Search - Olivier Messiaen, Martin Zehn :: Olivier Messiaen: Préludes; Études; Cantéyodjayâ

Good playing, poor CD

Jeffrey Jones | Northern California, USA | 04/19/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"How much should a performer be docked for his producer's mistakes? Leaving aside Zehn's readings of Messiaen for a moment, everything else about this CD is slightly off. The cover has an ancient Greek-style man ass on it, possibly under-age, which is not at all appropriate for French music based on Second Viennese School compositional methods and Polynesian folk material. The liner notes are haphazardly translated, and Canteyodjaya is said to have been written in 1948 when it was, in fact, written in 1953.



This attitude spills into the recording itself as well. For the first half of the Preludes, the action of the piano's damper pedal can be clearly heard; it makes the same "fluffy" sort of sound as my Baldwin. For the rest of the CD, it is silent, as it should be. Finally, either my disc was scratched out of the case (which would be only the second time that has happened to me), or there were flawed materials used in recording which blemished about a minute's worth of music.



Zehn himself, thankfully, can be blamed for none of this. His approach is scrupulous and faithful to the score, which is actually a far greater feat than it sounds. With the scattershot collection of articulation marks, French directions, and dynamics sometimes different for each individual note, to nail every single one of them down is an accomplishment which borders on the heroic. Not only that, but this tight control by Messiaen over his own music does not prevent Zehn from coming up with his own conceptions of the rhythm, phrasing, and pacing which are always well thought out and effective.



This exact same set of music was also recorded by Hakon Austbo on Naxos, and so it is a relief to find that their conceptions of the music differ fairly widely, while both seeming perfectly valid. Without a doubt, the Canteyodjaya is Zehn's best effort on this disc; it is energetic, highly varied, and carries the listener easily through the piece's fearsomely complex structure. Next best are the Etudes, which are impressive in terms of technical facility but not as colorful as they are in some other recordings. The Preludes are well played, but rather "straight." Austbo clearly outdoes Zehn in these pieces for the virtuoso touch and an outgoing, Romantic temperament.



If you can forgive the errors in production that I described, you will find a CD that is worthy of sitting with Austbo's on your shelf."

Great Performance but Flawed Manufacturing

J. A. Bradley | Omaha NE USA | 10/05/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I enjoyed the performance on this CD greatly, so my disappointment was even greater when I came across the problem in track 6. Although the CD appears unscratched or otherwise damaged, there are several severe dropouts and a few strange background crackles and hisses in this track. It's too jarring to have to listen to this in the midst of such otherwise wonderful music and fine playing. I'm surprised that this made it past the quality control personnel at ARTE NOVA; their other recordins I have are all fine."

The Rarefied Atmosphere of Olivier Messiaen

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 06/23/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"For those who have basked in the strange and wondrous world of Olivier Messiaen's orchestral or operatic works or even his chamber music, this fine recording by Martin Zehn of the piano works will be a refreshing lilt.



Zehn's approach to Messiaen's mysticism holds just the right touch of freedom of phrasing and expression, those moments of golden silence that transform his pieces. He finds just the right variation in the Préludes and Études and makes the Cantéyodjayâ the mysterious marvel it is. Perhaps purists will argue with a few tempi, but careful observation of Messiaen's scores suggests he wished the pianist to feel such liberties as part of the communication.



Though the recorded sound is not of the highest quality, it certainly is acceptable for those who want to broaden their library of Messiaen's output. And at the price Amazon is offering this CD it would be a shame not to add it to the library! Grady Harp, June 05

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