Shura Cherkassky (piano)
The Ambassador Auditorium Recitals 1981-1989
rec. 1981-89, The Ambassador Auditorium, Pasadena, USA
First Hand Records FHR99 [5 CDs: 317]

A pleasant and memorable reminiscence – in October 1995, whilst on a visit to Paris, I heard that Shura Cherkassky was in town and scheduled to give a recital at the Salle Gaveau. I had never heard him in concert before, though I greatly admired his recordings. I got myself a ticket, went along and witnessed one of the most memorable piano recitals I had ever attended. It was to be the one and only time I would hear him live. The programme included Beethoven and Chopin sonatas and at the end we feasted on a pot-pourri of those inimitable Cherkassky encores.  After the concert, I had the good fortune to meet him, and he told me of some of the UK concerts he had planned for the forthcoming year. Sadly they were not to be, as he died at the end of December 1995. What impressed me most about Cherkassky’s playing at that Paris concert was the beauty of sound and the kaleidoscopic palette of colour that he achieved. I had never heard that from a pianist in concert before, and I’ve never heard it since.

This collection features four recitals given at the Ambassador Auditorium, Pasadena, California between 1981 and 1989, and we can be grateful to the venue for its policy of recording most of its concerts for archival reasons. We begin with a recital given on 28 April 1981 in which the pianist presents an all Chopin programme – unusual for him, apparently. Surprisingly, there is no piano sonata as a large-scale centrepiece, but rather a selection of the single works, the most substantial being the Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante. Here Cherkassky spins an expressive right hand melody over a discreet left-hand accompaniment. The Polonaise brims over with gusto and dazzle. The recital opens with an evocative and highly atmospheric account of the G minor Ballade, where the stark and introspective sections are contrasted with the work’s more lyrical moments. I particular warm to the three nocturnes. Cherkassky certainly knows how to contour a phrase, and his broad colour palette adds further enchantment to these lovely scores.

The pianist returned to California the following January for his second recital. It’s more representative than the previous concert of the type of programming he favoured. It’s diverse and showcases his many strengths in the music’s different styles. Things get under way with  Lully’s Suite de Pièces, with each of the five pieces invested with subtlety and nuance. Ornamentation is discreet and idiomatic. In the Mendelssohn Scherzo a Capriccio in F sharp minor, Op. 5, the fairies and elves emerge gossamer-like. I fully concur with Tchaikovsky biographer David Brown that “The Piano Sonata is a strong candidate for the dullest piece that Tchaikovsky ever wrote”. It’s over-long, tedious, over-inflated and boring in the extreme. I’m afraid I shall have to pass on this one. Cherkassy gives a dazzling performance of his teacher Josef Hofmann’s Kaleidoskop, a piece he frequently aired in his concerts. There’s also an impressive account of Liszt’s Reminicences of Don Juan, dispatched with glittering showmanship and bravura.

I find the recital from 18 November 1987 the most absorbing. Cherkassky opens with a spellbinding Prélude, choral et fugue by César Franck, revealing the rich harmonic textures that lie within. The fugue is particularly striking for the clarity of definition of polyphonic lines, clearly articulated. Schumann’s Carnaval grabs you from the opening Préambule. It’s a performance of great technical strength, where consummate pianism shines forth. Cherkassky captures the mood of each piece, and in the more inward ones finds poetry and nobility. To Rachmaninov’s Corelli Variations, he brings a wealth of imaginative insights and flair. The theme is elegantly stated, and the twenty variations that follow are resourcefully characterized. I was pleased that the Liszt/Gounod Valse de l’opéra Faust was included in the collection. Nobody in my mind does it better than Cherkassky. Of the encores, Rachmaninov’s Polka de W.R. is etched with the subtlety and nuances I find in Vladimir Horowitz’s performances of this piece.

The pianist’s final appearance at the Ambassador Auditorium took place on 2 November 1989. After a poised and measured reading of Handel’s Harmonious Blacksmith, Cherkassky launched into an account of the third movement of Schumann’s Fantasy in C major, Op. 17. It’s meditative, poised, calm and dreamlike, suffused with poetic insights and transports us to another world. The ubiquitous Liszt Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 makes an appearance,  nicely paced with plenty of dark undertones and drama at the beginning, and fire and zest in the second half.

First Hand Records seem to have embraced the artistry of Cherkassky, having already released another couple of CDs. This latest 5 CD set captures the artist as he approaches the twilight of his career, but the old magic is there and very evident for all to hear. The pianist’s tone is captured well. I found the sound quality over all four recitals remarkably consistent. Booklet notes by Jonathan Summers provide useful background to the California events. In short, this is a very rewarding issue.

Stephen Greenbank

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Contents
CD1 [74:09]
29 April 1981
Frédéric CHOPIN (1810–1849)
01. Ballade No. 1 in G minor, Op. 23
02. Nocturne No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 9, No. 2
03. Nocturne No. 15 in F minor, Op. 55, No. 1
04–05. Andante spianato et Grande Polonaise brillante in E flat major, Op. 22
06. Fantaisie in F minor, Op. 49
07. Impromptu No. 2 in F sharp major, Op. 36
08. Fantaisie-impromptu in C sharp minor, Op. 66
09. Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 31
Encores:
10. Nocturne No. 3 in B major, Op. 9, No. 3
11. Waltz No. 5 in A flat major, Op. 42, ‘Grande valse’
CD2 [71:06]
13 January 1982
Jean-Baptiste LULLY (1632–1687)
01–05. Suite de Pièces
Felix MENDELSSOHN (1809–1847)
06. Scherzo a Capriccio in F sharp minor, Op. 5
Pyotr Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY (1840–1893)
07–10. Grand Sonata in G major, Op. 37
Frédéric CHOPIN
11. Polonaise No. 7 in A flat major, Op. 61, ‘Polonaise-fantaisie’
12. Ballade No. 4 in F minor, Op. 52
CD3 [72:19]
Józef (Josef) HOFMANN (1876–1957)
Charakterskizzen, Op. 40 (1908)
01. No. 4. Kaleidoskop
Franz LISZT (1811–1886)
02. Réminiscences de Don Juan, S418 (1841)
Encores:
Shura CHERKASSKY (1909–1995)
03. Prélude pathétique (1922)
Frédéric CHOPIN
04. Waltz No. 5 in A flat major, Op. 42, ‘Grande valse’ (1840)
18 November 1987
César FRANCK (1822–1890)
05–07. Prélude, Choral et Fugue, M. 21 (1884)
Robert SCHUMANN (1810–1856)
08–28. Carnaval, Op. 9 (1834–35)
CD4 [53:26]
Sergey RACHMANINOV (1873–1943)
01. Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42 (1931)
Józef (Josef) HOFMANN
Charakterskizzen, Op. 40 (1908)
02. No. 4. Kaleidoskop
Frédéric CHOPIN
03. Nocturne No. 15 in F minor, Op. 55, No. 1 (1844)
04. Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op. 60 (1846)
Franz LISZT
05. Valse de l’opéra Faust de Gounod, S407/R166 (1861)
Encores:
Isaac ALBÉNIZ (1860–1909)
España, Op. 165 (1890)
06. II. Tango (arr. 1921 Leopold GODOWSKY (1870–1938))
RACHMANINOV
07. Polka de W.R.
(arr. of Lachtäubchen, Scherzpolka, Op. 303 by Franz BEHR, 1837–1898)
Pyotr Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY
The Seasons, Op. 37a (1876)
08. No. 10. October: Autumn Song
CD5 [46:05]
2 November 1989
George Frideric HANDEL (1685–1759)
01. Keyboard Suite No. 5 in E Major, HWV 430 (1720): IV. Air and Variations, ‘The Harmonious Blacksmith’
Robert SCHUMANN
Fantasy in C major, Op. 17 (1838)
02. III. Langsam getragen. Durchweg leise zu halten
Pyotr Il’yich TCHAIKOVSKY
06 Morceaux, Op. 19 (1873)
03. VI. Thème original et variations
Sergey RACHMANINOV
7 Morceaux de salon, Op. 10 (1894)
04. III. Barcarolle in G minor
Franz LISZT
05. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C sharp minor, S244/R106 (1847)
Encores:
Isaac ALBÉNIZ
España, Op. 165 (1890)
06. II. Tango (arr. 1921 Leopold GODOWSKY (1870–1938))
Frédéric CHOPIN
07. Tarentelle in A flat major, Op. 43 (1841)