K. 459; Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466 – Clara Haskil, piano/Paris Conservatory Orchestra/Jerzy Katlewicz (Concerto No. 19)/Philharmonia Orchestra/Herbert von Karajan
Tahra TAH 628, 58:37 [Distrib. www.tahra.com] ****:
As more performances by the late Rumanian pianist Clara Haskil (1895-1960) emerge, the more collectors glean pearly treasures from this fine musician, who may have been under-appreciated in her lifetime, but who has now a cult following world-wide. The Mozart F Major Concerto directed by Jerzy Katlewitz is previously unissued, deriving from a Besancon Festival concert 6 September 1956 in fine sound. We tend to associate Haskil with Mozart interpretation almost exclusively, often disregarding the breadth of her repertory, although the number of extant Mozart inscriptions number 57.
Haskil’s opening foray into the militant figures of the F Major sing crisply and luxuriantly, the runs and ostinati bass lines clearly articulate. The flute and Haskil make excellent progress to the secondary tune, where the oboe contributes, while the pert march wends its way forward. I am reminded that I first heard this concerto with Hans Henkemanns and John Pritchard. The recap of the first movement has Haskil playing both alla musette and with virile force. Alternately light-hearted and touched by palpable wistfulness, the realization enjoys a haunted resonance that achieves an aerial serenity prior to the cadenza, whose sinewy trill leads to the pompous charm of the coda. The Allegretto communicates graceful nobility in all its flourishes and musing arioso passages. Haskil’s line is long, often classically balanced in the manner that Robert Casadesus made his own, but at faster speeds. Haskil’s phrases never lose their breathed pulsation, the lilting, vocal character. Quick segue to the bubbly, punctuated Allegro assai, whose polyphonic moments achieve considerable symphonic intensity under Katlewicz, noted for his work with the Poznan Philharmonic. Haskil’s lucid trills over the basses shimmer with excitement, as do the woodwind and entries of the martial theme, over which Haskil’s rockets provide a red glare. The cadenza frolics somewhere between Scarlatti and Beethoven – pungent, direct, honest virtuosity of the highest order.
That Haskil could work effectively with Herbert von Karajan (1908-1989) likely proves he wasn’t all bad, and this performance of the D Minor Concerto from Salzburg (28 January 1956) with the Philharmonia Orchestra of London testifies to a healthy musical symbiosis that Karajan managed also with Lipatti and Kempff. The tension in this rendition is not so manic as that achieved by Gieseking and Rosbaud, but the dramatic, convulsive gestures exert themselves with both charm and tonal acuity. The interplay in the first movement between Haskil and the Philharmonia’s bassoon and oboe captures our fancy, as do Haskil’s massive chords that can break off into sparkling runs instantaneously. Her cadenza illuminates the musical materials by invoking Bach and Busoni, the wrist action on the bass chords wicked, right up to the thunderbolt reentry by the Philharmonia strings for the darkling coda. The Romanza movement may prove ideal to many collectors’ ears, serenely broad and passionately impelled, as the spirit requires. The Rondo blazes forth, all business, furiously sturm und drang. Haskil’s non-legato rings with the tenor of one born and bred to Mozart interpretation, the rocking chords and flippant runs breathe and thrill us at once. Karajan catches Haskil’s fire, and together they urge an ambivalent strata of emotions to their ineluctable convergence with D Major. Seamless momentum to the dazzling cadenza, Haskil as mighty as Bachauer or Michelangeli, then the bassoon and oboe usher in the scherzando element that quickly heaves once more with lava culled from the depth of Mozart’s soulful, witty imagination. Recommended for every precious note.
— Gary Lemco
