Agnelle Bundervoët (piano)
Complete Recordings on Decca France
rec. Paris, 1955 (Liszt); 1956 (Brahms); 1957 (Schumann)
Mono
ELOQUENCE 484 1507 [2 CDs: 145:11]
This is my first encounter with the playing of French pianist Agnelle Bundervoët. She's hardly a household name and this can easily be explained by the fact that she made very few records. In the early 1950s she met the director of Ducretet-Thomson who allowed her to record a Bach recital due to a dearth of the composer's music in their catalogue. She chose the programme herself: the Bach-Busoni transcription of Wachet Auf and the Chaconne and two Toccatas and Fugues. The recording was an unmitigated success for which she scooped a ‘Grand Prix du Disque’. That ended up being her first and last venture with that company, and I read somewhere that she wasn't even paid. Not long after she transferred her allegiance to Decca France, who invited her to make three LPs featuring Liszt, Brahms and Schumann. These were set down between 1955-1957. The LPs have since become collector's items and will set you back a pretty penny. This seems to be the sum total of her commercial discography, though live recordings have surfaced elsewhere.
Agnelle Bundervoët was born in Ambert, France on 12 October 1922. She was a Lazare-Lévy student at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, where she was awarded the Premier Prix in 1942. Her concert career was fairly short-lived due to the onset of rheumatism in the 1950s. One way she got around this was by pre-recording material for the radio, which allowed her the opportunity to rest her hands for periods. She was offered a teaching post at the Conservatoire National de Versailles, where she remained for 30 years. She died on 14 February 2015 in Vaucresson, France.
At the end of her life, Bundervoët expressed some reservations about these recordings. Reading between the lines I don't think that she was 100% happy with the repertoire Decca had chosen for her. This is especially the case with the Liszt’s Rhapsodie espagnole. She had small hands, and considered the work posed some technical challenges and testing stretches. None of these problems are evident in the recording, however. A virtuosic series of variations, Bundervoët gives a dazzling account, flavoured with Spanish noblesse and guaranteed to wow the listener. Her fingerwork never falters, and throughout there's an infectious rhythmic vitality. The same can be said of the Mephisto Waltz, which is negotiated with unruffled ease. In contrast there's some enchanting Lisztian filigree in Au bord d’une source from the Swiss Year of Pilgrimage. When it comes to pyrotechnics, what better examples are there than the Grandes Études de Paganini. The pianist here performs Nos. 4-6, and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
There’s a wealth of expressive playing in Brahms Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op.24. With tempi that are integrated, the fusion of technique and structural cohesion can only be admired. The work offers such variety to the pianist, whether it be the heavily accented Var.4, or the rhythmically charged Var.7. There's Var.16 which is spicy, Var.5 ardently sincere and Var.11 which radiates glowing warmth. The recording stands shoulder to shoulder with my favorite version by Murray Perahia. Of the two Rhapsodies Op.79, I'm particularly persuaded by No. 2 in G minor, which brims over with gusto and passion.
One of the more gratifying aspects of this collection is the inclusion of Schumann's Intermezzi Op.4. They're not that well-known and don't often crop up in recitals. The original LP stated that this was a World Premiere Recording. The group of six pieces benefits from Bundervoët's wide colourful range, sensitive sculpting of phrasing and dynamics, and infused drama. She meets head on the dangers of the Toccata with its breathtaking virtuoso thrills. In the Fantasiestücke, Op.12 the composer had at the back of his mind the characters of Florestan and Eusebius, representing the passionate and dreamy sides of his personality. Des Abends is eloquently nuanced whilst in Aufschwung there's a compelling sense of urgency. Traumes Wirren glistens with some scintillating passagework.
Eloquence are to be lauded for making these wonderful recordings available for the first time on CD, and what better way to raise Agnelle Bundervoët's profile. As mono recordings go, I've no quibbles at all, they sound just fine. This is a significant and rewarding release.
Stephen Greenbank
Contents:
CD 1 [69:31]
Franz LISZT (1811–1886)
1 Rhapsodie espagnole, S.254 [13:21]
2 Au bord d’une source (No. 4 of Années de pèlerinage, Première année: Suisse, S.160) [3:54]
3 Valse oubliée, S.215 No. 1 [2:37]
4 Gnomenreigen (No. 2 of Études de concert, S.145) [3:08]
Grandes Études de Paganini, S.141
5 No. 4 in E major (Arpeggio) [2:23]
6 No. 5 in E major (La Chasse) [2:40]
7 No. 6 in A minor (Theme and Variations) [5:15]
8 Mephisto Valse No. 1, S.514
Johannes BRAHMS (1833–1897)
9–35 Variations and Fugue on a theme by Handel, Op. 24 [25:32]
CD 2 [75:40]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833–1897)
1 Rhapsody in B minor, Op. 79 No. 1 [8:50]
2 Rhapsody in G minor, Op. 79 No. 2 [6:29]
3 Rhapsody in E flat major, Op. 119 No. 4 [5:07]
Robert SCHUMANN (1810–1856)
4–9 Intermezzi, Op. 4 [21:56]
10 Toccata in C major, Op. 7 [5:43]
11–17 Fantasiestücke, Op. 12 [27:00]
