Schoenberg: Piano Concerto; Berg; Webern [CD]

Alfred Brendel has done three recordings of Schoenberg's Piano Concerto, and I own two of them (the DG one with Kubelik and the much later one on Philips, the latter nla). I previously thought Brendel's latest recording (with Gielen at the podium) to be the last word concerning this concerto, but I was wrong. Uchida and Boulez are much more fiery, employing a very wide spectrum of dynamics and articulation (which Schoenberg's scores demand). I thought the first movement was a bit sluggish at first, but it works beautifully, and the more contrapuntal variations are more clearly focussed because of the added spaciousness (though not even Boulez's legenday ear could clarify the very thick textures of some passages). The second movement has a greater sense of angst and conflict than Brendel and Gielen, and the third movement more pain. Brendel and Gielen are more playfully nonchalant in the last movement. Uchida and Boulez seem to portray the movement as having an eerie undurcurrent, as if the troubles of the second and third movements are still kept in mind.

The solo piano items are also very good, though I have some reservations. It surprises me that Uchida executes a crescendo instead of the printed decrscendo in one passage of Op. 11 No. 1 (Uchida is usually very faithful to the score). But Op. 11 No. 3 is incredibly intense, more so than the recordings by Gould or Pollini (though Pollini's recording is on the whole very good). Op. 19 is performed with utmost sensitivity and warmth -- the bells of the last piece are exquisitely voiced and controlled. Webern's Variations are also warmly expressive -- the third movement's closing variation seems to disappear into the ether (as it should), but the second movement is rather slow, diminshing the sense of manic energy that it should have. Uchida's performance of Berg's Sonata is one of the finest ever recorded. She takes Berg's numerous tempo changes to heart and follows them more closely than any other recording I've listened to (compare Pollini, for example). The result is very intense yet also very coherent, as it should be.

Those of you who love these works (as I do) should not hesitate. This is the best recording of Schoenberg's Piano Concerto so far.

A little perspective: I am a 21-year old pianist who has made it his obligation in the past couple of years to thoroughly internalize Schoenberg's Op. 11 and 19, both of which are found on this CD. I am a stickler for following every little marking Schoenberg wrote, but I see a lot of room for creativity, too. My reference recordings have been those of Charles Rosen and Maurizio Pollini, both of which I hold in high esteem for their clean precision and abstract imagery. For the Berg sonata, I am partial to Maria Yudina's exuberant (and hard to find) recording. For the Webern variations, Richter's live performance in Vienna is my favorite. The Concerto is new to me, but I pulled out some recordings from the library to compare it to - Gould, Brendel, Ax, Peter Serkin.

Besides this disc, I have also heard Uchida albums of Schubert, Debussy, Mozart, and Chopin. I find that her playing tends to be dark-hued, dimly lit and compellingly non-intuitive, with an amazing command of passages calling for gossamer textures. She can also use impossibly slow tempi at times, coming up with conceptions so expansive that you can stick your head in between the notes. Both of those qualities make her Schoenberg Op. 19 quite different from the others I've heard, but the concept of space is the more striking and memorable. Uchida seems to be convinced that it is the silences in these tiny pieces that gives them their meaning, and long ritards to silence mark almost every bar. Yet the pieces never fall apart, because this is entirely in their character. It's a free interpretation, to be sure, and not one which is 100% faithful, but it's highly sympathetic and quite effective.

Her Op. 11 is more conventionally beautiful, and it's also easily the best I've heard. Never mind the fact that Uchida's hands could never actually span the gigantic chords in the third piece - the editing job is seamless and the musical content is what's important. These readings are far more humane than those of the ferocious Pollini, and the Romantic warmth bleeds through even though the sound is not plush. The influence of Brahms on Schoenberg can clearly be heard through this truly stellar reading.

The Berg Sonata is merely good. There are some beautiful moments and there is some real tension here, but Uchida seems to see this as a conventional sonata-allegro movement packing a few extra pounds around the middle, and that's exactly how it comes off. The Mahlerian drama is muted - I think it takes someone as incandescantly insane as Maria Yudina to really do it justice. Uchida certainly follows Berg's markings more closely than Yudina does, but they're not well enough internalized and so they don't have the effect that they should have.

The Webern is a welcome addition. Too many recordings of Webern have an excessive cleanliness to them which makes them alienating and creepy. This, on the other hand, is warm in the same way that Uchida's Schoenberg Op. 11 is, imbuing this fragmentary, elusive music with a real soul.

The Concerto is the most complex piece on the album, and this performance, by Uchida at the piano with Boulez conducting the Cleveland Orchestra, is the hardest for me to judge. No doubt that it is fearsomely difficult to play, and she does a fantastic job. Every page bristles with new and different difficulties, but these are not merely pianistic bells and whistles like you hear in Rachmaninoff or Prokofiev. The importance Schoenberg puts on each awkwardly placed note makes this piece doubly difficult to execute. Uchida's overall conception is smooth and highly intelligible, with a fantastic sound. The only thing it really lacks is style. The Haydn-esque finale is rather flat compared with any of the other major recordings, such as Gould or Brendel just to name a couple. Although the form is there, the spark of life is a bit weak. Nonetheless this is a high-quality recording.

There is much to recommend this CD, and there is more than enough original contribution here to merit a listen by anyone interested in the Second Viennese School. Go pick it up!

If you're a fan of Schoenberg in general, or the piano concerto in particular, there is no need to hesitate with this wonderful recording. This may be my favorite 20th century piece and it's certainly the version I like best. Previously my top contender (now sadly out of print) was Pollini with Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic. It is another great version worth hearing, my only real complaint there being that you can hear the numerous edits where they cut and pasted the performance together. That problem does not exist here with Boulez and Uchida. The piano concerto is a dense, contrapuntal work and Boulez makes sure that none of the parts get lost. Uchida's playing is superb, concise yet emotional. The Cleveland Orchestra shows no strain even in this works difficult passages. The only thing that strikes me negatively about this Uchida/Boulez version is that the second movement seems a bit fast to me but it works.

For those who are not yet fans of Schoenberg, this is a great place to start. I see the piano concerto as the highlight of Schoenberg's 12-tone output, though some would argue for Variations for Orchestra, op. 31. What attracts me to his music is that Schoenberg, more than being the post-Romantic composer evident in his first ten tonal published works, is really a "hyper"-Romantic. Bigger than life, rich orchestrations, sweeping melodies and thick harmony. And though he has the firmest command of music theory, structure, etc., it is the emotional impact of this piece that really shines through for me. By using 12-tone harmony he is able to change moods on a dime and can express horror and delight in ways tonal music cannot.

In addition to the concerto you get hear his first atonal piece, a great op. 11, the short but wonderful op. 19, and the two main solo piano works of his well-known students Webern and Berg. The Webern is a masterwork in balance and is fantastic here. I now own two copies of the Berg and it still doesn't strike me, but perhaps in time.

This is a great cd.