COMPOSERS: Bach,Chopin,Mozart,Stravinsky & Beethoven
LABELS: Vanguard
ALBUM TITLE: Leon Fleisher: The Journey
WORKS: Various
PERFORMER: Leon Fleisher (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: ART CD 334
Exactly what kind of ‘Journey’ Leon
Fleisher has in mind here isn’t clear
from the programme alone. But this
does make a nicely balanced and
entertaining recital disc – the change
of key from the Bach Chromatic
Fugue to the Chopin Berceuse jarred
slightly on my ears, but that’s the
only niggle. As for the performances,
they are never less than interesting,
and at best exquisite.
Best of all is Fleisher’s Bach. The
Chromatic Fantasy is a compelling
journey in Fleisher’s hands, after
which the picking out of individual
voices in the Fugue is achieved with
great subtlety and clarity. Even the
relatively slight Capriccio ‘On the
departure of a brother’ emerges as
more than a piece of descriptive
whimsy – the ‘General lament of his
friends’ movement is surprisingly
touching, while remaining poised
and dignified. In the Mozart, I’m not
sure that Fleisher doesn’t try to load
this music with more interpretative
‘meaning’ than the notes can actually
bear, however the playing itself is
very fine. His attention to detail is
very welcome in the Chopin, though
it does sometimes break up the flow
of the melodic line. The Stravinsky
on the other hand is beautifully
controlled, the expression restrained
– as Stravinsky preferred – but far
from cold. Why does the disc end
with Beethoven’s Für Elise? Fleisher’s
performance gives no clues, though
it’s good to hear this miniature
treated with an entirely appropriate
seriousness. Stephen Johnson