ChristopherAxworthy-MusicCommentary

It is very apposite that in Busoni’s 150 anniversary year one should be reminded twice in the same week of his statement that “the pedal is the soul of the piano”.Nowhere could that have been more evident than at Krystian Zimerman’s recital of Schubert’s last two Sonatas in London a few days ago and now even more evident with Pires in Beethoven’s last two Sonatas op110 and op.111.The pedal used as voice in its own right . Now to open up the sound in the piano almost as a percussion instrument in order to make the piano sound like a full orchestra and now to give a sheen and luminous sound. Reminiscent of the great almost forgotten Wilhelm Kempff especially in his later years. We are a taught from an early age to practise without pedal and to join the notes with ones fingers , not to rely on the pedal but to a certain extent to add the pedal after this work has been done. But are we ever made aware that the pedal ( I am talking about all three pedals ) in the hands of a real thinking musician is another voice in its own right? And so it was as Maria Joao Pires stepped onto the platform with a very fine twenty one year old disciple whom she had decided to share the concert with fifty fifty.TheJapanese pianist Kaito Kobayashi. Last time I saw her she share the concert with Julien Brocal ,a young french pianist whom I had heard and admired at the Monza Competition a few years ago. There she played the Mozart double with him and a series of shared recitals all over the north of Italy . When I went backstage,in Oxford, to thank her for all she is doing to help these marvellous young musicians she replied with a very sweet genuine modesty that it was they that helped her!

Very similar to that other great , generous lady Martha Argerich.A table to one side with a chair for the attentive listener awaiting their turn to play.It was hardly fair for Kaito to follow Pires’s opening op 110 with Beethovens Funeral March Sonata op 26 . Clean and clear a fine musicianly account of op 26 some very beautiful things indeed but when Pires opened opn 110 there was a sheen and luminosity to the sound that was quite unique . The simple but extreme attention to sound no where more evident than in the last chord of the first movement that seemed to disintigrate before our very eyes( just infact as another great magician of sound Shura Cherkassky would have done) The second movement with all the rhythmic energy necessary but without that usual heavy not always legato chord playing that we are so used to hearing. Leading to a final movement of such majesty and beauty . Can the melodic line ever have sounded so beautiful with the rock solid but never heavy repeated chords underneath? Wonderful sense of balance and of holding back the sound until the climax before the explosion of arpeggiated chords and the gentle almost murmured return of the fugue in inversion this time leading to the real climax and triumphant ending of this masterpiece.Here the almost percussive use of the pedal to open up the full rich sound that is hidden away in that black box of tricks. A beautiful Steinway from Alfonsi lovingly tuned by that master Mauro Buccitti. Follow that! After the interval Kaito gave a very fine performance of Mozart A minor Sonata …the last movement,of course,too fast , as always not allowing a real legato and giving the beautiful middle section a chance to have time to sing and breath. The first movement on the other hand magnificently played with the right sound and majesty with a real sense of colour and rhythmic energy leading to a beautifully shaped slow movement. All this appreciated from the lady seated at the table by the piano awaiting her turn to play. And play she did ! Beethoven’s last Sonata . And if ,unexpectedly, she played the opening octaves with two hands it was always with the intended struggle in mind. If the first movement did not always seem as rock solid as it probably could ,it was remarkable for the sheen and overall homogenious sense of sound sometimes again resorting to almost jumping on the sustaining pedal to open up the sound to give us that full orchestral sound that obviously Beethoven ,who was totally deaf, had envisage. But who could have imagined the visionary performance of the last movement from the very opening. Beauty without sentimentality so difficult to transmit in this piece. And whereas the most notable thing about this small, sparrow like master was the stillness when she played . But suddenly in the middle jazz like variation she became a jazz star moving just as one would expect from a keyboards player in some dive , with an almost infectious dance like movement . But all this to lead to the most serene and sublime final pages imaginable leading ,in turn, to the triumphant climax always( with that luminous and sometimes rich full sound ) Discending to the final pages of the trills that I have never heard played so beautifully. The technical feat of playing in itself a continuous trill with two fingers of one hand whilst using the others have to play the most etherial appearance of the theme . All this whilst the left hand has a magic all of its own . We were not made aware of the difficulty such were the magic sounds produced ……it was as though Beethoven had anticipated the Impressionist and that in his imagination he could have imagined what the remarkable Madame Pires miraculously achieved. To end the concert suddenly two stools appeared and our two artists played this time as one a beautiful piece for four hands by Grieg . A big queue in the Green Room to thank Madame Pires for the lesson of humility,sensitivity and humanity that she had brought to us. Many fine pianists in the queue for it was they, above all ,that were able to appreciate the state of perfection that she had achieved . Beatrice Rana ,fresh from a recital in Leipzig,had even forsaken an evening’s rest in order not to miss Pires before flying off the following morning on a South American tour with Pappano (Tchaikowsky n.1 S.Cecilia Orchestra) .In the queue with many others to meet and thank this remarkable lady.

And so it was tonight it came to mind Joan Chisell’s title of a review of a Rubinstein recital in the ’70’s :”The Prince of Pianists”. For here never have I heard,since Rubinstein, the piano sound so beautiful but also expressive with all that that implies. All the emotions and intelligence were there and one is reminded of the ” canons covered in flowers ” reference to Chopin’s Polonaises.

The A major Sonata has never sounded so grand and at the same time so beautiful .Gone is the usual hard edged Beethoven sound because here we are in the very particular sound world all Schuberts own. From the opening cascading arpeggios to the beseeching counterpoint on the return of the melody in the slow movement. Never has the hesitant final theme in the last movement sounded so nostalgic .

And so it was after the interval .Four Szymanowski mazurkas just as his mentor Rubinstein would do in the middle of an all Chopin recital like a sorbet before continuing.with the cordon bleu plate placed before us. And what a plate probably one of the most beautifully coherent performances this hall has witnessed of Schubert`s last great Sonata. I remember Rubinstein bringing his own piano to the recording studio in Rome trying to find that very special sound world that this work inhabits. Barenboim too had designed recently a single stringed instrument based on one he had found in Siena , and reproduced by Roberto Valli under his name , in the search for that elusive sound. Here Zimerman also aided by his faithful italian technician,Tonino Rappoccio, had been able to find on his own Steinway, I presume, that special mellow but full singing sound. I believe recently they even fished out an old piano backstage in Macerata and after working on it used it for this very recital programme in that city. Much to the cities delight and amazement they found they had a concert piano actually of their own. Interesting use of the pedal in the repeated single note that announces the last movement . As in the slow movement of the A major sonata before the interval. A sort of double escapement (as in Carnaval)which obviously comes from Zimermans knowledge and study of the capability and limits of the pianos of Schuberts time So many wonderful things but not just for their sake but incorporated in an intelligent ,knowledgeable discourse(with the score always visible and ready to be reinterpreted on top of the piano) that kept the vast audience in silent rapture. Three encores , real baubles turned into gems by this magician. Could they have been Medtner or even early Szymanowski?Indeed grazie Tonino per la conferma di tre Preludi op 1 di Szymanowski. No importance as it held us all in raptures well into the foyer where all our young lions were enchanted and not a little bewildered but indeed bewitched by the great lesson of intelligence, beauty and simplicity that we had all been privileged to witness.

And so it was this evening where many of the details and note picking accuracy were instead replaced by an immediate simple musicality that allowed the music to speak for itself .

An eventful evening in many ways where one of the public was taken ill and unknown to the artist ,as to most of the audience lost in the world of sublime world of Schuberts four Impromptus op 90

An ambulance was called and it all looked so hopeless,until during the G flat Impromptu the miracle occured and the man who had slithered under his pew was resucitated by the immediate help offered from St Marys nearby …….I like to think that Badura Skoda’s Schubert had much to do with it too.

Not satisfied with offering a large programme of Mozart D minor Fantasy,Haydn C minor Sonata ,Schubert Four Impromptus and Beethoven’s last sonata .

After an interval, that the pianist had to pass on foot with the public, as in the confusion his green room had been locked and people were more intent on their Champagne that what our 88 year artist was doing!.

However after the interval Badura Skoda moved his stool nearer to the large public that had gathered to hear this legendary musician ,as he wanted to explain the piece by Frank Martin ,that had been dedicated to him , by the relatively unknown Swiss composer.

Charming very amusing and informative ” chat” about the Fantasy on Flamenco Rhythms . The clear lines of op.111 after made us realised how privileged we were to hear this musician from another age .

A beautiful little piece for glass harmonica by Mozart ( played with unbelievable cristalline sound on this “Boston” piano) was the perfect encore for a memorable evening

The age of the complete Viennese musician whose only preoccupation was to be the direct go between,between the composer and the audience.

I well remember when Paul played for us at the Ghione Theatre in Rome and during the rehearsal he had the whole piano works in his lap . When I found him he explained that there were some notes that needed injecting with a liquid he had been given by Bob Glazebrook at Steinways. Rather alarmed I immediately rang Glazebrook in London who reassured me that the bottle contained water as they could not allow Maestro Badura Skoda to ruin all the pianos in Europe!

And Perlemuter telling me of this jury member at the Casagrande competition in Terni, a small industrial town created by Mussolini outside Rome, who jumped down from his post to tune the piano when it became unbearably out of tune.

Wonderful to see him in such good form and know that the great Viennese school is alive and well in his hands and being shared with the numerous young musicians who flock to him for his invaluable advice and comradship.

Carlo Grante in particular often passes days comparing scores and playing the numerous antique instruments that make up the Badura Skoda household in Vienna.

This to show the direct link between the composers.Something she expertly spoke about as she began with Liszt`s Dance at the village inn .Followed by Bartok`s percussive Allegro Barbaro before arriving at Prokofiev and Ginastera .

Originally the idea to write a concerto for piano and percussion after her much admired performance of his first concerto lead to a very moving portrayal of her friend Ginastera who wrote his 3rd Sonata for her in its place from his hospital bed in 1982.

Infact this was his last work dedicated to Barbara Nissman and bears the inscription “Thanks be to God”.

Although living in Switzerland he always thought of himself as a man of South America.

Ending her remarkable recital with Ginastera’s masterpiece his first sonata written thirty years earlier.

Such energy and transcendental piano playing left us all breathless,but certainly not Barbara who at the end greeted all her numerous illustrious friends and admirers and one felt she could have easily started all over again. Over the years I feel she has become a close friend ,in a correspondence that has lasted over twenty years, from the day her dear friends Rosalyn Tureck and teacher Gyorgy Sandor spoke about her to me on their regular annual visits to Rome.

We had never actually met in person but her numerous CDs would happily arrive regularly in my office at the Teatro Ghione and we even shared our grief over loosing our beloved spouses.

So it was a very poignant meeting at her astonishing performance today in London.

Oh for the next twenty years of happy correspondence together.

After his highly successful Chopin recital for the Keyboard Charitable Trust a month ago he reappears again at the Wigmore Hall for YCAT with a programme of Haydn,Ravel and Liszt.

Winner at the age of only twenty of the Bartok/Liszt Competition in Budapest it was hardly surprising that now four years later he gave a monumental performance of Liszt`s Sonata in B minor.

A truly mature and unforgettable performance of this war horse in which the dramatic contrasts were fully realised without resorting to the more usual rhetoric whilst never sacrificing the overall architectural shape.

Never were we made aware of the transcendental difficulties such were we swept along by his performance of this masterpiece of the romantic literature ,at last restored to its rightful place.

Magnificent idea to lead straight into the sombre bass notes of the sonata without a break from the magical sounds produced in Ravel`s Oiseaux Triste.

Opening with Haydn Variations in F minor of such intelligence and elegance but not for one moment forgetting that this was the forebear of Beethoven. A real tone poem was created with superbly executed ornaments incorporated into the line .Some really beautiful legato playing created just the magic needed for two or Ravel`s Miroirs:Noctuelles and Oiseaux Triste.