The third volume
of Giorgio Koukl’s survey of Martinů’s piano music is as
successful as the previous two. In my review
of the second disc of the series I described some of the differences
between Koukl’s approach and that of Emil Leichner, whose Supraphon
set of the piano music (not quite the complete piano
music) has been something of a benchmark set for many years
now. Koukl tends to etch rhythms with greater incision and Leichner
tends to a greater sense of reflectiveness. This is certainly
a crudely suggestive way of approaching these two important
readings of the piano music but for the purposes of this review
it does indicate the divergences of approach that both men bring
to bear. It may also help direct you if you wish to follow one
or the other – though of course there are a number of other
discs by other pianists worthy of note.
The Sonata is the
most important work here. Koukl is sensitive to the Poco
allegro marking here whilst Leichner prefers to emphasise
the Allegro rather at the expense of the poco.
I suspect this is to mitigate what Leichner may have detected
as structural problems and to vest the opening with a powerful
drive so as to balance the concluding Adagio. Leichner certainly
makes the most of the contrasts here, despite the relative speed,
and though his overall timing is very similar to Koukl’s the
distribution amongst the three individual movements is very
different. Though Leichner manages to find light and shade in
his opening movement Koukl’s greater deliberation pays dividends.
And he finds just the right sense of starkness and deliberation
in that powerful Adagio finale which he plays with gravity and
singular intensity.
The depth of Koukl’s
bass is palpable in the Fantasie et Toccata. Its immediacy
is arresting and stresses the abrupt dynamism of the writing.
Koukl’s playing here locates the imperturbable violence and
threat in the writing – it was written in 1940 after all. This
is a more intensive and tensile approach than Leichner’s rather
more skittish neo-classicism, though one wouldn’t want to underestimate
Leichner’s determined commitment to the bellicose writing.
Koukl certainly brings the edginess and brittle attacks of the
Toccata very much to the fore. This is valiant and perceptive
playing indeed, emphasised by the very immediate nature of the
studio recording.
After these two
powerful and important statements we turn to the Etudes and
Polkas – lighter fare written in 1945. These brief and expert
pieces – none lasting longer than three minutes - bring out
Koukl’s instinct for rhythmic vivacity and alluring tone. As
one might expect he’s generally – not always but usually – faster
than Leichner and this brings advantages in terms of terpsichorean
vitality. Curiously Leichner feels the Pastorale of the
First Volume rather faster than Koukl – I thought it would be
the other way around. The three Czech Dances round off the programme
and Koukl, Prague born, knows all about them. He can do the
Obkročák with the best of them.
Interpretative excellence
once again from Koukl - and so volume four is awaited with anticipation.
Jonathan Woolf
