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Fanfare

The booklet notes alone, penned by the pianist herself, make this disc worthwhile. Natalia Andreeva is a thoughtful pianist who has already impressed the present writer several years ago with her recording of the Piano Sonatas of Galina Ustvolskaya (again for Divine Art; and again on that occasion, she wrote her own commentary), reviewed by myself in Fanfare 39:3). Here she presents a succession of Preludes and Fugues with an added “bonus” of two Rachmaninoff Etudes-tableaux.

The first offering (pun away, if you like) is Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in C sharp Minor from Book I. The delicacy of Andreeva’s Prelude is masterly. The Fugue is cast in five voices, emerging slowly in the aftermath of the Prelude. Of course, five has a specific symbology in Christian thought (specifically. the five wounds of the Christ on the cross). Andreeva shapes this Fugue expertly, finding an underlying pulse that acts like a heartbeat to the thematic tapestry it supports. It’s fascinating to hear this in juxtaposition with Liszt’s transcription for piano of the A-Minor Organ Prelude and Fugue, BWV 543 (S 462/1 in Searle’s catalog of Liszt’s works), and nice to note how Andreeva marks the left-hand octaves of the Prelude as if to imply an organ-like sonority—an intelligent and telling interpretation.

Franck’s piano works remain undervalued in the concert hall. Richter, Perahia, and Moravec are among the great names that have added to the Prelude, Choral et Fugue‘s discography. Andreeva’s way is pliable in the “Prelude,” contrasting nicely to the prayer-like “Choral,” where sheer beauty of sound at the spread chords is held in balance with its place in the structure of the work as a whole. Andreeva laudably keeps the Fugue free of excess and textural overwhelm. Heard in the present con¬text, Shostakovich’s C-Minor Prelude and Fugue appears like an internalizing and darkening of the Franck. The Prelude is harrowing in its stark demeanor, Andreeva’s understanding of this barren world is really quite remarkable, pointing out in her interpretation just how Shostakovich’s conso¬nances can themselves be heartbreakingly colored by their surroundings. The Fugue is an extension of this Russian melancholy, tender and suffused with dark profundity.

As if to emphasize the “encore” status of the Rachmaninoff, the liner notes for those pieces are reproduced as an addendum in a smaller font size. Certainly the opening of the G-Minor piece is almost like an accompaniment to credits rolling after some particularly poignant art film. Tellingly, Andreeva finds in Rachmaninoff a pure Russian heart; there is no trace of false sentimentality here. The big-boned op. 33/8, which takes us full circle back to C sharp-Minor, at times seems to paint a roiling ocean.

The recording is generally good but can feel soft-edged at times. The playing needs no such qualifying. Natalia Andreeva is a highly talented, intelligent pianist who here offers a most rewarding program in superbly musical interpretations given with a rock-solid technique. This is music to get one’s teeth into, superbly presented.