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"There
is something to be said for a churlish temperament," Marcel Marnat
writes in the notes for this disc. Beethoven's greatest compositions
were often born into the world much like pearls from an oyster-with
a little sand and considerable irritation. One particular irritant
was publisher Antonio Diabelli, whose "botched piece of cobbling,"
as Beethoven called the waltz in "Danube peasant" style that Diabelli
sent in 1819, aroused Beethoven's ire to extremes. But the pearl
brought forth from this intense annoyance four years later was one
of extraordinary price-a piece that, perhaps more than Bach's Goldberg
Variations, could be called an Everest of piano writing as well
as a towering summation of its composer's keyboard style.
The
two musical jewelers who have best set this pearl and brought a
luster to its many layers, to my ears, have been Sviatoslav Richer
and Grigory Sokolov. Now add Piotr Anderszewski, a 30-something
firebrand who made headlines during the 1990 Leeds Competition first
by the stupendous level of playing early on, then by walking out
halfway through his semi-final performance of Anton Weburn's Op.
27 Variations and withdrawing from the competition because of dissatisfaction
with his own playing. A triumphant Wigmore Hall recital a year later
established his international reputation, one of exceptionally spirited
and at times highly individualistic playing.
 Anderszewski's
reading of the Diabelli Variations to some extent plays upon
a "bad boy" image akin to its composer's, with a gruffness to the
playing that, while never overwhelming, does color the music with
a slightly aggressive edge. It also enhances the humor inherent
in much of Beethoven's oeuvre-a broader, more burly wit than Haydn's,
but highly effective nonetheless-which the composer displays to
excellent effect here. The man may have been highly bothered by
Diabelli and that silly little waltz, but he was going to have some
fun while showing that man how to really compose.
Too
many pianists play this piece, as well as most of Beethoven's piano
works, much too seriously, losing this rough wit and comedy in the
process. The better interpreters, while not letting this joking
become too broad, have made sure to let us in on the joke. While
Anderszewski concentrates more on the burlier aspects of Beethoven's
writing rather than playing up the wit as such, there is something
about the extreme straightness of his playing that brings this humor
to the fore, much as silent film director Raymond Griffith wrung
hilarity from similarly echt-serious tableaux in movies such as
Hands Up! Anderszewski is in on the joke-that Beethoven was,
in effect, thumbing his nose at Diabelli continually while producing
a masterpiece as only Beethoven could-and he lets us in on it as
well, but with a sly wink from an otherwise nonchalant demeanor,
which only adds to our amusement.
Take
that offending waltz by Diabelli. There's something deliciously
off-kilter about how it is phrased and accented, with a sarcastic
quality in the sharp power of those low bass figurations that carries
over into Variation 1, Alla marcia maestosa, played here
just pompously enough to transform it from ceremonious to side-splitting
(but never broadly enough to slip into parody-remember, Anderzewski
is playing this music more or less straight). Variation 9 is as
crotchety as a grumpy old man-a self-portrait of the composer, perhaps?-and
absolutely hilarious.
Anderszewski
also knows when to back off and play with greater subtlty. His Variations
2 through 4 are increasingly delicate, almost transparent, while
he gives each contrapuntal thread enough weight to lend color and
substance without becoming heavy-fingered. Variations 5 and 6, though
just as breezy overall, are shot through with a correspondingly
lighter but no less engaging wit, while Variation 8 is equally filled
with an almost romantic tenderness and Variation 14 with a quiet,
almost noble probity and depth of soul-searching that is almost
searing in its whispered intensity. The galloping humor that follows
in Variation 15 is both a perfect foil and a welcome relief to this
riveting introspection.
None
of this characterization would really mean a thing if Anderszewski's
technique were not up to the task. Pianistically, he is staggering,
with an almost x-ray clarity of articulation and an exceptionally
wide range of touch and tone color of attack. He also has the ability,
like Sokolov, to not only expose contrapuntal lines but also give
each strand its independent character, not simply to exist separately
but to interact and comment upon one another, thus enriching the
musical experience still further.
Variation
13 typifies both this ability and Anderszewski's exceptional range.
Staccato passagework with the lightness and lace-like connectiveness
of gold filigree and feathery high notes almost melting into the
air are juxtaposed with brass-like fanfares in the bass that, while
exceptionally solid in tone and well shaped, are never harsh or
pounding. All these elements are separate and distinct in themselves,
as though played by different pianists, each with different colors
and moods, yet all are woven together into a tapestry of statement
and counterstatement. As much as this is a testimony to Beethoven's
inventiveness in writing this variation, it also says a lot for
Anderszewski that he pulls off this passage in the manner that he
does.
This
iron-clad control, along with an apparently thorough knowledge of
this work's architecture, allows Anderszewski the freedom to shape
each variation as an independent entity not only musically, but
in terms of the character of each variation, while preserving the
overarching unity of the composition as a whole. This is a piece
that the pianist has played since his student days, and both the
long time he has lived with the score and his intensely personal
identification with it shows in every note.
I've
played this disc several times and have walked away each time both
awed and charmed. I cannot recommend it highly enough for great
playing, exceptional music-making and a rollicking good time-like
the Diabelli Variations themselves, a pearl of considerable price
and rarity.
JONATHAN YUNGKANS thinks
the film Chocolat is the perfect cure for churlish behavior.
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respond to this article, please post your comments to classical@inkpot.com
xxx:
13.8.2001 ©Jonathan Yungkans
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