SPIVAKOVSKY Bach to Bloch, Volume 1 (1955-67) - PAKM065

Jascha Spivakovsky

Bach to Bloch: Volume 1

Bach-Liszt Organ Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor BWV 542

Jascha Spivakovsky’s November 1963 recording of the Bach-Liszt Organ Fantasy and Fugue in G Minor BWV 542 is a grand and noble interpretation filled with passion and insight. The pianist had opened recitals with this work as early as 1922, and in this performance four decades later he presents Bach’s musical brilliance and the myriad possibilities for playing his polyphonic compositions on the piano. Liszt’s transcription enables a broader capacity of tonal and dynamic variance than the organ for which the work was originally written and Spivakovsky exploits a rich array of sonorities to express the dramatic and emotional content of Bach’s oeuvre. He additionally reveals the complex structure of Bach’s contrapuntal writing with the clarity of an architectural blueprint through his transparent voicing and precise articulation, using variation of touch, attack, dynamics, and pedaling to project the themes, counter-themes, and bridge passages in accordance with their musical significance. The mood is grand, reverent, and noble in the Prelude, musical phrases being carefully shaped and climaxes attentively built (Spivakovsky avoids peaking too quickly in order to increase tension throughout this section). The Fugue has a more ebullient atmosphere, being despatched with crisply-defined touch, transparent and consistent voicing, and a rhythmic pulse that is not rigid yet is steady and forward-moving. A Delhi newspaper during Spivakovsky’s first tour of India in 1956 stated that "the grand introduction of the Fantasia and the deliciously clear rhythm of the Fugue were rendered with superb artistry and musicianship”, and the same qualities can be heard in this current performance.

Beethoven Sonata No.21 in C Major Op.53, ‘Waldstein’

Spivakovsky’s October 1967 recording of Beethoven’s Waldstein Sonata is nothing less than extraordinary. It seems almost inconceivable that the pianist should have been aged 70 at the time of this reading, the first movement being taken at a remarkably brisk tempo yet played with tremendous accuracy, clarity, and rhythmic certainty. Spivakovsky uses minimal pedal (he seems almost not to be using it at all) and his articulation is incredibly clean and even, each and every note sounding clear while his exquisitely shaped phrasing highlights key musical motifs. In the second movement, transparent voicing reveals the composer’s rich harmonic textures while polished phrasing projects melodic lines with tremendous lucidity. Particularly impressive are the pauses between phrases: the silence never leads to a loss of musical structure or tension but in fact adds to it. In the final movement, attentive pedaling (as per Beethoven’s markings in the score) creates a haze around the main melody while the undulating left hand accompaniment is still clearly defined. Structure is revealed with uncanny transparency through the use of skilled articulation and phrasing, enabling multiple motifs to be underlined at the same time, each phrase singing while specific notes are accented without breaking the line. Sir Neville Cardus referred to Spivakovsky’s Beethoven playing as "an experience of mind and spirit and a sincere artist’s submergence of self and technical awareness into the world of Beethoven” and this breathtaking performance, fleet and virtuosic as well as emotionally and intellectually profound, fits the renowned critic’s description perfectly.

Chopin Ballade No.1 in G Minor Op.23

Although the piano used in this December 1966 recording of Chopin’s First Ballade has some intonation issues, the performance is one of the greatest ever recorded, Spivakovsky sounding spontaneous despite his remarkable attention to detail. Melodic lines are presented like sentences recited by a skilled actor, with a natural rise and fall, with organic pacing and expression, the connectivity between lines well thought through, always played with extraordinary subtlety. With his adjustments to dynamics, tone, and nuance (via pedaling and timing), Spivakovsky gives phrases priority over rigid metrical structure yet never loses the pulse. He plays in the true Romantic tradition, with rubato used in relation to the structure of the work, subtle differences of time and shaping being used to highlight each repeated structural or musical element. He underscores many of the same inner voices highlighted in Josef Hofmann’s legendary 1937 Golden Jubilee performance, yet whereas Hofmann’s burnished voices soar on a higher sonic plane than the other layers, here they are coloured such that they are clearly revealed within the overall texture of the work. This powerful performance nevertheless eschews exaggerated climaxes and contrived emotionality, the pianist ensuring that the performance doesn’t peak too soon, holding back until the actual structural climax of the work. A 1933 review from The Advertiser stated that "Jascha Spivakovsky gave us a new interpretation of Chopin's G Minor Ballade, one that mattered. It was maturely conceived – not Spivakovsky at the expense of Chopin.” Indeed, the pianist reveals here the best of the Romantic tradition - inspired individuality and breadth of expression - with the best of the newer approach to objective presentation of the composer’s intent through respect of the text.

Brahms Romanze in F Major Op.118 No.5

The recording of Brahms’s Romanze in F Major Op.118 No.5 in October-November 1955 features a broad tempo and expansive rubato. Spivakovsky does not highlight the primary melodic line so much as he does the larger harmonic progression of the work, paying attention to its counterpoint and overall structure, each section being distinct yet seamlessly bridged with attentive adjustments of tempo and dynamics. Each of the four initial presentations of the main melody in the opening section is voiced differently, with adjustments to dynamics and timing serving to highlight a variety of emotional expressions through the same theme. Spivakovsky’s weighting of chords in the outer sections is exquisite, while in the middle section both the melodic line and inner voices are beautifully intertwined; the remarkable deceleration before the more agitated central section, with each note’s timing and decay seamlessly presented, anticipates the change in mood. Following the luminous and penetrating middle section, he shapes the reprise into a broad arch, following Brahms's written intentions, all the while applying his unerring taste in phrasing and rubato to build the tension and dynamics to a marvelous peak, drawing out passion and depth to build to a carefully-identified climactic point near the end of the work, and then a gorgeous fading out to a beautifully-timed presentation of the final chord. It is little wonder that the pianist was so widely acclaimed for his Brahms playing, in Europe (and Germany in particular) in the ‘20s and ‘30s and in his Australian, American, British, and other international appearances from the through the ‘30s to ‘60s.

Debussy: Two Preludes

Book 1 No.7: Ce qu’a vu le vent de l’Ouest

Book 1 No. 12: Minstrels

Two Debussy Preludes recorded in February/March 1958 demonstrate Spivakovsky’s brilliance at characterization and shifting tonal palettes. In Ce qu’a vu le vent de l’Ouest (What the West wind saw), fiery passion is fused with skilled voicing and an array of tonal colours that brings to mind Debussy’s orchestral writing (there is more than a passing resemblance to La Mer). The pianist told his son Michael that he imagined that “the wind would sometimes be a gentle zephyr looking down over the landscape and at other times blowing into a violent typhoon as it passed over raging seas or volcanoes” - indeed, the Manchester Guardian in 1948 stated that “Mr. Spivakovsky turned the west wind into a cyclone.” His massive dynamic range is carefully exploited so that tension builds at an appropriate pace, while careful pedaling and voicing serve to present melodic subjects within a cathedral of sound, true to Debussy’s impressionistic style.

In Minstrels, Spivakovsky captures the whimsical tone of Debussy’s writing with a masterful application of rubato, creating a sense of nervousness characteristic of this work, which depicts a variety stage show: one can well imagine a bumbling entertainer almost losing his balance during the opening trick. He plays with energy and an almost childish, unfiltered naiveté as moods change moment by moment. Dissonance is voiced transparently rather than harshly, highlighting the humour and playful nature of this work with creative timing and controlled dynamic contrast.

Kabalevsky Piano Sonata No.3 in F Major Op.46

Spivakovsky’s May/June 1962 account of Kabalevsky’s Piano Sonata No.3 rivals the legendary recordings of Horowitz and Moiseiwitsch. Throughout the entire work, Spivakovsky lets the music speak while still playing with a very individual approach. He plays with exquisite clarity, his singing tone and lyrical phrasing revealing the beauty of the main melodic subject of the first movement while careful tempo adjustments and accenting underscore the work’s harmonic and structural elements while his lilting, dancing touch keeps the music light on its feet. As always, Spivakovsky’s treatment of transitions is thoughtfully considered: note the delightful expansive broadening of tempo before the return of the main subject in the first movement. His deep forging of the long line in the second movement draws out the melancholic atmosphere, which together with his transparent voicing of the accompaniment highlights the sardonic harmonic flavour of the movement. The various moods of the closing movement - from playful to passionate to anguished - are woven together with care. Spivakovsky’s varied tonal palette includes a sparkling sound in the upper registers in buoyant moments, in contrast to a more expansive depth of tone in more dramatic sections. Even in the work’s most passionate measures, the pianist never bangs, resisting the common ‘combat boot’ accents one often hears in such repertoire, instead letting clarity of texture and fullness of tone be the basis of his dramatic framework. A lush reading that is a miracle of articulation and subtle tempo variation and post-Romantic expression.

- Mark Ainley