Rodrigo’s orchestral
music is well represented by eight volumes
in Naxos’s "Spanish Classics"
series. Next up is the piano music and
this is volume one, presumably of two.
The pianist is Artur Pizarro, who won
the Leeds International Piano Competition
in 1990. For an artist of his talent,
Pizarro is underrepresented in the catalogue
at the moment (although he is recording
Beethoven sonatas for Linn), a victim
of the demise of Collins Classics. The
main competition is from Sara Marianovich
who recorded the complete piano music
on a 2-CD set for Sony in 2001 (SK
89828).
Rodrigo composed for
the piano throughout his career – the
works presented here span more than
sixty years and include his last in
the genre - Preludio de añoranza
(nostalgic prelude), which is definitely
one of the gems. These compositions
are very much written for the piano
- as far as I am aware, they have not
been orchestrated - and there is nothing
large-scale about them. The longest
work lasts less than a quarter hour
and consists of four Andalusian pictures
– pieces which would stand alone as
well as making a satisfactory cycle.
I particularly liked Sonada de adios
(Sounding of farewell) which is
a homage to Paul Dukas. But all this
music is attractive, if perhaps less
obviously Spanish in character or extrovert
than the works of Albeniz or Granados.
Artur Pizarro gives
excellent performances. Great virtuosity
is rarely required but sensitivity to
variations of mood is the key here and
he captures the spirit of the music
to perfection. Sara Marianovich studied
these works with Rodrigo and her performances
have been well-received. Pizarro is
often slightly fleeter and usually advantageously
so in my judgment. There is little to
choose between them in terms of recorded
sound - both are pleasingly natural,
Marianovich is placed more forwardly
in the aural image - and both issues
are well-documented.
I would assume that
Pizarro is going to record the rest
of Rodrigo’s piano music although we
may have to wait a while. Marianovich
has two advantages – she is available
now and the works are presented in chronological
order. Pizarro has a price advantage
and is, so far, a marginally finer exponent
of the music. Two suggestions for Naxos
- expedite the issue of volume 2 and
sign up Pizarro for something else.
Patrick C Waller