Nimbus NI 2513/4 , 2-CD 64:47; 39:07 [Distrib. by Allegro] ****:
Originally released in 1991, these classic Brahms inscriptions capture the mature artistry of Oscar Shumsky (1917-2000), a musician of phenomenal finesse and exquisite taste. He collaborates with another musical wonder, the pianist Leonid Hambro (1920-2006), noted for his uncanny memory as well for his spontaneous, humorous antics at the keyboard, which he shared in partnership with Victor Borge.
From the opening of the Brahms G Major Sonata, with its quotations from the composer’s own songs “Regenlied” and “Nachtklang,” we feel the thrall of Shumsky’s artful shaping of the phrases, the graduated tension, and the restrained lyricism that can always break out into dark, troubled passions. The dotted rhythm becomes increasingly elastic in the course of the three movements, even as the music reclaims motives from the Adagio and perpetually alters the course of the raindrops that fall upon our hearts. Shumsky favors the long line, the tone of his Stradivarius quite lush; it was an instrument Shumsky cherished, having gone into some debt to acquire it. The poetry of Groth, so dear to Brahms as a source of inspiration, seems to inform–if not comment upon–Shumsky’s own impassioned, caressed figurations. The last page, unsentimentally poignant, makes a testament for Shumsky’s art for which words prove inadequate.
The happy “Thun” sonata in A Major resonates with splendid echo effects and emotional pungency in the otherwise four-square rhythm. Quotes from the composer’s own song “Wie Melodien” complement the strong allusions to Walther’s Prize Song from Wagner’s Meistersinger. Hambro’s execution of the sweet arpeggios in the Allegro amabile proves quite expressive–though none quite equals what Horszowski achieved in his Mercury recording with Szigeti–again, the shape of the phrases molded Shumsky like a velvet glove. The forward drive of the performance almost belies the childlike lyricism of the writing. The Andante tranquillo unites slow movement and scherzo in one swoop, F Major against D Minor, Shumsky’s making the transition without mussing a hair. Virile Gs mark the last movement Rondo, moving between its grazioso indication and a more vehement maestoso. The double stops at the music’s conclusion convey Shumsky’s awesome, rich sonority.
The D Minor shares an affect close to the darkly passionate sonata in the same key by Schumann, and Shumsky and Hambro delve directly into its austere, moody energies. Small, graduated sequences move the music towards its uncanny development, in which a sotto voce Shumsky plies over a sustained, keyboard pedal on the dominant. The cavatina of the Adagio finds a perfect vehicle in Shumsky, whose expressive power carries the movement as an unbroken song. The Scherzo provides a dark dalliance, restless and lyrically melancholic, as though time held it green and dying. The tumultuous tarantella has Shumsky and Hambro full throttle, cross rhythms later exploding into a symphonic meditation exploiting the instrument’s full, expressive range. Quite a ride!
The 1894 Viola Sonatas–originally written for clarinet virtuoso Richard Muhlfeld of the Meningen Orchestra–exist in the composer’s own arrangement, the lower range of the viola and its capacity for double notes allowing Brahms a throatier, more solemn color and sensibility. Dramatic and fiercely gruff, the F Minor Sonata speaks to the “old bachelor” in the Brahms persona, reflective, nostalgic, occasionally enraged in the manner of King Lear’s fist aimed overhead. The E-flat Sonata places its Appassionato movement between two pastorals, the latter of which presents a theme and five variations. Autumn leaves preside in Shumsky’s glowing performance, the singing tone of his instrument a charcoal song of burnished light. Sweet even in its interchange of 32nd notes for Variation 3, the last movement allows Shumsky broad strokes for his resonant palette, a model of phrase and noble sentiments.
–Gary Lemco
