Shura Cherkassky (piano)
Nimbus Rediscovered Recordings Vol.3
rec. 1982-87, Wyastone Leys, Monmouth, UK
Nimbus Records NI7125 [77]
The lockdown that followed the devastating Covid-19 outbreak allowed time for Nimbus Records to revisit their archives. Some recordings that turned up had, for one reason or another, never been released. The label discovered fifty projects. Several of these have now been transferred to digital medium to preserve them and bring them to public attention. I recently reviewed a wonderful recital of Busoni’s piano music played by the marvellous Martin Jones. The releases continue with this, the third volume of four, with music which Shura Cherkassky recorded in the 1980s. He made his first recordings for Nimbus in 1981, released as Volume 1 on NI7112; Volume 2 appeared on NI7119. He went on to visit the studio once or twice a year until 1987.
Liszt’s Réminiscences de Don Juan may be one of the opera fantasies of choice for young virtuosi keen to strut their stuff. Yet Cherkassky still has the fingers for it, and adopts character, line and personality in place of the remorselessness drive that we occasionally hear in the piece. La ci darem la mano is a real dialogue; the Don’s overpowering charm and Zerlina’s hesitancy are clearly felt in every note that Cherkassky plays. There is spaciousness and character even in the strenuous athletics of the champagne aria. This impressive performance belies the pianist’s 73 years.
Cherkassky’s sense of line is clear in Chopin’s Nocturne, recorded in 1987, even if it is perhaps not always the most satisfying playing. In shaping the phrases, he is occasionally a bit indulgent. The work loses some of its flow, though the fluidity and delicacy of the final page cannot be denied. More Chopin comes from an April 1984 session, when he played the A flat Polonaise. Here his mercurial nature brings a mix of nobility, spring-in-the-step playing… and perhaps moments of heavy-handedness.
Cherkassky had in his repertoire Gershwin’s piano concerto and other jazz-inspired pieces, for example Morton Gould’s Boogie-Woogie étude or Mana-Zucca’s Fugato humoresque on the theme “Dixie”. So, it is not surprising to find her Gershwin’s Preludes taken from a 1985 session. A lumpy bass motif spoils what is otherwise a decent performance of the first prelude. If the outer sections of the second are poised, he is a little perverse in his playing of the left-hand section. The final brief prelude is better by far but I would not number these as my favourite recordings.
The same sessions produced a performance of the Bach-Busoni Toccata in C that is the polar opposite. It is almost metronomically paced in the opening Toccata but there is nothing machine-like about the wonderfully textured playing and grandeur found here. The adagio is especially beautiful; when the score says più dolce, Cherkassky gives an instant, delightful response. There is plenty of clarity in the sparsely pedalled fugue, and – for all Cherkassky was hailed as one of the last of the romantics – the playing here avoids the indulgence that can be heard in earlier transcription recordings.
The recital comes to an end with Beethoven, recorded in June 1985, a month after the Bach-Busoni and Gershwin session. There is not much Beethoven in Cherkassky’s extensive discography. Three or four sonatas, the Eroica variations and the fifth piano concerto are very nearly the sum total. It is good, then, to have this thoughtful performance of op.101. Cherkassky’s acclaimed touch comes through admirably in the first movement, with a wonderful balance of texture. The second movement bubbles with vigour and playfulness in its middle section, and the adagio has real depth of feeling. The vigour of the second movement is also present in the finale. If there is a slight feeling of energy loss at the start of the development, it is brief and just serves as the start of a tension-builder through this section.
This disc is a major addition to Cherkassky’s late discography. It is marvellous to have the entire recital in the catalogue after too long a hiatus. Beethoven’s Appassionata and Liszt’s monumental Tannhäuser Overture transcription are promised in final volume of Cherkassky rediscoveries. Based on this recital, it should be well worth the wait.
Rob Challinor
Contents
Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Réminiscences de Don Juan (after Mozart) S.418 (1841)
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Nocturne in F Minor Op.55 No.1 (1842-1844)
Polonaise in A flat Major Op.53 (1842)
George Gershwin (1898-1937)
Three Preludes (1926)
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Toccata, Adagio and Fugue BWV 564 (arr. Ferruccio Busoni 1900)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Piano Sonata No.28 in A major, Op.101 (1816)
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