It’s clear from his active Twitter feed that the conductor
and cellist Kenneth Woods is a very busy man. When he’s not directing
the Stratford-based Orchestra of the Swan he’s blogging, teaching
and - at the time of writing - he was on his way back to the UK after
a stint at the Scotia Festival. He and the OOTS impressed me greatly
with their Mahler-Schoenberg collection (
review)
and, most recently, the last in their Gál/Schumann trilogy (
review).
This new venture with the RPO and pianist Valerie Tryon is just the
start of a projected series for SOMM; Rachmaninov’s First Piano
Concerto, Strauss’s
Burlesque and Dohnányi’s
Variations on a Nursery Theme should follow soon.
I’m not sure how much influence Woods has on these programmes
but this new CD certainly reflects his penchant for unusual mixes. Most
intriguing, though, is pianist Valerie Tryon, who is knew to me. Born
in Portsmouth in 1934 and now resident in Canada she’s built up
a slim but interesting portfolio of concert performances, recitals and
recordings. Two of the pieces here - the Granados and Debussy - are
encores from a live recital, and the Bach-Busoni was recorded back in
2000. In any event as a member of the Twitterati, I was minutes into
this collection when I felt compelled to tweet my astonishment at such
fine playing.
The disc opens with a strongly characterised and beautifully articulated
reading of Turina’s
Rapsodia sinfónica. I was struck
by Tryon’s blend of delicacy and strength, of firm outlines and
inner shadings. Age hasn’t blunted this septuagenarian’s
dexterity or sense of line; indeed, there’s a youthful ease and
spontaneity to her playing that’s utterly beguiling. Woods and
the RPO are equally responsive, and the Iberian heat and colour of the
piece are well projected. The sound is most agreeable - it’s warm
and detailed - and the balance between soloist and orchestra is perfectly
judged.
Whatever your view of Franck’s
Symphonic Variations - Tovey’s
description of it as a ‘freely organised rhapsody’ is entirely
apt, especially in this delightful, freewheeling performance - it seldom
fails to please. This is a reading of rare equilibrium - now inward,
now extrovert - and it’s all bound together by an unforced, singing
lyricism that’s just magical. The RPO are suitably emphatic and
well-blended in the nicely scaled tuttis and Woods ensures momentum
never flags. So, not a self-aggrandising or headline-grabbing performance,
just an effortlessly musical one.
Tryon’s playing reminds me of an earlier generation of pianists
- Moura Lympany among them - whose self-effacing style is so at odds
with the breathless perfection of many young pianists today. It’s
simple, unaffected and invariably rewarding. Falla’s sultry
Nights
in the Gardens of Spain has its share of fine interpreters - Alicia
de Larrocha, for instance - but Tryon and Woods are persuasive too.
There’s plenty of passion and point, and the work’s virtuosic
passages hold no terrors for this pianist. Tryon’s phrasing and
rhythms are idiomatic and it seems the brooding band is circling her
in a mesmeric dance. Very entertaining indeed.
The maiden and the nightingale, from Book 1 of Granados’s
Goyescas, is the first of two encores given at a recital in Washington
DC a decade ago. Tryon is fluent and gently communicative, and her control
of dynamics and shading is exemplary. As for the excerpt from Debussy’s
Estampes she finds a charming lilt here - a suppleness of rhythm,
if you will - that’s spellbinding. The piano sounds full and clear,
and not at all compromised by being sited in a gallery rather than a
concert hall. In both cases applause is warm but not overlong.
The Bach-Busoni
Toccata and Fugue in D minor - recorded at St
George’s, Bristol, in 2000 - is yet another example of Tryon’s
nimble fingerwork and her ear for internal balances. The sound may be
a little hard but one could argue that clarifies textures in what is
essentially a carefully constructed coruscation of notes. Still, it’s
another showstopper, and an ideal coda for a most rewarding collection.
Having spent quite a bit of time with Rachmaninov’s First Piano
Concerto recently I’m convinced this pianist’s songful and
colouristic gifts will give us a reading to remember.
A real treat; Tryon’s easy and evocative talent augurs well for
her upcoming discs.
Dan Morgan
http://twitter.com/mahlerei
