|
This is a well chosen programme of early, middle
and late Brahms in solo piano guise, played with
obvious affection by Marco Fatichenti.
It
's straight into the main course with the third
piano sonata, a work that illustrates how Brahms, even
by the time of his opus 5, was making great formal
structures and powerful emotional statements. This is
the biggest and grandest of the three sonatas – the
other two aren't exactly miniatures! – and it lasts
over forty minutes. Fatichenti does a great job in
keeping the thematic material alive and relevant over
this time, presenting an extremely satisfying
interpretation of the work.
His biggest successes are in the slow movements,
where he finds rare peace and tranquillity. This is
particularly the case in the second movement, with its
overtones of Beethoven's Pathétique sonata,
where the softly sighing main theme is presented with
a great sense of poetry. Meanwhile the fourth movement
takes on a colder, darker hue in preparation for the
big finale.
It's in the big movements where Fatichenti is
slightly less successful, in making sense of the large
gestures Brahms writes at the sonata's opening – the
wide registers of the theme should bring more tension,
and thus the finale more resolution in its closing
cadence.
That said there are many good things here, and for
Fatichenti to achieve a competitive version says much
when his rivals are the much vaunted recordings by
Radu Lupu, Vladimir Ashkenazy and
Artur Rubinstein, among others.
The two Rhapsodies are next, elusive
interpretations both, with the music hard to pin down.
Technically Fatichenti is excellent, the swirl of the
first rhapsody easily done and the rhythmic punch of
the second having the necessary verve.
The mysterious sound world of the op.119 pieces
proves a tougher nut to crack, and while the relative
lack of tonality in places is well caught the
emotional ambiguity proves not quite so easy to
deliver. That said, a touch of humour in the third
Intermezzo sets things up nicely for the
emphatic Rhapsody that signs off, though here
Fatichenti is not as expansive as he might be, with
Radu Lupu once again showing the way on his
recording.
A most attractive recital nonetheless, one that
does a good job in presenting Brahms's differing
approach to the piano throughout his life. As a way in
to the highly intimate world of his piano music, it
does the job well.
 | 
