Leif Ove Andsnes, piano.
Antonín DVOŘÁK: Poetic Tone Pictures, Op.85
Sony Classical 19439912092
Release Date: October 28, 2022
Format: Physical
Duration: 56:10
Giorgio Koukl | 22 NOV 2022
On this Sony Classical album, pianist Leif Ove Andsnes finally realizes his dream project of recording the 13-piece cycle Poetic Tone Pictures, Op. 85, of Antonín Dvořák.
Sony Classical 19439912092
In the long list of well-known works of the Czech master, the ponderous symphonic output is undoubtedly the first to come to mind, maybe some fine string quartets or the operas Rusalka and The Devil and Catherine, but usually, the piano pieces are strangely absent. This is partly due to an absence of good recordings until recently, maybe except for the wonderful LP of Radoslav Kvapil. Then suddenly, within the last year, came the complete piano music recorded for Supraphon by Ivo Kahànek and this Sony Classical installment by Andsnes.
Dvořák wrote this cycle in a relatively short period of time for his editor, Simrock, being constantly pressured by the latter towards a commercial necessity of short and pleasant piano music for performance in the home. So it is no wonder the editor accepted these scores even before they were completed.
Among all of the piano production of Dvořák, which are mostly miniatures, this is the longest cycle. The individual parts are:
- Twilight Way (Noční cestou). Allegro moderato (B minor)
- Toying (Žertem). Allegretto legiero (G major)
- In the Old Castle (Na starém hradě). Lento (E♭ major)
- Spring Song (Jarni). Poco Allegro (A major)
- Peasant’s Ballad (Selská balada). Allegro giusto (B♭ minor)
- Reverie (Vzpomínání). Andante (B major)
- Furiant. Allegro feroce (A♭ minor)
- Goblins’ Dance (Rej skřítků). Allegretto (A♭ major)
- Serenade. Moderato e molto cantabile (C major)
- Bacchanalia. Vivacissimo (C minor)
- Tittle-Tattle (Na táčkách). Andante con moto (F major)
- At a Hero’s Grave (U mohyly). Grave, Tempo di marcia (F minor)
- On the Holy Mountain (Na svaté hoře). Poco Lento (D♭ major)
Dvořák was long in doubt about how to call his new cycle and consulted even a friend, music critic Emanuel Chvàla in Prague, before finding a suitable solution. Thus his Op. 85 came to be called Poetickè nàlady (“Poetic Tone Pictures”) and was printed in three volumes. Nonetheless, this music probably never encountered great favor of the originally intended target group, being at times of a devilish technical difficulty, due in part to the composer’s complete lack of pianistic skills.
Andsnes has chosen a very different approach, in strong contrast to existing recordings. He is in command of a piano technique near perfection, apparently made of steel, far beyond the usual, and can tackle the mostly impossible passages with ease. There is a stylistic choice to play all this music in a seemingly unemotional manner to avoid the only-too-easy fall into salonmusik style. This is his main force, especially compared to the Kahànek version, which is inferior in its choices of tempi.
In this choice, Mr. Andsnes is well-sustained by his technical team and in a minor way also in the wise choice of the well superior department of all the skills which accompany a good CD. Photographers, layout specialists, and post-production technicians, all convey a unique flow of messages, many of them subliminal, to induce the buyer into a sort of well-being a real work of art tends to be.
In this sense, the product is a marvel and worthy of interest.
What else can be said about the artistry of the pianist?
Following the career of Mr. Andsnes, one can only see the constantly ascending quality and refinement of his art. He remains a typically Nordic representative of his art, where cool is superior to emotions, but he is already able to create, transmit and evoke emotions many other pianists of his age are not able to do.
If you like Dvořák and his piano music, this is definitely a CD for you. ■
Leif Ove Andsnes will perform Dvořák’s Poetic Tone Pictures and other works in recital at Spivey Hall on Saturday, January 28, 2023.
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Leif Ove Andsnes: leifoveandsnes.com
Giorgio Koukl is a Czech-born pianist/harpsichordist and composer who resides in Lugano, Switzerland. Among his many recordings are the complete solo piano works and complete piano concertos of Bohuslav Martinů on the Naxos label. He has also recorded the piano music of Tansman, Lutosławski, Kapralova, and A. Tcherepnin, amongst others, for the Grand Piano label. Koukl has most recently completed recording a second volume of the complete solo piano music of Polish composer Alfons Szczerbinski.
(photo: Chiara Solari)
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