Polina Osetinskaya Bach Scarlatti
BACH Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659 (arr. Wilhelm Kempff). Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben, BWV
147: No. 10, Jesus bleibet meine Freude (Arr. Wilhelm Kempff). Italian
Concerto. Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ,
BWV 639 (arr. Wilhelm Kempff). Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV
645 (arr. Wilhelm Kempff). Flute Sonata
in E, BWV 1031: Siciliano (arr. Wilhelm Kempff). Prelude b, BWV 855 (arr. Alexander Siloti). Organ Concerto in d, BWV 596: Largo
e spiccato, "Sicilienne" (arr. Alexandre Tharaud). Was
mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd, BWV 208: No. 9, Schafe können sicher weiden (arr. Egon
Petri). SCARLATTI Keyboard Sonatas, Kk 98, 377, 87, 32, 141
Polina Osetinskaya (pn)
MELODIYA 10 02602 (73:50)
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Russia has a distinguished
tradition of Baroque music played on the piano, but the styles and techniques,
and even the instruments, increasingly distance it from Western trends, towards
historically informed, which is to say lighter, sounds. But a significant
exception needs to be made for transcriptions, by Romantic-era pianists, of
harpsichord and organ works. Here, pianists the world over seem to agree that
round, flowing phrases and warm, legato harmonies suit the style—a period
performance of sorts, but of the transcriber’s time. This new album of Bach and
Scarlatti from Russian pianist Polina Osetinskaya is therefore conventional in
some ways, though it stands out for the sheer elegance of Osetinskaya’s
playing, and for the intriguing approach to the program. And, despite the
common currency of Bach transcriptions, this is clearly the playing of Russian
pianist, with immaculate and finely honed technique. Every piece here has that
unmistakable Russian virtue of clear and definite voicing, with each note
carefully placed, and each harmony voiced with confidence and clear intent. The
result is an absorbing performance, the textures even and well controlled, the
rubato modest, but with everything imbued with a pervasive feeling of depth.
Osetinskaya was born in 1975
and studied at the Moscow Conservatory. She plays all over the world, but the
main focus of her career seems to be in Russia, since she is, amongst other
things, a specialist in contemporary Russian music, collaborating with
composers such as Leonid Desyatnikov, Vladimir Martynov, Pavel Karmanov, all
leading names there, but none with any particular traction—sadly—in the West.
Osetinskaya also performs a great deal of Romantic Russian piano music, and her
previous albums for Melodiya have featured Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky.
Presumably that link with the late Romantics was her impetus for this album, an
affinity more with the arrangers than with the music itself (though it is
probably worth remembering the pedagogical role of Bach in Russia—you’re not
likely to graduate as a pianist from the Moscow Conservatory without gaining a
thorough knowledge of his keyboard works).
The liner note to this
release, by Ekaterina Biryukova, describes how Osetinskaya has planned out the
program as a “single composition” with a “strict tonal plan.” Osetinskaya’s
starting point is the fact that Scarlatti and Bach were both born the same year,
but never met and wrote in contrasting styles. And yet, by focusing on
minor-key works, and choosing works in related keys, a continuity emerges.
Arrangements of Bach choral preludes—the well-known ones have been deliberately
chosen—appear at regular intervals as “identification beacons.” Between these,
we hear faster works, predominantly Scarlatti sonatas, but also Bach’s Italian Concerto and a Siciliano from a
flute sonata.
The playing is luminous from
beginning to end. In Osetinskaya’s hands, none of this music is ever trivial.
Even cadential ornaments are emphatically placed and rhythmically precise.
Similarly, the phrasing is conceived over broad spans and articulated through
gradual dynamic changes rather than localized tempo shifts. In the chorale
preludes, the cantus firmus always stands out clearly, but the separation of
voices seems to be achieved more through varied articulation than dynamics,
with the main melody always the most legato and the counterpoints lighter for their
feeling of separation. That effect is particularly apparent in the Andante of the Italian Concerto, where the bass line chimes in round, clear,
bell-like tones, while the melody unfolds playfully above.
Slow movements are often
surprisingly slow. That Andante, for
example, times out at 6:40—barely an andante
at all—but Osetinskaya always manages to hold the mood through her long,
arching melodic lines. Faster movements are brisker, though still well below
HIP tempos. The Scarlatti sonatas are a mix of fast and slow, but the faster
ones, Kk 377 and especially 141, are characterized by well-placed and focused accents,
punctuating a still-legato touch, though now given a greater sense of momentum
and drive.
Recorded sound is good, from
Cinelab Studios, which seems to be in London, although the engineering team are
all Russian. The bass end has excellent presence, but without overpowering,
which is ideal for Osetinskaya’s generous pedaling and often bass-heavy
voicing. If you are listening to a download or stream, the liner can be
accessed from the Melodiya website. The English translation of the Russian
liner note is hardly idiomatic, though it gives a good idea of the concept
behind the album: Bach transcriptions and Scarlatti sonatas organized into a
continuous recital-length unit, and performed as such by a pianist with a gorgeous
tone and keen sense for broad structural connections.
This review appears in Fanfare magazine issue 43:3.
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