COMPOSERS: Rachmaninov
LABELS: EMI
ALBUM TITLE: Rachmaninov - Trpceski
WORKS: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor; Preludes Op. 3/2, Op. 23 & Op. 32
PERFORMER: Simon Trpceski
CATALOGUE NO: 557 9432
Nearly three years ago the young
Macedonian pianist Simon Trp?eski
(pronounced ‘Trrp-cheski’, born in
1979) won widespread acclaim for
his EMI debut disc which featured a
stunning performance of Prokofiev’s
Sixth Sonata, coupled with equally
impressive accounts of Scriabin’s
Fifth Sonata and Stravinsky’s Three
Movements from Petrushka. He has
now followed this up with an equally
compelling and warmly recorded
all-Rachmaninov recital. His playing
here fully confirms the critical hype
that has accompanied all his concert
performances since the appearance of
that first release.
The programme is cleverly
designed to demonstrate Trp?eski’s
searing interpretative powers
and pianistic range to their best
advantage. Throughout he simply
mesmerises the listener with playing
of extraordinary brilliance and
luminosity. It’s almost impossible
not to be overwhelmed from the very
outset by the imperious manner in
which he dispatches the powerful
cascade of notes that make up the
B flat major Prelude, Op.23 No.2.
Likewise, Trp?eski manages to bring
a sense of freshness and vitality to
such tried and tested favourites as
the G minor and C sharp minor
preludes, but without in any way
sacrificing their grandeur.
At the opposite end of the
dynamic spectrum he can be magical
and hypnotic, as in the transcription
of the song entitled ‘Siren’ and the
G sharp minor Prelude, Op. 32
No.12, or warm and tender as in the
transcription of Tchaikovsky’s
Lullaby. Perhaps his execution of
the notoriously difficult transcription
of the Scherzo from Mendelssohn’s
A Midsummer Night’s Dream is
not quite as delicate as in some
other performances (not least
Rachmaninov’s own on RCA),
but Trp?eski makes up for this by
delineating the harmonic tension
of the piece with considerable
poetic sensitivity.
Without doubt the most arresting
performance of all is that of the
Second Sonata. For once the decision
to perform the somewhat truncated
1931 revision seems entirely justified,
such is Trp?eski’s sure sense of
structural direction with which he
shapes each movement. Equally
notable is the brilliant manner in
which he manages to voice the inner
melodic lines in Rachmaninov’s
complex piano writing. But above
all, he has the absolute measure of
the music’s emotional core, bringing
a restless uncertainty to the opening
movement and knowing exactly
when to apply rubato to the greatest
impact .There is no relaxation of
intensity in the slow movement, with
even the more reflective passages
sounding gloomy and unsettled. But
this actually helps to place the finale
into even greater dramatic relief, as
Trp?eski drives us headlong through
all the trials and tribulations of the
movement towards a breathless
yet ultimately exhilarating and
triumphant coda. To be sure, there
are many other fine recordings of this
work from the likes of Ashkenazy (on
Decca) and Earl Wild (on Chesky)
in the current catalogue. But none
to my mind approach the piece with
such immediacy and sheer physical
excitement as Trp?eski.