Out of the blue, Stephen Kovacevich makes his debut on the distinguished British Onyx label with a stunning recording of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations. Instead of one of the recognized approaches—such as the incandescent classicism of a Schnabel, the passionate intellectualism of a Serkin or the youthful exhilaration of a Mustonen—Kovacevich comes at it as if he were unaware of other interpretations, even his own (recorded 40 years ago for Philips).
The musical impact comes straight from the notes, not from any conventional expressive phrasing within each variation or from an implied sense of dramatic continuity from one variation to another (or even a 33-variation arc). It is powerful and intense, as if Kovacevich were hard-lining the content directly to the listener. Each variation takes control with such little regard for what has gone before that the effect can be almost brutal, although occasionally when a connection is made, as from Variation 25 to 26, the effects is magical.
After the Beethoven, Bach’s Partita No. 4 provides a welcome aural palette cleaner, with its more civilized combination of warmth and logic. Although the notes do not say which was recorded first, it seems as if the Bach had been recorded in the Beethoven’s overwhelming wake. In retrospect, the limited availability (or at least low visibility) of Kovacevich’s Beethoven recordings for EMI, the complete sonatas and concertos (the latter with the Australian Chamber Orchestra and including an orchestral version of the Great Fugue Op. 133) seems a great pity.
Recorded at Wyastone Concert hall in the Welsh border town of Monmouth (the birthplace of Henry V and, perhaps more relevant, the home base of Nimbus Records), the sound is what digital does best, creating an absolutely silent space with just touch of reverb in which Kovacevich’s Steinway D simply makes music.
Consonant with the excellence of the performances and the sound, the liner notes comprise brief but insightful comments by the pianist (“It seems to me that as much as Variations Beethoven was often unconsciously writing Études…”) and splendid notes by Joseph Kerman.
Keep an eye on Onyx. Next on their agenda seems to be a complete set of Bach’s solo violin music played by another free creature of nature, Viktoria Mullova. But first, check out this Beethoven!
– Laurence Vittes
