After greatly appreciating Alice Sara Ott’s Chopin Waltzes
(see review)
it didn’t take much persuading for me to dive into some choice
Beethoven – works which Ott has been living and working with
for the last 10 years. This is no guarantee of anything of course,
but length of study and thoughtful consideration are aspects
of a performance from which Beethoven no doubt benefits, and
these are certainly well considered performances.
Less dramatic than Andras Schiff on his live ECM 1940/41 recording
and a tad less sprightly than Alfred
Brendel, Ott’s first movement of the Piano Sonata No.
3 in C major op. 2 no. 3 still has plenty of zip and a wide
dynamic impact. Unlike the gents, she seems keen to keep just
that bit extra in reserve, not forcing the sound but building
tremendous sonority in some of those pedalled sequences. There
is a good sense of contrast and variety of colour, though those
theatrical octaves into the sixth minute could have been a bit
more intense. The second movement Adagio is always a
bit special, though Ott doesn’t go in for quite as much lingering
profundity as Bendel. She does create a superb atmosphere however,
quietly building the movement as a whole rather than picking
over each magical fragment. I actually prefer her flow and momentum
in this movement, as it certainly works better in the central
development section. The Scherzo is full of light and
joy, as well as nicely pointing out the distinctive lines of
counterpoint Beethoven throws around. She is less wild than
Brendel in the Allegro section, allowing the arpeggio
notes to tell a little more effectively and gaining more drama
from the harmonies than from the spectacle of greater sparkle.
There are fireworks in the final Allegro assai, but Ott
doesn’t really spike the dynamic rise and fall to quite the
same effect as Louis
Lortie on the Chandos label, who arguably goes a little
too far to the other extreme in some of his micro-phrasing of
the main theme. Ott does have a good ear for detail however,
and she catches Beethoven’s youthful exuberance in fine style.
The Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major op. 53 may share the
same key as the first sonata in this programme, but is almost
entirely different in character. From the period in which Beethoven
was just beginning to confront his encroaching deafness, this
later work “creates the impression of a tempest” in the first
movement. Ott’s description doesn’t quite fit her playing, which
is striking and full of character but more gentle than Lortie
for instance. This is one of those movements where Alfred Brendel’s
ability to shade and give depth has its distinct advantages,
but Ott’s lightness of touch also gives a sense of clarity in
passages which are more familiar as piano ‘noise’ rather than
moments where detail can have its own strengths. I like Andras
Schiff in this piece – ECM 1945/46, and the enigmatic opening
of the middle movement is a moment of the deepest repose, and
almost silent contemplation in his hands. Ott does play this
opening more as a transition towards the entry of more recognisable
thematic developments within the movement, where Schiff continues
to milk that sense of mystery throughout the movement, reserving
the real sense of relief for the bounteous gift of the final
Rondo. Ott is really beautiful in the opening of this
movement, following Beethoven’s pedalling instructions to lesser
extremes than Schiff’s literal approach, but with an evenness
of touch and softness of colour creating a lovely atmosphere.
Her blistering technique carries us into the meat of the movement,
exploring the sonorities of the piano through Beethoven’s bell
like moments, and creating fantastic lines in the air with her
superbly elegant passagework. There’s a minor flub in the left
hand octave at 6:26, and these could have been a little firmer,
but minor and picky points aside this is a performance with
great variety and very many attractions.
The Andante favori was a movement originally intended
for the Sonata No. 21, so its inclusion here is logical
and sensible. Ott brings out the lyrical charm of the themes
in the piece to great effect, creating different worlds with
the variations in a similar way to the final movement of the
previous sonata. I prefer her firmer weighting of the accompanying
harmonies to Schiff’s sometimes rather indistinct inner voicing,
and she has a playful almost music-hall character in several
sections which raise a smile where one might not have been expected.
The Rondo a capriccio in G major is a nice filler, accompanying
the Sonata No. 3 as a piece from the same period, but
making for a fun encore rather than anything else.
This is a very fine Beethoven recording with the piano up close,
but with a warm tone and a nice acoustic to create a nice feeling
of generosity in the sound. Alice Sara Ott’s playing can certainly
stand up to close scrutiny, and her performances can also stand
up to comparison with big names in this repertoire. I don’t
really have a ‘good-better-best’ ranking for these pieces, and
admire qualities in all the players and others besides. The
name Gilels has popped up in comparison to Ott, and there are
indeed moments of transparent insight where the music seems
to float in similar ways. Ott fans will love this disc, and
with some nicely demure photos inside it’s the kind of release
which might hopefully popularise this music to wider audiences.
This CD may or may not change hardened opinions out in classical
music appreciation land, but I’d be glad to recommend it to
anyone dipping their toes for the first time, and to seasoned
and charmless cynics alike.
Dominy Clements
Alice Sara Ott (piano) 
