Monthly Archive: July 2019

Jascha Spivakovsky: Bach to Bloch, Vol. 8 – Jascha Spivakovsky, piano – Pristine Audio

by Audiophile Audition | Jul 18, 2019 | Classical CD Reviews, Classical Reissue Reviews

Jascha Spivakovsky: Bach to Bloch, Vol. 8 = Works for solo piano by BEETHOVEN; SCHUMANN; CHOPIN; GLUCK; BRAHMS; LISZT [complete list of compositions below]- Jascha Spivakovsky, piano – Pristine Audio PAKM080, 68:51 [www.pristineclassical.com] ****: This most recent installment of sound documents devoted to Ukrainian pianist Jascha Spivakovsky (1896-1970) traverses performances 1955-1967, including several alternative readings of repertory covered in earlier Pristine issues, yet revealing the true musician’s touch for finding nuance and phrasing pertinent to the moment. Spivakovsky opens with Beethoven’s youthful 1796 Sonata in E Major, and the performance of the first movement Allegro carries a rococo color that testifies to the composer’s treating the piano sonata medium as a kind of experimental laboratory for structure and texture. The ascending fourths in one hand find a response in various octaves. The scalar passage takes us chromatically to B Major that soon develops by chains of sixteenths, which under Spivakovsky rather glisten. The ensuing Allegretto in E minor – a relatively innovative modulation for the time – conveys a darker, sturm und drang sensibility, a trait first revealed to this auditor by Gina Bachauer. The trio section Beethoven marks “Maggiore” and proceeds to a bright C Major. The Rondo will […]