Benjamin_Grosvenor

Liszt’s piano works by two master pianists


Benjamin Grosvenor: fabulous and virtuoso



On one of his latest, already his seventh, recording for Decca, Benjamin Grosvenor has taken care of Liszt. That he did so very carefully, even meticulously, he told candidly in the interview he gave to the New York Times. ‘I almost feel like you should know the notable recordings of a work like this’ he said, referring to the piano sonata. So he studied just about every possible performance of the work: Lupu, Cherkassky, Horowitz, you name it.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/15/arts/music/benjamin-grosvenor-piano-liszt-classical-music.html?ref=oembed

Whether it also influenced his own interpretation? Undoubtedly. We, humans, we are influenced even if we don’t notice it. And yet his reading of the sonata is completely his own. Virtuoso, mainly. So much so that I was breathless by just listening to it. His technique is fabulous. What I admire even more is his, how shall I put it, “acting” skills. Acting, as it were, on the piano and building the tension with only the keys at your disposal


I am slightly less charmed by the other pieces on the CD. Mainly the three Petrarch Sonets from the second book of “Années de Pèlerinage”, which I have heard more beautiful and lyrical: Arrau, Lazar Berman… And no one can really match Michael Rudy’s interpretation. In my opinion, then.




Boris Giltburg: matchless



Wow, how great is that CD! Whereas Giltburg’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto disappointed me a little (I thought it was too forceful and too rushed), now I just have to admit that I may have been wrong about him.

Just take the “Rigoletto paraphrases” with which he opens his recital: mamma mia! The first bar already made me sit up because this is how it should be, this way and no other. It splashes out of the boxes, but more importantly: Giltburg takes ample time to bring out Liszt’s poetic, salon-like, if you will, side. I am very much impressed..

But it’s obviously all about the 12 Études d’exécution transcendante, works previously considered unplayable and which only the all-time great master pianists dared to try.

Giltburg plays them – all of them – naturally, decidedly, as if they are nothing at all. Well; his attaque may still be fierce, but he also knows how to conjure breathtaking, enchanting, pianissimi from the keys. And those glissandi!

 Benjamin Grosvenor revitalizes Chopin

Benjamin Grosvenor: “The annoying thing about these times is that musicians are exposed to a lot of fixed traditions and views. I have to be aware of history, but it needs to be translated to the present”. He proves that this is possible with his recording of Chopin’s piano concertos.

The concertos are extremely popular: the catalogue lists dozens (if not more) of good and even excellent performances. Is there anything still lacking? Evidently. The young Englishman, who won the BBC Young Musician Competition in 2004 at the age of 11, shows that he is not very interested in technique as such- there is nothing wrong with that  –  but all the more in the story behind the notes.

Grosvenor talks about his relationship with Chopin’s concerto’s:





I don’t know exactly how he does it, but his playing makes me feel as if I am hearing the concerts for the first time, while I actually know them by heart. He does not shy away from grand gestures, thank goodness!, and yet his playing has a chamber music-like quality. It is as if he feels- intuitively? – that even the most romantic music may be benefited by holding back, even if only now and then. I read somewhere that he shared his bedroom with his little brother with Down’s syndrome for a long time: could this make him extra sensitive? Pure speculation, of course.

The Royal Scottish National Orchestra under the baton of Elim Chan has a congenial feel for the pianist’s interpretation: together they form a unity that is watertight. The recording sounds excellent.





FRYDERYK CHOPIN
Piano Concertos
Benjamin Grosvenor (piano)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Elim Chan
Decca 485036

Verfrissende Chopin door Benjamin Grosvenor

Chopin Grosvenor

Benjamin Grosvenor: “Het vervelende van de huidige tijd is dat musici blootstaan aan te veel vastgeroeste tradities en zienswijzen. Ik moet me de geschiedenis eigen maken, maar die moet dan wel naar het nu worden vertaald”. Dat het kan bewijst hij met de opname van de pianoconcerto’s van Chopin.

De concerto’s zijn razend populair: de catalogus vermeldt tientallen (zo niet meer) goede en zelfs voortreffelijke uitvoeringen. Valt er nog iets aan toe voegen? Blijkbaar. De jonge Brit die in 2004 op 11-jarige leeftijd de BBC Young Musician Competition won laat zien dat het hem niet zo zeer om de techniek gaat – daar is trouwens ook niets mis mee – als wel om het verhaal achter de noten.

Waar hij het vandaan haalt weet ik niet, maar zijn spel maakt dat het voelt alsof ik de concerten voor het eerst hoor, terwijl ik ze eigenlijk kan dromen. Hij schuwt de grote gebaren niet, gelukkig maar, en toch doet zijn spel kamermuziekachtig aan. Het is alsof hij – intuïtief? – aanvoelt dat ook de meest romantische muziek gebaat kan zijn door je, al is het af en toe, in te houden.

Ergens las ik dat hij jarenlang zijn slaapkamer deelde met zijn broertje die het syndroom van Down heeft: zou zoiets hem extra gevoelig kunnen maken? Pure speculatie, uiteraard.

Het Royal Scottish National Orchestra onder leiding van Elim Chan voelt de interpretatie van de pianist congeniaal aan: samen zijn ze een eenheid waar geen speld tussen te krijgen is. De opname klinkt uitstekend.


FRYDERYK CHOPIN
Pianoconcerto’s
Benjamin Grosvenor (piano)
Royal Scottish National Orchestra olv Elim Chan
Decca 4850365