Igor STRAVINSKY (1882-1971)
Concerto for Piano and Wind Orchestra (1923-24, rev. 1950) [18:36]
Capriccio for Piano and Orchestra (1928-29, rec. 1949) [16:59]
Movements for Piano and Orchestra (1958-59) [9:10]
Pétrouchka (1910-11, rev. 1946) [34:16]
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (piano)
São Paulo Symphony Orchestra/Yan Pascal Tortelier
rec. 2014, Sala São Paulo, Júlio Prestes Cultural Center, São Paulo, Brazil
CHANDOS CHSA5147 SACD [79:40]
Brian Wilson’s review of this release covers a great
deal of ground with regard to the alternative recordings available for these
works. While I think there’s a time for trawling through everything
for good, better, best, there’s also a moment when you see something
in the shop or online and just think, 'hmm, that looks good –
I’ll take it.' I’ve been an enthusiast for Jean-Efflam
Bavouzet’s recordings in the past, from the romance of his Debussy
and Pierné
to the impact of his Bartók,
and, as if it were needed, the cool retro looks of this all-Stravinsky programme
clinches the deal to make for an irresistible package as far as I’m
concerned.
Bavouzet and the São Paulo players lend a jazzy swing to the syncopations
in the first and last movements of the Concerto, giving this piece
more of a familial affinity with the best of Milhaud
than I can recall hearing elsewhere, with that unmistakable nervous energy
and poetic power which makes Stravinsky such a distinctive voice in 20th
century music. The same goes for the character of the wind playing in the
second movement, which is given a dark, funereal feel in this performance.
Bavouzet doesn’t over-sentimentalise or linger over the flourishes and
cadenza-like solo, but does give the music a softness which provides sufficient
contrast with the rest to make things effective. The clarity in the recording
gives a vertiginous insight into Stravinsky’s subtle mixing of timbres.
The Capriccio followed on from the Concerto as a repertoire
piece for Stravinsky’s own concert appearances as a pianist, and if
anything this compact score brings out even more of the nature of a freely-interpreted
concerto grosso form, with its ever shifting perspectives of different instrumental
groups as they appear from behind the pianos intense and spiky figurations.
Jazzy character is brought out again in the first movement, with moments which
could be interpreted as a nod to Gershwin, though I doubt Stravinsky would
have acknowledged such associations. The central Andante rapsodico
is a heady mix of musical fantasy and eccentric unexpectedness, the musicians
here at times bouncing through the notes like a flat stone skimming over water.
The playful lightness of the third movement is both charming and packed with
cartoonish, sometimes almost grotesque caricature. If Ravel took the dance
from the salon and into the madness of haunted ballrooms, Stravinsky dragged
it into silent-movie cabaret.
Movements, a piano concerto in all but name, is as an example of
this composer’s “full-blown serialism” not one of his most
frequently heard pieces. Despite its angular atonality if couldn’t be
by anyone else however, and the refined accuracy of the performance makes
this a superb reference. If you already have Steven Osborne on Hyperion
you may not be tempted however, and it’s funny to see the overall timing
is the same to the second between both versions.
Pétrouchka is such a massively popular work that you may not feel
like crossing the road to pick up this version. It is however very good indeed,
with all of the fun and dramatic character you would hope for from a South
American orchestra. There is no pulling back from those scampering ‘Tom
and Jerry’ moments, and with percussion and brass finally allowed to
let rip here and there you can sense real enjoyment in this session. With
a well-paced narrative and a sensitivity to the score’s scenic contrasts
and the composer’s excellent orchestration Yan Pascal Tortelier delivers
a performance which can stand amongst the best, and at the very least stand
in comfortably as a default library choice without your needing to worry that
you are missing any alternative glories. Bavouzet’s stunning pianism
is the icing on an already very well-seasoned cake.
I’m delighted to hear how well balanced the piano is in this recording,
with none of the massive presence and vanishing orchestras of some other piano
recordings I’ve come across. The SACD effect is terrific, adding buckets
of extra space to a sound which is already demonstration quality in conventional
stereo.
Dominy Clements
Previous review: Brian
Wilson
|
Support us financially by purchasing
this from
|
|
 |
 |