Zeynep’s steadily growing
discography, which began with large-scale
works by Liszt (2 CDs, including the
Sonata) and Schubert (including the
Wanderer Fantasy), has this year (2005)
come up with a record devoted to miniatures
(Scarlatti, Beethoven Bagatelles and
three 20th Century composers)
and now a disc of Mozart. All the above
CDs have been reviewed by me for the
site [details below]. As I pointed out
with the last disc, I take the capitalization
of her first name everywhere on the
disc and booklet to mean that she wants
to be referred to by this name.
Zeynep has increasingly
impressed me with her very musical approach
to whatever she does, her refusal to
personalize the music at the expense
of the score. All this would seem to
provide the premises for some excellent
Mozart and in the main it does so. Her
textures are clear and clean, with the
pedal so sparingly used that it almost
seems not to be there at all (perhaps
it is not, but I think there are occasional
touches here and there). Though happily
using a modern piano her approach to
phrasing suggests a certain awareness
of what is today called "period
practice", with an avoidance of
gratuitous legato lines where none are
written. In the first movement of K.309
you might find Alicia de Larrocha, with
a not dissimilar approach, more warmly
inflected at times, while Joyce Hatto,
at a slightly slower tempo, finds more
of a smile, and of a dialogue between
the different themes. But Zeynep’s plain-speaking
has its own truth too.
In the "Andante,
un poco adagio" of this Sonata
both de Larrocha and Hatto emphasise
the "andante" part of Mozart’s
indication, letting us hear that there
are three beats in the bar not six.
De Larrocha is warmly mobile while Hatto
maintains a delicate poise. On the other
hand, Zeynep’s greater breadth perhaps
suggests a greater depth of feeling.
In the finale Zeynep,
while not contradicting the "Allegretto
grazioso" marking, retains a certain
rhythmic vigour. Hatto is slower, gentler,
and reminds me that I found some of
her finales on the slow side. It is
not so much a question of tempo as of
the fact that it is so calm that it
doesn’t seem a finale at all. De Larrocha
is similar in tempo to Zeynep, but more
inflected while Zeynep maintains a more
straightforward drive which I prefer.
In the C minor Sonata
Zeynep’s "period practice"
leads her to separate the first note
from those following, something which
is not actually written and which an
older generation would have held wrong.
It helps her to maintain a brusquer
profile and her slightly faster tempo
drives purposefully through the movement.
De Larrocha allows the music’s more
lyrical side to prevail; her bold opening
phrase is answered warmly, with a slight
relaxation of tempo. Major key sections
are again allowed to flower and flow
easily whereas Zeynep keeps them in
line with the rest. Hatto is here too
a little slower and seems to view the
music from a certain distance. The drama
is there but set in a strictly classical
framework.
In the "Adagio"
Zeynep is again expansive without any
suggestion of romanticism, and this
movement may be seen as a touchstone
of her musicality, her ability to go
straight to the point without frills.
De Larrocha is slightly faster, offering
a warmer, more romantic sound while
Hatto provides another miracle of poise
– without any sense of haste she plays
the movement in 07:40, as compared with
de Larrocha’s 08:11 and Zeynep’s 08:21.
Certainly, she removes any feeling of
heaviness from it and I must say I am
happy to have all three available.
In the finale Zeynep
again finds impressive drive whereas
de Larrocha seeks out the more consoling
aspects. This time Hatto is not slower,
but she still maintains her poise.
However, these three
pianists might all seem to have relatively
similar Mozartian ideals in this Sonata
if we let Alfred Brendel into the equation.
His outer movements are brisker than
Zeynep’s, with moments where he races
away impetuously. The sound itself is
more sonorous with a lot more pedal,
though of course he is too much of a
master to allow things to lapse into
confusion. His "Adagio" is
the most expansive of all, stretching
to 09:14. This is the "searching"
Brendel, delving into nooks and crannies
of the inner parts in a way the other
three do not attempt, and which they
would maybe reject us too much of the
19th Century. I am tempted
to say that this is a great Beethovenian
playing Mozart, but he is as ever compelling
and his frequent insights are not to
be ignored. I for one am very happy
to have all these in my collection.
In the two Fantasies
Zeynep’s way with the numerous tempo
changes reminds me how in the best of
her Liszt she is able to clear up problems
by apparently being unaware that they
are problems, simply by trusting the
score. At the beginning of the D minor,
Alicia de Larrocha’s voicing of the
notes within the arpeggios has all the
romantic glow of great Schumann playing,
yet is Zeynep’s simplicity not more
to the point? In the less "profound"
music of the variations she provides
a splendid display while never losing
her essential seriousness.
Is this latter a good
thing or not? At times I meditated during
this disc on the thin borderline between
a profound respect for the composer
and the sort of correct playing that
gets good marks in exams. There are
times when I wished Zeynep might unbend
just a little more. Maybe this will
come with the years; certainly, her
discs so far have been an upward curve,
and this one maintains the tradition.
As always, it comes with her own booklet
notes, very much to the point, and a
splendid recording.
Christopher Howell
Franz
LISZT (1811-1886)
Les
cloches de Genève (from Années
de Pelèrinage, Première
année), Funérailles
(from Harmonies poétiques
et réligieuses), Eroica (Transcendental
Study no. 7), Nuages gris, Fantasie
und Fuge über das Thema B-A-C-H,
Schubert Song-transcriptions: Erstarrung
(from Die Winterreise), Aufenthalt
(from Schwanengesang), Ave
Maria, Rapsodie espagnole 
Zeynep Ucbasaran (pianoforte) Recorded
7th, 14th, 17th
November, 8th, 15th
December 2001 at Abravanel Hall, Academy
of the West, Santa Barbara, California
EROICA JDT 3092 [72’ 39"] [CH]
A
gifted young artist, at her best in
the BACH Fantasy and Fugue and the Spanish
Rhapsody. …
Franz
LISZT (1811-1886)
Aprés
une Lecture de Dante (from "Années
de Pèlerinage" II: Italie),
Vallée d’Obermann (from "Années
de Pèlerinage" I: Suisse),
Sonata in B minor
Zeynep Ucbasaran (piano) Recorded
May 27-28 2003, Abravanel Hall, Music
Academy of the West, Santa Barbara,
California
EROICA JDT3135 [65:29] [CH]
Summary:
Anyone who picks up this disc will be
left in no doubt that Liszt was a composer
of lofty aims and noble inspiration,
a fact which some still question
Franz
SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
Sonata in A, D.959 (1828), Wander-Fantasy,
D.760 (1822)
Zeynep Ucbasaran (piano) Location:
Abravanel Hall, Music Academy of the
West, Santa Barbara, California Dates:
September 18th-22nd,
2002
EROICA JDT 3108 [61’ 37"] [CH]
Finely
conceived and very musical performances
from an artist who puts herself at the
service of the composer.
Zeynep
Ucbasaran (piano) Domenico
SCARLATTI (1685-1757)
Sonatas:
K1 in D minor [02:07], K9 in D minor
[03:49], K11 in C minor [02:59], K146
in G [02:40] Ludwig
van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) 7
Bagatelles op.33 (1802) [20:19] Ahmet
Adnan SAYGUN (1907-1991) Inci’s
Book op.10 (1934) [08:48], 12 Preludes
on Aksak Rhythms op.45 (1967): nos.
1 [01:56], 4 [02:20], 7 [02:38], 10
[02:21], 11 [00:55] Leonard
BERNSTEIN (1918-1990) Touches
(Chorale, 8 Variations, Coda) (1980)
[08:45] Robert
MUCZYNSKI (b.1929) 6 Preludes
op.6 (1953-4) [06:59]
Zeynep Ucbasaran (piano) Recorded January
24th-26th 2005
at the Abravanel Hall, Music Academy
of the West, Santa Barbara, California
EROICA JDT3223 [66:47] [CH]
A
very fine performance of the Beethoven
Bagatelles and some interesting excursions
into contemporary byways
