Frederic RZEWSKI (b. 1938)
The People United Will Never Be Defeated! - 36 Variations on ¡El
Pueblo Unido Jamás Será Vencido! (1975)
Ole Kiilerich (piano)
rec. May 2009, The Carl Nielsen Academy of Music, Odense, Denmark
BRIDGE 9392 [59:46]
This set of variations for piano is probably US composer Rzewski’s best-known
work. His list of teachers reads like a Who’s Who of American music
in the 1950s and 1960s, but despite teaching visits to the States Rzewski
has made his home in Europe. He’s Professor of Composition at the Royal Conservatory
of Music in Liège, Belgium.
As for the Chilean song on which this work is based, it’s rooted in the Allende
years of the early 1970s. After the Pinochet coup in September 1973 it became
something of a rallying cry for those opposed to the new regime. Remarkably,
it’s since resonated with revolutionaries and exiles the world over.
Rzewski dedicated The People United Will Never Be Defeated! to the
pianist Ursula Oppens, who recorded it for Vanguard in 1978; this pioneering
performance has now been reissued on Piano Classics. Since then several keyboard
virtuosi have recorded the piece, whose expressive range – rhythms, colours
and dynamics – would strike fear into the hearts of all but the most fearless
interpreters. Among the latter are Ralph van Raat on Naxos and Marc-André
Hamelin on Hyperion; both deliver highly charged and very individual performances,
captured in superb sound.
The wild card here is the Danish pianist Ole Kiilerich, who is new to me.
That said, he certainly has the right credentials for this work, as he specialises
in contemporary music and has studied with Ursula Oppens in Boston and Stephen
Drury in New York. The latter has recorded The People United for
New Albion. I’ve chosen to compare this new recording with those by Oppens,
van Raat and Hamelin. Oppens and Kiilerich don’t offer any fillers, whereas
van Raat and Hamelin include two each of the North American Ballads.
In the spirit of BBC Radio 3’s Building a Library we must whittle
down the shortlist. The first to go has to be Oppens, whose whip-cracking
performance is compromised by bright, shallow sonics and – on my copy at least
– audible drop-outs. There’s no denying the authority of her reading – it’s
an angular, almost brittle soundscape – but one only has to hear Kiilerich
et al to realise she has been eclipsed when it comes to the finer
details and nuances of the piece. True, Kiilerich, well recorded, is something
of a slow burner. At first I felt he was a little studied, but subsequent
auditions reveal a reading of uncommon sophistication and insight. His rhythmic
control is exemplary, dynamics are subtly graded and the whole performance
has a warmth and generosity of spirit that’s most appealing.
By contrast van Raat brings out more of the score’s fractured/fractious qualities,
while Hamelin offers the surest and most compelling narrative. The latter
has remarkable fidelity and presence as well. That said, the Bridge engineers
really do capture the richness and weight of Kiilerich’s Steinway D. There’s
so much to admire in this performance; from those dancerly tunes and repetitive
– yet beguiling – phrases to the sudden shouts and lid slamming, Kiilerich
never fails to entrance or entertain. Indeed, there are times when I’ve felt
the piece comes close to outstaying its welcome; that’s emphatically not the
case here.
Returning to van Raat and Hamelin, it’s impossible not to respond to their
bravura playing; the muscularity and momentum of their readings makes a fine
contrast with Kiilerich’s, which is sensitively shaped and beautifully coloured.
This is immensely seductive music-making, and I just know I shall return to
Kiilerich again and again. It’s so often the case that apparently self-effacing
performers and performances are elbowed aside by the more attention-grabbing
ones; it’s also true that the latter are likely to give up all or most of
their secrets at first hearing. By contrast, Kiilerich unearths and illuminates
something new each time, and that’s very rare indeed.
Time to tot up the scores; before Kiilerich I would have given Hamelin and
van Raat the most points, but now I’m not so sure. This triumvirate benefits
from good, modern sound, but what could swing it for some buyers is the fillers;
in van Raat’s case these are even more desirable than the main work. No, I’m
going to take the coward’s way out and endorse all three recordings, as each
has something valuable to say about this perennially fascinating piece.
Illuminating, even revelatory; Ole Kiilerich is a pianist to watch.
Dan Morgan
http://twitter.com/mahlerei
Illuminating, even revelatory; Ole Kiilerich is a pianist to watch.
|
Support us financially
by purchasing this disc from
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |