Availability Pristine Classical

Jascha Spivakovsky (piano)
Bach to Bloch - Volume IX
rec. 1953-61 private recordings
PRISTINE AUDIO PAKM081 [78:09]

This is the ninth release in a planned series of eleven discs (originally ten but more recordings have come to light). Previous volumes have been reviewed on these pages and the general opinion is positive but not without reservations (Vol. 1 ~ Vol. 2 ~ Vol. 3 ~ Vol. 4 ~ Vol. 6), an opinion I agree with. Spivakovsky was certainly a big player gifted with a fine technique and a glorious singing tone; you feel that every key is taken right down to its bed to achieve those enviable legato lines that are heard again and again in his playing.

The Bach that opens the programme was an encore to a 1961 recital (in common with other releases in this series recording dates are only found on Pristine's website). The two gavottes are given an invigorating performance with clear voicing and articulation and a startling contrast of tone colour – the second gavotte has a warmer more intimate sound. I think these two tracks impressed me as much as anything on the disc.

The Sonata in F minor by Brahms follows this. It is a strong performance of a piece that Spivakovsky loved (apparently the second movement was one of his favourite pieces in the piano repertoire). As with all the works on this disc his glorious deep rich tone is paramount. All the lines are sung beautifully which makes for sumptuous readings, especially of the slow sections though I felt at times that this is at the expense of forward momentum – I find this in the Kabalevsky Sonata as well. Very occasionally I felt that some of the shorter, faster notes were a bit superficial – the left hand semiquavers leading into the development section of the first movement for example, but on the whole the work has an autumnal glow and is rewarding listening.

It should be mentioned that the last moments of the finale were missing from the recording. Pristine have taken the unusual step of having the pianist's son coach a skilled student (who remains nameless) in the manner of his father's performance. For me it works – I can't hear the join and frankly can't tell where the student takes over. Others may be more successful.

The other substantial item is the Sonata in F by Kabalevsky, a work also recorded by his near contemporaries Vladimir Horowitz and Benno Moiseiwitsch. This is a strongly characterised performance that competes with either although I prefer the attack and rhythmic tautness of Horowitz. Spivakovsky chooses quite a slow tempo for the middle movement – quite a bit slower than Kabalevsky's metronome indication and as in the Brahms I feel he is sometimes enjoying the notes a little too much at the expense of the flow. Again I find that Horowitz and Moiseiwitsch are more convincing here but Spivakovsky is nonetheless still competitive.

The other items, all shorter works, feature some marvellous playing. I was taken with the Mendelssohn Venetian gondola song where a rather crackly background doesn't disguise Spivakovsky's rich, creamy legato and simple elegance. The Glazunov, in much better sound, is a delight, jaunty and light. The two Saeverud pieces are very enjoyable, a wistful rondo and a playful little waltz; the opening of this certainly made me think of the sparrows and wrens fluttering about in our garden. The pianist himself introduces the final item, a tastefully lilting performance of Liadov's pretty waltz badinage Music snuff box, an encore to round off this collection.

Overall despite my reservations I was very taken with all the playing here. Spivakovsky was a force to be reckoned with and a colourist of the highest order. There are a lot of great pianists out there so I'm not sure I agree with the more extreme judgements I have seen but there is no doubt that the piano world would be the poorer without these recordings. Details of volume 10 have been released and that contains no Bloch so the final volume will certainly be Bach to Bloch (a Bach Concerto is promised) and I am very curious to hear what else Pristine have lined up for the final volume of this admirable series.

Rob Challinor

Previous review: Jonathan Woolf

Contents
Johann Sebastian BACH (1685-1750)
English suite No.3 – gavottes I and II BWV 808 [3:05]
Johannes BRAHMS (1833-1897)
Piano sonata No.3 in F minor Op.5 (1853) [36:37]
Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809-1847)
Venetian Gondola song - Songs without words Op.30 no.6 (1833-34) [3:26]
Alexander GLAZUNOV (1865-1936)
Gavotte - Trois Morceaux Op.49 no.3 (1894) [4:44]
Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918)
Children's Corner No. 1 – Dr Gradus ad Parnassum (1906-08) [2:06]
Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943)
Prélude in G Op.32 no.5 (1910) [3:26]
Harald SÆVERUD (1897-1992)
Lette Stykker
Vol.1 Op.14 No.7 Rondo amoroso (c.1947) [3:34]
Vol.2 Op.18 No.2 Little bird waltz [2:39]
Dmitri KABALEVSKY (1904-1987)
Piano Sonata No.3 Op.46 (1946) [16:00]
Anatoly LIADOV (1855-1914)
The Musical Snuffbox Op.32 (1893) [2:32]