SHOSTAKOVICH: Preludes op 34
LISZT: Mephisto Waltz 1, Waltz from Faust, Sonetto 104 di Petrarca
Elisso Wirssaladze, p
Live classics 306- 53:02
The 24 preludes of opus 34 are like a poor relative at the heart of Shostakovich’s corpus. Between the provocative Lady Macbeth de Mtsensk and the monumental Preludes and Fugues Op. 87, they illustrate a return to simple classicism, seeming to sweep away all avant-garde, non-politically correct experiments. Taken literally, this collection, with Prokofiev’s mark all over it, might seem a mere stylistic exercise, a prescriptive entertainment placed outside any hope of grace. Elisso Wirssaladze’s intelligent reading proves the opposite, revealing a hitherto unimagined world of emotions and expression buried beneath the polished ingenuity and hieratic on the surface. By concentrating on the double emphasis of each prelude, she reveals the Janus who lies sleeping in each of them. The reassuring beginning of the 22nd waltz turns, under her fingers, into an esoteric labyrinth which never leads where one wants it to go. The grotesque humor of the 6th , with its spluttering fanfare, and the ironic march of the 13th conceal, under their thick mantle, a brilliant, multi-faceted dagger still stained by recent wounds. The bitter syllogism that is the main theme of the cycle surfaces with cynical force, as in the 14th waltz or in the three blows that echo over a whirling set of arpeggios in the 12th. Wirssaladze gives herself over to this double game with a mature ease that allows her to live the cycle rather than play it. Blessed with an artistic sense as engaged as it is musically controlled, this pianist touches our sensibility to its inmost depths. From the élan like a puff of air in the 2nd prelude to the tender poetry of the 22nd, through the racing pursuit of the 5th and the quick glimpse of a swaying walk in the 8th, she succeeds with the same perfection in all, like a sad clown giving his last performance. By stressing the derision, the parody and the caricature that are almost subversive, this interpretation confirms that the 27-year-old composer who wrote these preludes was indeed the same iconoclast who had just finished Lady Macbeth.
All things considered, Wirssaladze’s interpretation can be ranked among the best, along with those of Tatiana Nikolayeva (Hyperion 66620), Vladimir Viardo (Mar/Apr 1991), Olli Mustonen (Jul/Aug 1992) and Arthur Pizzaro (Mar/Apr 1998).
This recording, made during a recital in Milan, also includes three pieces by Liszt which allow us to discover the pianist’s typically Slavic touch. In the Mephisto Waltz she traces the natural line of the song, while demonstrating an almost masculine vigor balanced between two trembling murmurs. The Sonetto di Petrarca allows us to hear the deep poetry of the sounds produced by the lower keys of the excellent piano on which she plays. Without giving the twilight glow of the latest Arrau recording, her interpretation is on intimate terms with the noble soul of the seigneur who appears just beneath the surface of this piece. Concluding with the Waltz from Faust, Wirssaladze offers a final bouquet filled with contrasts, élan and multiple intentions (a little too theatrical in places), reminding us of Liszt’s adage, "I am the orchestra." Her palette of forte dynamics is admirable. There are not many pianists who can, at that volume, succeed in delivering the entire sound sweetly without overwhelming it. Finally, this recording of a live performance, with its minor imperfections, surpasses many a studio recording that has been sterilized by doctoring it in an attempt to attain perfection.
VILLEMIN
Published in American Record Guide, Vol. 65, N. 3