guaranteed to raise a smile, and the final Allegro agitato is bumptious
and spectacular.
The programme is concluded with another real highlight, Rialto Ripples,
which suits Stefano Bollani’s pianism perfectly. Supported once again by an
orchestra having the time of its life, Bollani brings the spirit of Erroll
Garner into the room with his right hand chord/melody treatments. The stride
bass is marvelous. The disc ends with our pianist playing on as the orchestra
gets up and leaves, the two Italian maestros bidding each other a friendly
farewell.
This is a cracking release which, whatever the competition in this repertoire,
can safely go into everyone’s shopping basket or wish-list. The photo on the
cover says it all – ‘wish I’d been there, but this will do just fine!’
Dominy Clements
This will do just fine!