Alfred Brendel - Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 15 August 2007
and
Concerto Italiano, Greyfriars Kirk, Edinburgh, 15 August 2007
Edinburgh International Festival
Haydn Piano Sonata in C minor, Hob.XVI/20
Beethoven Piano Sonata in A flat, Op.110
Schubert 4 Impromptus, D.935 - No.1 in F minor; No.3 in B flat major
Mozart Piano Sonata in C minor, K.457
Alfred Brendel stuck with the familiar tonight, repeating a programme he's played elsewhere this year, including the Royal Festival Hall a couple of months ago. But, never one to set his interpretations in stone, tonight he re-cast every single piece. If there was any overriding theme, it was slow tempi and big finales.
His Haydn C Minor Sonata moved from a spirited, crisply phrased allegro through a dreamy, meditative slow movement to a brisk and surprisingly light-hearted conclusion. Brendel underlined its prescient romantic flavour with subtle inflexions of pace and dynamics.
The front end of the Beethoven sonata which followed has an austere simplicity that doesn't invite ready engagement. Brendel didn't really catch my attention here until he unleashed the explosive finale.
The first of his two Schubert Impromptus was taken bizarrely slowly, with an even-handed balance that largely obscured its melodic impact. And did he retake some da capos, or was it just the pace that made it seem so long? His second Impromptu was framed more conventionally, apart from some hyperextended rubato towards the end, with a strongly delineated contrast between its variations. His ability to mint a fresh perspective at this stage of his career is inspiring, even if the results were rather mixed.
His closing Mozart sonata had colour and intensity and another almost recklessly bold finale.
The swiftly taken encore, the No.2 A flat major Impromptu from Schubert's D.935 set drew out a more conventional interpretation from Brendel than the earlier pair, marked with a gracefully smooth phrasing.
Brendel appeared rather more sprightly physically than he has been of late, and I gather that, true to form, he's been checking out everyone else's concerts while he's been in Edinburgh.
Earlier in the evening, I hit one of the Monteverdi Madrigals concerts that Concerto Italiano have been performing all this week in Greyfriars Kirk. This music is a joy to perform, but can be rather more effortful to listen to for song after song. However Concerto Italiano's Monteverdi recordings escape the pallid wash of sound more often heard in this repertoire, largely because of the variety of vocal timbres amongst the ensemble. Each part is vibrantly characterised; it's hard to find it dull.
Unfortunately in tonight's performance one of the sopranos was rather too individual. Out of tune and far too loud (I am charitably assuming a cold here), she trampled over the more refined efforts of the rest of the ensemble. Trapped mid-pew, I suffered this ear-rape for almost an hour until they finally wound up. The perfect excuse for hitting Gerry's of Grassmaket to seek consolation in a quarter of Soor Plums and Horehound Rock:
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