Music & Arts CD-1200, 76:22 (Distrib. Albany) ****:
I had the distinct pleasure of seeing and hearing Rudolf Serkin (1903-1991) perform the last three Beethoven sonatas in concert in Atlanta in 1988, where after the concert he signed for me my old CBS album of the Schubert E-flat Trio with Adolf and Herman Busch. This 20 June 1954 performance of Op. 109 from the Casals Festival in Prades revives many thoughts that I had during Serkin’s later incursion into the E Major’s sacred precincts. Serkin, whatever his limitations as a “percussive pianist,” thought deeply about the works he performed.
He makes the Op. 109 a synthesis of musical economy and poetic imagination, a highly subjective compression of classical forms. The Vivace movement is carved out in lyrical pulses, and none can deny Serkin’s fluid, singing line articulated as a kind of improvisation. The quirky little Prestissimo has a hard edge, a scherzo without a trio. It has a contrasting affect that has Serkin repeating notes and brief phrases, and as always, Serkin’s trill is an earthquake. The last movement opens a world of mystery–as it embraces Op. 110 and Op. 111–that remains ever open to possibilities. Serkin’s is simply another probe into its theme and six variations with a brief da capo to announce at least a passing homage to Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
What I savor is here is Serkin’s intensity, his rocking of the motives in the last variation sequence to achieve a mighty wall of sound–sometimes just broken pieces of melody–that overwhelm us out of their own sincerity of expression. The Diabelli Variations (18 June 1954) predate Serkin’s stereo recording by three years, but he still likes to crescendo the opening statement – without the score giving him permission. Serkin takes advantage of the opportunities for poetry (in Variation 3, L’istesso Tempo) and for his firebrand octaves (in Variation 5, Allegro vivace), and for Beethoven’s infinite capacities for humor (the famous Leporello Variation No. 22, Allegro molto). Serkin can prove breathless (Variation 7 and Variation 16, Allegro) or meat-fisted in the bass (Variation 10, Presto), or both (Variation 19, Presto); but his inner voicing (Variation 14, Grave e Maestoso) and general propulsion can be illuminating, and commentator Harris Goldsmith finds revelatory readings in the minore variations 29-31. We can hear Serkin clearly singing along with own playing, an audience cough or two, but restoration by Kit Higginson is top-flight for the period and shows off Serkin, who at fifty-one was well in command of his considerable powers at the keyboard.
— Gary Lemco
