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BACH: ENGLISH SUITE NO. 6; BEETHOVEN, PIANO SONATA NO. 31 (OPUS 110); WEBERN, VARIATIONS (OPUS 27)
(Virgin Classics)
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Piotr Anderszewski is one of the most original pianists playing today, as last year’s remarkable Chopin recording attests. This re-release of his debut recording — originally issued by the Polish label Accord — is a near-ideal specimen of his unconventional yet consistently fascinating playing. His Bach sounds like no one else’s: the introduction to the first movement of the Suite emerges gradually, as if the music were rousing itself from some secret sleep. Later, Anderszewski’s dynamic, sharp-edged rhythms give the counterpoint a drive that rivals even Gould. How does he infuse the slow movements with such a tragic feel? In part, they’re a testament to his ability to carry a line through such measured tempos, but the emotional intensity is simply a thing unto itself. Rubato is deployed so subtly that you could swear Bach himself notated it in the manuscript. Yet the final Gigue sounds almost unhinged, so furiously does Anderszewski drive home its relentless chromatic dissonances. The Beethoven is similarly captivating, if less uniformly successful — here the wide disparities in tempo and dynamics make for a performance that’s sometimes revealing and occasionally fussy. The Arioso dolente is a lyrical gem, utterly suspended in time, and the fugue that follows is shaped perfectly. And who would have thought that Webern’s Variations could sound so buoyant, graceful, and downright fun? A wealth of new insights, beautifully rendered.
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