Lieder ohne Worte

[Todd]

In anticipation of Michael Endres' upcoming release of Mendelssohn's complete* Lieder ohne Worte – a release I have exceedingly high expectations for – I decided to try a variety of recordings of Mendelssohn's collection of miniatures.  I will be revisiting Daniel Barenboim's set, along with the recently acquired and listened to set by Roberte Mamou, along with eight others, at least to start.  (Turns out there are at least twenty complete sets available, and that seems a bit too many even for me.)  There are some gems in this music.  I might as well get started.


* Turns out that the standard set of 48 may not be "complete".  Roberto Prosseda's set includes 56 pieces. 







Daniel Adni.  Using Daniel Barenboim as the baseline for timings, Adni is generally slower, most of the time only a bit, but sometimes a lot.  19/1 sets the pace with a very slow tempo, and a gentle, lovely tone and demeanor.  The first Venetian Gondola Song (19/6) is stretched out to almost three minutes – a full minute longer than Barenboim – and sounds melancholy, but it's hard to imagine this as a song of any kind.  The second (30/6) likewise takes over a minute more than Barenboim, while the third (62/5) is about forty seconds longer.  But for real long, there's the Duetto (38/6), which is over two minutes longer.  When one considers these are all miniatures, that's pretty darn long.

Adni can and does infuse more energy into playing works, with19/3 and 30/2 notable examples, and the Funeral March 62/3, while slow, has weight and seriousness aplenty.  The famous Spring Song is pure delight, as it should be, and the equally famous Spinning Song is delightful and energetic in proper proportion.  As Adni plays the later works, many of them become more refined and serious, and the playing reflects that well. 

The additional works included in the set match the Barenboim set, except with the more famous Daniel, the Kinderstucke Op 72 is also included.  Adni plays all the extras as well as he does the main works in the set. 

Adni's set is more or less comparable quality-wise to Barenboim's, though not as tonally rich.  Sound is early 70s SOTA transferred excellently to digital.  He's at least as good here, and maybe better, as in Grieg's Lyric Pieces.  Perhaps Warner will reissue all of Adni's recordings.  It looks like he's sort of the Andre Previn of piano music: a great or near-great performer of second tier works.

[Holden]

I've got a few CDs of the Liedet Ohne Worte but this is the one I always return to:

[Mandryka]

I wonder what you guys think of this

http://www.youtube.com/v/Al-tUbtb4G8

And this

http://www.youtube.com/v/gYxamRpjSQk

[George]

The only complete set I have is Barenboim's, so I'll be watching this thread closely.

I do enjoy the incomplete recordings by Geiseking, Richter and Friedman.

[kishnevi]

My only set is by Ilse von Alpenheim.  Any opinions on her version?
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[Todd]

I've got a few CDs of the Liedet Ohne Worte but this is the one I always return to:

I'm exploring only complete sets, but the Babayan may very well end up in my collection at some point - provided I can find a copy.  Based on his sublime Scarlatti and the extraordinary live recordings available online, I must say that he strikes me as almost the ideal pianist for this music.

My only set is by Ilse von Alpenheim.  Any opinions on her version?
[asin]B00000417E[/asin]

In a week or two.

[amw]

I'm not sure there is enough interpretive room in the Lieder to make comparing multiple sets a particularly productive experience. The set seems to operate within very limited emotional parameters, which makes (for me) even listening to two opuses successively a bit of a chore, let alone the whole cycle at one sitting.

[Todd]

I'm not sure there is enough interpretive room in the Lieder to make comparing multiple sets a particularly productive experience.

Depends on what you mean by productive.  I want to find, at least among what I listen to, the best available version.  Perhaps even more important, since many of the pianists are new to me, I hope to find new artists who tickle my fancy, so I have more recordings of other repertoire to explore.  None of this is really productive, of course.

[George]

Depends on what you mean by productive.  I want to find, at least among what I listen to, the best available version.  Perhaps even more important, since many of the pianists are new to me, I hope to find new artists who tickle my fancy, so I have more recordings of other repertoire to explore.  None of this is really productive, of course.

I'll be curious to find out if you find a set better than Barenboim.

[Todd]

Michael Korstick.  The two-disc set opens with a serious, bright, at times metallic, but always expertly executed Variations sérieuses.  The main attraction is similar.  Korstick is generally just a bit slower than Barenboim, but sometimes he's quicker.  He also manages to bring the beauty on occasion.  Right out of the gate, 19/1 is wonderfully paced and very attractive.  But then one hears a bit more of what the pianist is all about in the Hunt Song 19/3, which is dashed off quickly and to say effortlessly would overstate how easy it sounds.  Granted, these works are not virtuosic showpieces, but Korstick takes the opportunity to display his technique, without overdoing it.  The piano sound brightens up during the piece, too.  The first Venetian Gondola song sounds attractive enough, but then immediately Korstick noticeably outdoes that with a 30/1 that is lovely and, often, delicate.  The Duetto, nicely paced, displays a slight metallic patina that doesn't help it much.  And that patina keeps making appearances, seemingly randomly.  It can be viewed as adding a smidge of intensity, which is true, but for me it subtracts more than it adds.  That written, Korstick can and does deliver in some other pieces, notably the famous Spring and Spinning songs, which are played with the same uber-effortlessness of the Hunt Song.  Sound is close to SOTA.  A nice set, but not a top choice for me.

[amw]

Depends on what you mean by productive.  I want to find, at least among what I listen to, the best available version.  Perhaps even more important, since many of the pianists are new to me, I hope to find new artists who tickle my fancy, so I have more recordings of other repertoire to explore.  None of this is really productive, of course.

Listening to classical music is hardly a "productive" pursuit, yes. I suppose what I mean is "is the music substantial enough to reward multiple listens and interpretations?" which is not something I'm convinced of. Thus I'd appreciate some comments on the music itself and how different interpretations illuminate aspects of it, if the fancy strikes you to do so. I will of course read your mini-reviews in any case.

[Todd]

Livia Rev.  Aside from a couple YouTube videos of a nonagenarian Ms Rev playing a couple pieces, I've heard nothing from this pianist until now.  This set showcases the playing of a younger Rev – she was around seventy at the time of the recordings.  Ms Rev plays with slower tempos than Barenboim, and her style is unabashedly romantic.  Her sound is warm, her tone rich with only the occasional hint of metal, her dynamics a bit narrower than the other sets I've heard up until now.  Each piece comes across as its own little musical world.  The faster pieces – 19/3 is a perfect early example – lack the energy of other readings, but they make up for it with a darker hued, more, well, more autumnal sensibility.  There's also a pervasive feeling of escaping the world of Mendelssohn miniatures to something bigger.  In some slower movements, the sound is sometimes Schubertian.  Perfect examples of this include the Venetian Gondola Songs, which here sound uncommonly somber, almost like sketches for discarded songs from Die Winterreise.  In some – many – faster or bolder pieces, the sound is more Schumannesque, and of the later Schumann variety, at that.

Sound is a bit distant, heavy, and slightly opaque, resulting in something akin to a wash of sound.  The effect is generally very pleasant.  This is warm blanket Mendelssohn.  I mean that as a compliment.  (Hell, who doesn't like warm blankets, especially in winter?)

[Todd]

Balázs Szokolay.   Szokolay's set presents the works in chronological opus number order, but jumbled order within each set.  As such, the set opens with the 19/6 Venetian Gondola Song, which here sounds like a sorrowful waltz, with not so subtle and definitely not so unattractive rhythmic snap that none of the preceding sets display.  Szokolay's prominent rhythmic drive remains constant throughout, with snappier pieces really benefiting.  And while Szokolay doesn't deliver play with a lush or delicate tonal range, and does not really focus on little details, and his style can be forceful, with a "big" sound, the playing seems to flow better than, and avoids the metallic patina of, Michael Korstick's playing.  Szokolay's timings tend to be slightly longer than Barenboim's, but at no point is the playing anything other than energized and taut.  Again, this is not the most subtle playing around, sometimes pushing the music at the listener, but I found it effective.  Not a top choice, but a fun, full-blooded one.  I'd really like to hear Szokolay in showy Liszt and Beethoven and the Brahms concertos.  His Scarlatti disc may be worth investigating, too.  Recorded sound is clear and close. 

[Todd]

Daniel Barenboim.  I figured I might as well revisit Barenboim's set.  Having listened to the set multiple times, it was better known from the start, but now, after hearing several other versions, its individual traits are more noticeable.  First, Barenboim tends to use swifter tempi than all prior sets in almost all works.  Only occasionally does it seem that maybe – and that's a maybe – he pushes some pieces just a bit too much.  Could the first Venetian Gondola Song, for instance, be just a tad more relaxed?  Sure.  Should it?  Not so sure.  The tendency to comparative swiftness makes some of the works sound just a bit tense, but never intense, and the lovely, full tone Barenboim coaxes from his piano, and the uniformly wonderful playing of the melodies, make each piece sound distinct.  Indeed, Barenboim manages to produce more variation in style between pieces than any preceding pianist.  One thing he does not do, at least like Lev on occasion, and Adni frequently, is lend greater depth to some of the pieces.  Maybe Adni adds things that are not there.  Perhaps Barenboim pursues surface beauty at the expense of something deeper.  Both approaches work.  Sound is excellent.  Barenboim's set holds up.

[George]

At this point, do you like Adni or Rev's sets more, Todd?

[Todd]

At this point, do you like Adni or Rev's sets more, Todd?

Adni.

[George]

Adni.

Ok, thanks.

[Todd]

Roberto Prosseda.  Specialization has its benefits.  Until I decided to explore Lieder ohne Worte recordings, I can't recall seeing the pianist's name before, though I may have.  He's something of a Mendelssohn specialist, having recorded all manner of works, including a variety of rarities and even a good number of world premieres.  He's also something of a specialist in the pedal piano repertoire, but that's too gimmicky for me, so I'll just stick with his Mendelssohn, at least for now. 

The set opens with 19/1 delivered with lovely legato and a most singing sound.  So far, so good.  19/2 displays a unique, pronounced but still gentle left hand staccato at the end, and this trait appears again throughout the set.  The first Venetian Gondola Song is dark and rich and moody and subdued.  Rather than flowing smoothly throughout, Prosseda plays with a soft-edged staccato part of the time, and he lets the piece fade away to silence with a perfect touch.  (Or the engineers made it happen.)  30/9 has hints of a light, Mendelssohnian Kinderszenen-like piece.  The second Venetian Gondola Song is much like the first, and the way Prosseda dispatches the trills, ascending in volume with laudable precision, is unique and effective.  38/5, labeled agitato, is precisely that, with the beautiful warmth dropped for a more pointed, almost aggressive style, though it never sounds hard.  Prosseda uses this style for many of the faster pieces.  This is followed up by a lovely but taut Duetto, with rich bass notes underpinning the piece.  The Spinnerlied, like 38/5, forgoes warmth in favor of a more pointed approach, though it hardly sounds anything other than attractive. 

Overall, Prosseda uses tempi pretty close to Barenboim's.  Sometimes he's faster, sometimes slower, but he's usually not too far away.  In the slower, gentler pieces he deploys a lovely, smooth legato.  In many faster pieces, he's a bit more fiery, deploying a slightly more strident staccato.  One thing he definitely likes to do is use the pedals, and some pedal clomping can be heard throughout the set.  These alternating traits lead to some pieces having much clearer voices than others, though nothing is ever really opaque.  And certainly nothing ever sounds hard or ugly.  Prosseda does not offer the stylistic variation of Barenboim, but every piece is so thoroughly well prepared and thought out that the set is a joy from start to finish.  The extra eight Lied without opus number make a nice addition, and the fugues and the reconstructed Allegro con Fuoco, while not exactly mandatory listening, result in two generously filled out discs.  Sound is close, clear, and warm.  Overall, this set is at the same level as Barenboim and Adni.  I think I may give Prosseda's Schumann a shot.

[Oldnslow]

I assume this is an Italian Decca. Todd, where did you source this? I picked up an excellent Chopin CD by Prosseda in Italy a few years ago, but never found a reasonable or any source for that matter outside of Italy for Italian Deccas. Same for Pietro deMaria's  wonderful Decca Chopin cycle, which I purchased over several years of travel to Italy.

[Todd]

I assume this is an Italian Decca. Todd, where did you source this?

Amazon Germany.  It was $27, shipping included.