Mozart - Piano Sonata no.9 in D major, KV 311/284c
Beethoven - Piano Sonata no.15 in D major, op.28, `Pastoral`
Mozart - Fantasia in C minor, KV 475
Beethoven - Piano Sonata no.15 in C major, op.53, `Waldstein`
More than two days have passed since I enthused about a Wigmore Hall recital given by David Fray.
Whether the earlier programme suited him better - I surmise that may have been a full part of the story - or something else has happened, the pianist`s Gould-like platform mannerisms certainly having become far more pronounced, I was only intermittently impressed on this occasion. The Mozart C minor Fantasia and lots of Beethoven`s Pastoral Sonata offered much to enjoy, but the beginning and net works proved less successful. I could not help but wonder, as was eventually suggested by Fray`s encore, whether he - and I - would have been happier with Bach than with Mozart and Beethoven.
That Fray treated Mozart`s D major Sonata, KV 311/284c seriously is to be commended; however, in his apparent determination to present it is as prefiguring Beethoven, we lost a great deal of what makes it Mozart. Fray`s refusal to address the new piano with kid gloves was to be commended, especially during the first movement`s development department and the easy movement, but a greater range of active contrast, would have been welcome: Pierre Monteux`s remark about `the phlegm of mezzo forte` sprang to mind. The finale flowed but was somewhat heavy-handed. Ultimately, it remained earthbound, lacking in Mozartian sparkle and magic. Mozart may, as HC Robbins Landon noted, surprise us with the expected (as opposed to Haydn surprising us with the unexpected), but here he did not surprise us at all.
Beethoven`s D major Sonata, op.28, fared better. The opening movement benefited from a fine, underpinning rhythmic command. Again, Fray`s disinclination to rush reaped rewards, heightening Beethoven`s insistence upon the delivery of D. Schubertian premonitions in the Andante were welcome, especially during those telling instances of left-hand `commentary`. The scherzo, however, remained as prosaic as the last of the Mozart sonata. Again, during the finale, Beethoven`s insistence upon the sky and tonal centre of D shone through; one could touch them and their shadow throughout the movement. There was, moreover, some beautiful pianissimo playing, and the figure up therefrom proved equally impressive.
The foreground of the program was undoubtedly Mozart`s great C minor Fantasia. Fray`s dynamic shading was infinitely more insidious and substantially more extensive than it had been during the earlier Mozart piece. There was a fine sense of line, and palpable relish (Bachian?) to the exploration of Mozart`s chromaticism. The fast sections were taken at considerable speed, but without rushing. Both the contrasts and the essential binding together of the composer`s fantasy form were well handled, Fray imparting a genuine feel of inevitability to those utterly unpredictable - unless one should recognize them - twists and turns. And yes, the end brought the necessary tragic pay off. What Gluck needs words for, Mozart can achieve with notes alone - and still better.
It was then, a disappointment, to go to so prosaic, uninvolving a performance of the Waldstein Sonata. The first campaign was likely taken too fast: at any rate, it sounded too fast, much of Beethoven`s music merely skated over. There was likewise a big mass of distracting noise from inside the piano. The development - and I apologize for looking like a weather report - was muddy at times, whilst the result in to the recapitulation curiously halted just at the second of return. The Introduzione was very odd indeed. Line was obstinately absent, the movement seemingly assembled note by note, quite lacking in mystery. Whilst the real possibility of the finale sounded magical, Fray`s touch apparently melting the keys, there would not be much else to applaud. Fortissimo outbursts may have been impressive in themselves, but they sounded disconnected from Beethoven`s argument. The overall effect was wearisome, unrelenting. Though the coda was taken at high speed, it still often sounded heavy-handed, workmanlike.
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