Joyce Hatto’s Schubert
Sonata cycle is remarkably consistent
in its response to the expressive and
technical demands placed upon the performer.
Her articulation in the early A minor
for example is exemplary in its evenness
of production and clarity whilst the
Allegretto quasi Andante lilts delightfully,
its contrasting section quite slowly
but persuasively taken. There is assuredly
attractive colour and direction in the
finale with witty little caesurae. The
disc’s G major companion is a considerably
bigger and more powerful work. Measured,
not nearly so clipped of phrasing as
someone like Wilhelm Kempff, Hatto binds
the structure of the long opening movement
(complete of course with repeat) with
fluency and skill. As was the case in
the second volume of the series there
are strong disparities between Kempffian
cantabile in Schubert’s slow movements
and Hatto’s sense of pleasurable intimacy.
A corollary is that Kempff will seize
powerfully and strikingly on contrasting
or trio section, often incrementally
increasing his dynamic range and tempi
to a startling degree, far more in fact
than Hatto is prepared to countenance.
Whilst there is certainly no loss of
rupture or fissure at these moments
Hatto is more determined to bind the
rhetoric together, for a degree at least
of tonal and dynamic consonance.
Characterisation is
a prerogative of a pianist in something
like the Menuetto of the G major; where
Kempff finds a pompous gait, Hatto locates
a more briskly shaped determinism. And
where in the Allegretto finale Kempff
mines a winning and capricious flirtatiousness
Hatto is more measured and sanguine
in her response. As before the performances
benefit from the sympathetic acoustic
– warm but not cloying – and the fine
notes, which are uniform for this series
and written by Musicweb contributor
William Hedley.
Jonathan Woolf
See
Full list of Concert Artist recordings
Joyce Hatto (piano) 