Search - Ferruccio Busoni, Valerie Tryon :: Busoni: Visionary

Tryon the visionary

magicthighs | Hamilton, ON Canada | 07/28/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I have always been a fervent admirer of Valerie Tryon's work; not only because I've seen her live so many times but because she plays with such deceptive ease and masterful control. Her recordings, although sparse, have never received the full attention they so richly deserve; except her Chopin Ballades and Scherzos disc (CBC-Music Viva) which the famous NY times critic Harold Schonberg acclaimed as "the most significant Chopin recording of the past decade." Ferrucio Busoni was a titan of the piano whose virtuosity was probably only surpassed by Liszt, Anton Rubinstein, Tausig and Rachmaninoff. His piano compositions and arrangements are so fiercely difficult that they are eschewed by many pianists and relegated to obscurity until an intrepid super-virtuoso brings them into the spotlight. Of his most famous arrangements, the Bach D-minor toccata and fugue (a much better arrangement than Tausig's (IMHO)), is magnificently executed by Tryon. Valerie's masterful tonal control reflects the full grandeur of the organ and her pedalling brings out the rich sonority of the piano; especially the voicings in the lower registry of the fugue. Another popular Busoni arrangement is Bach's Chaconne in D minor, originally written for solo violin. Previous to this Tryon recording, the only other recording I was familiar with was the excellent Earl Wild Carnegie Hall version. Tryon's characteristic cool, controlled demeanor is perfect for this beautiful gem. The chaconne, as the eminent Liszt Historian Alan Walker wrote, "..is far more than a simple transfer to the piano keyboard of Bach's wonderfully inventive textures for solo violin. Rather, it amounts to a radical recasting of Bach's material, and sounds as if it were born on the keyboard." Valerie's careful attention to the contrapuntal voicings and architecture of the piece is glorious. She plays with such subdued, dry-eyed passion, yet there is an under current of agitation that reaches its climax with a glorious recapitulation of the main theme at the end. The other tracks are original Busoni compositions that I am not familiar with. Most of them are tonal with a leaning towards bitonality, that require a more careful listening before commentary. The performances, however, are flawless and impressive. The most interesting one is a Variations and Fugue on Chopin's C minor prelude. In conclusion, a superb disc of unfamiliar music by a great pianist."