Sequenzas I-XIII. (Deutsche Grammophon, 3 CDs)
The series of 13 Sequenzas for solo instrument or voice begun by Luciano Berio in 1958 has never before been collected together on disc. Berio is a respecter of virtuosity, seeing it as not merely a matter of technique but also an expression of sensibility and intelligence. He's also a respecter of what he calls the "genetic inheritance" of instruments, though this doesn't by any means prohibit him from exploiting what he sees as less well explored characteristics within that inheritance as well as chasing a "virtual polyphony". His pursuit yielded the extraordinary theatrics for female voice of No 3, the Grockthe-clown-inspired No 5 for trombone, the sawing viola of No 6. This important issue is supported by strong performances and comes with lucid documentation from the composer.
Michael Dervan
Rachmaninov: Symphony No 1; Caprice Bohemien. NSO/Alexander Anissimov (Naxos)
Glazunov's conducting of the premiere of Rachmaninov's First Symphony was one of the worst services ever offered by one composer to another. The creative crisis that followed the fiasco didn't lift fully until Rachmaninov enlisted the services of a hypnotist, the Dr Dahl to whom in gratitude he dedicated the Second Piano Concerto. Anissimov takes a spacious approach to the symphony which its composer so thoroughly turned against. He aligns it in spirit with the later output, rather than seeing it as in any way an aberration of youth. The NSO responds with playing of a vibrancy and commitment that's none too common from them in concert, and the Naxos engineering captures the performance with bloom and impact.
Michael Dervan
Tchaikovsky: Piano Music. Mikhail Pletnev. (Melodiya, 2 CDs for the price of one)
Mikhail Pletnev, winner of the 1978 Tchaikovsky Piano Competition, is actually the last Russian to have been launched into the highest of pianistic echelons by that competition. This set collects recordings made in the years around his first appearance in Ireland in 1986, and finds him at the top of his very considerable form. The playing has all the command you would expect, but a lot less of the intrusive mannerisms that today you can find getting in the way of the music. Even with the persuasiveness of a Pletnev, this music, more valued in Russia than abroad, can still sound too rambling and diffuse. He makes a strong case for the big, barnstorming Sonata in G, and his characterisation of the Pieces, Op 40 is especially vivid.
Michael Dervan