Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
Toccata BWV 914 in E minor [7:09]
Domenico SCARLATTI (1685-1757)
Sonata in C major [5:07]
Sonata in E flat major [3:55]
Ludwig van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata no 32 in C minor, Op. 111 [21:54]
Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Abegg Variations, Op. 1 (extracts) [6:26]
Bunte Blätter, Op. 99 [4:50]
Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Etude pour les sonorités opposées [4:08]
Belá BARTÓK (1881-1945)
Piano Concerto No. 3 [25:10]
Clara Haskil (piano)
Dinu Lipatti (piano) (Bartók)
Sinfonieorchester Des Südwestfunks/Paul Sacher
rec. 11 April 1953, Chateau de Ludwigsburg; 30 May 1948 (venue not given); (Archive SWR Media) (Bartók)
TAHRA TAH747 SACD [78:55]
Clara Haskil’s 1953 Ludwigsburg recital makes a welcome
return in Hybrid SACD format and newly mastered.
I first became acquainted with this recording when Tahra first
issued it in 2000 (TAH 368). The difference this time is that
her fellow Romanian Dinu Lipatti’s Bartók Third Piano
Concerto under the Swiss conductor Paul Sacher has been included.
This has necessitated some of the original items of the Ludwigsburg
recital being omitted to accommodate a single CD duration. Whilst
it is regrettable that this is the case, it in no way detracts
from the wonderful music included on this generously packed 78
minute disc. The omissions are: Bach/Busoni Chorale prelude ‘Nun
komm’ der Heiden Heiland’, one of the three Scarlatti
Sonatas, Schumann’s Waldszenen excerpt, a Debussy Etude
and the Ravel Sonatine.
It is an advantage to have Lipatti’s Bartók. The
strategy behind the pairing of these two pianists makes logical
sense, in centring it on two fellow Romanians who had a close
relationship, based on mutual admiration and support. Haskil,
who was a regular guest at the Paris salon of the Princesse de
Polignac, met Lipatti there in 1935. They immediately struck up
a close friendship and for the next four years would meet up and
phone each other daily. She was forty-one, he seventeen. Yet despite
the age gap, their music-making was the unifying element. Then
in 1939, when war broke out, Lipatti left Paris with his family
to return to Romania. Clara was devastated. They did not see each
other again until 1944 when they met in Geneva. Meanwhile Lipatti
had met his future wife Madeleine. They stayed in contact in Geneva
for the remainder of Lipatti’s short life. He was struck
down with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and died in December 1950 at
the young age of thirty-three. Clara died ten years later, in
1960, the result of a fall down some steps at the Brussels railway
station. The late Jérôme Spycket’s excellent
booklet notes explain in some detail their friendship and the
dynamics between them. Haskil suffered from self-doubt, lack of
confidence and chronic pessimism, and this impacted on their musical
friendship. In the mid-seventies Spyket published a comprehensive
biography on Haskil which I would thoroughly recommend, albeit
being in French. As far as I am aware, it has never been translated
into English.
The recital begins with Bach and Scarlatti. The Toccata is an
intelligent reading, with great flexibility and that innate improvisatory
feel required for a work like this. There is a wealth of light,
shade and clarity in the teasing out of the contrapuntal strands.
Scarlatti was a composer Haskil loved to perform. She displays
great delicacy and charm in her renditions of these two delightful
sonatas.
Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in C minor, Op. 111 kicks off precariously.
Haskil takes her time in establishing her equilibrium, with an
opening marred by untidiness and several finger slips. Yet once
she overcomes her initial nervousness, the performance takes on
a transcendental quality. Like all great performers, she brings
out the contrast between the first movement’s struggle and
conflict, and the second movement’s serenity and profundity.
Unlike some, her opening movement does not take on a combative
approach yet it is an impassioned account. The Arietta is sublime
in its realization, with the cumulative effects of each subsequent
variation building the drama and tension. Haskil attains an otherworldly
perspective.
The Abegg Variations by Schumann were a great favorite of Haskil,
and frequently programmed by her in her recitals. The sparkling
finger-work and sheer exuberance of the playing make these extracts
a treat to the ears. Bunte Blätter likewise offers some poetic
insights. The recital ends with an introspective take on Debussy’s
‘Etude pour les sonorités opposées’.
Dinu Lipatti’s short life robbed us of a substantial recorded
legacy, so the addition of live airings to complement his slender
commercial discography is most welcome. This live Bartók
from 1948 is a case in point; Lipatti never recorded this work
commercially. Quite why Sacher refused release of the outer two
movements of the Bartók during his lifetime eludes me.
He cited shabby ensemble and poor intonation. This was a totally
unnecessary move. After all, this is a live recording, and any
deficiencies in the orchestral department are truly compensated
for in the wonderfully precise, inspirational and detailed playing
of the pianist. As with all Lipatti’s work, it was meticulously
prepared.
What is striking in this Bartók live traversal is the quality
and vividness of the sound, allowing orchestral detail to emerge
with clarity. I compared this new mastering by Tahra with my Urania
issue. The Tahra is a softer-edged and quieter transfer while
the Urania seems more bright and vivid allowing a little more
orchestral definition.
In comparison with TAH 368, Haskil’s Ludwigsburg recital
is not quite as rough-edged in this new SACD reincarnation, and
makes for a more pleasurable listening experience.
Lovers of the musicianship of these two pianists will want this
CD as a historical document and example of some extraordinary
and exemplary pianism. They each left us much too early and I
can only echo the words and description of Madeleine Lipatti,
quoted by Spyket at the end of his notes - ‘these two beings
made of light’.
Stephen Greenbank
Support
us financially by purchasing this from |
|
 |
 |
 |
|