The comeback
Anton Zimmerling | Moscow, Russia | 07/10/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Today music critics eagerly put on the label 'great' to many figures from the past, who had a famous name in their days but are largely forgotten now. The name of Benno Moiseiwitsch pops up in series like 'Great pianists of the XX century' etc. The thing is he really IS one of the greatest pianists from the Old Romantic school, and not just a legend praised by a group of snobbish critics. It is hardly necessary to introduce Moiseiwitch and his manner to any record collector (I believe that most Moiseiwitch fans already have this CD), but it makes sense to compare this excellent sampler issued by Testament with Moiseiwitch CDs on different labels. The main teaser for me was the complete cycle of Chopin's preludes, Op. 28 (rec. by Benno in 1948), which is difficult to find elsewhere: it is issued on APR (Moiseiwitsch plays Chopin Vol. 2), but that CD is discontinued by the producer. I was not disappointed, though I still prefer Cortot's version. Bryce Morrison who provided the notes for the CD, specially praises Moiseiwitch for Preludes Nos. 7,8,15,16 and 23. I agree with one caveat:I don't find the interpretation of the D-flat prelude (No. 15) convincing - this great piece has provoked many a pianist to risky experiments with tempo and rythmical contrasts, and I find Moiseiwitsch's sudden outbursts in the left hand rather strange. One could possibly expect more from C minor and D-minor preludes, but we should not be ungrateful: the most of the preludes are a real joy for the ears. Schumann' Kinderszenen Op. 15 (rec. 1930) are great, too, but not as great as Fantasy in C, Op. 17, which can be found on another Moiseiwitsch CD on Testament. The same recording of Kinderszenen is now available on Naxos, but in a more poor sound.
The real gems of this sampler are pieces by Rachmaninov and Mendelssohn, along with short encores by Stravinsky (Etude in F sharp)and Vallier. Although I have heard all of them with Moiseiwitch before, I enjoyed listening to them very much, because of the excellent transfers.
Moiseiwitch' playing of Mendelssohn's Scherzo (rec. 1939) is a real pianistic wonder: I know only one interpretation of this music, which almost matches Benno's lightness and ethereal quality - it is an orchestral version with Ferenc Fricsay (available on DG). Another high point of this CD is Rachmaninovs Prelude in B minor: the composer himself was a great admirer of Moiseiwitsch' interpretation. As a side remark, I can tell that Vol. 7 of Moiseiwitsch's collection on Naxos has two different takes of theB minor prelude, and Moiseiwitch plays differently on them! Naxos also has other splendid Rachmaninov items from this Testament collection - Lilacs, Prelude in G and Musical Moment in E-minor - and three magnificent Preludes more! It definitely deserves purchasing and buying, since Moiseiwitch's Rachmaninov can only be equalled by Hoffmann's, Richter's og Sofronitzky's Rachmaninov, put aside the composer himself.
The only one questionable item on this CD is Prokofiev's Suggestion Diabolique (rec. 1950). I agree with the Editorial Reviewer that Moiseiwitch's version is too restrained: it is indeed old-fashioned and not quite in a Prokofiev style. But it is sad that the Amazon reviewer picked up the only one relatively weak item on this CD where the pianist is not in his element. I would rather include in a Moiseiwitch' sampler some of his early recordings of Ravel or Debussy (see Naxos, Vol.6), but this is only my taste.
Buy and enjoy!"
