|
The Moonlight, though over-played, in Lifchitz's
hands received one of the most illuminating, perfectly balanced
performances in my experience - surpassing even Kissin's amazing
recording. There was freshness and an unruffled flow to the
Adagio, an Allegretto precisely gauged yet without seeming
the least calculated, and a boldly incisive finale. With Lifchitz's
shining plangent tone you heard every note in its proper relation,
and then you knew why Beethoven put it there.
There was also a clairvoyant candor about his
etching of the Mazurka in A minor, a dreamy spaciousness and
yet inexorable momentum about his shaping of the Ballade in
F minor. Three Rachmaninoff Preludes splashed and sparkled;
yet the bones of structure were apparent though the transparent
flesh of that singing piano tone. His exquisite weighting
of chords, subtle pleading and tonal shading also did wonders
for that three-part mystery, Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit.
Murmurous Ondine glimmered, ghoulish Le Gibet
had its bleak, haunting quality while Scarbo, which strikes
terror into the heart of most pianists, held none for Lifschitz,
who set off its fireworks without bombast, just spectacular
skill. This, he seemed to say, is how the piano should speak.
This is its true tone, its eloquence, its nobility. This something
that makes the dazzling seem flamboyant, even superficial.
Boris Berezovsky's return here was a major event,
too for he has phenomenal facility and an acutely perceptive
sense of proportion in musical values. He may not posses the
most varied or beautiful tone, but his Rachmaninoff Chopin
Variations were profoundly thoughtful, yet breathtaking in
their intricate virtuosity.
The ferocious fluency of his Rachmaninoff Moments
Musicaux both rivaled and recalled Lazar Berman's playing
of them at the inaugural recital of the University of Miami's
Gusman Hall in January 1976. The first and second Chopin Scherzi
and first and third Ballades, which usually have awkward moments
for most pianists, were mere child's play for Berezovsky,
who played them with an effortless ease and sweep that I had
not thought possible. Though they seemed mere putty in his
hands, the speed he achieved occasionally blurred what should
have sounded majestic.
end
|
