Boris Berezovsky - Rachmaninov: Préludes (2008)

Tracklist

01. Prelude En Ut Diese Mineur Opus 3 No. 2, Lento
02. Prelude No. 1 En Fa Diese Mineur, Largo
03. Prelude No. 2 En Si Bemol Majeur, Maestoso
04. Prelude No. 3 En Re Mineur, Tempo Di Minuetto
05. Prelude No. 4 En Re Majeur, Andante Cantabile
06. Prelude No. 5 En Sol Mineur, Alla Marcia
07. Prelude No. 6 En Mi Bemol Majeur, Andante
08. Prelude No. 7 En Ut Mineur, Allegro
09. Prelude No. 8 En La Bemol Majeur, Allegro Vivace
10. Prelude No. 9 En Mi Bemol Mineur, Presto
11. Prelude No. 10 En Sol Bemol Majeur, Largo
12. Prelude No. 1 En Ut Majeur, Allegro Vivace
13. Prelude No. 2 En Si Bemol Mineur, Allegretto
14. Prelude No. 3 En Mi Majeur, Allegro Vivace
15. Prelude No. 4 En Mi Mineur, Allegro Con Brio
16. Prelude No. 5 En Sol Majeur, Moderato
17. Prelude No. 6 En Fa Mineur, Allegro Appassionato
18. Prelude No. 7 En La Majeur, Moderato
19. Prelude No. 8 En La Mineur, Vivo
20. Prelude No. 9 En La Majeur, Allegro Moderato
21. Prelude No. 10 En Si Mineur, Lento
22. Prelude No. 11 En Si Majeur, Allegretto
23. Prelude No. 12 En Sol Diese Mineur, Allegro
24. Prelude No. 13 En Re Bemol Majeur, Grave



At his best, Boris Berezovsky’s gaunt sonority and incisive fingerwork create an edgy, coruscating sound-world akin to what Horowitz, Weissenberg, and Gavrilov have achieved in Rachmaninov Preludes. Telling proof of the pianist’s nervous energy can be found in his pushing of Op. 32 No. 2’s central climax, Op. 32 No. 8’s supple filigree offset by sudden dynamic surges, plus his terse, headlong treatment of slower, more lyrical selections (Op. 23 Nos. 1, 4, & 10; Op. 32 Nos. 10 & 13). Paradoxically, Berezovsky scales down Op. 32 No. 1’s whirling figurations to more intimate, subjective dimensions than usual.

My main reservations concern Mirare’s boxy engineering, plus a not-so-colorful concert grand with an ugly, non-resonant top register. Consequently, Berezovsky’s ferocious grasp of Op. 23 No. 2’s polytextural interplay and truck-sized chords comes off like an orchestra in a broom closet. Yet we must also blame some of the aural fatigue on the pianist’s tendency to pound when the music grows loud (the famous Op. 23 No. 5 March, for example). Among single-disc complete Rachmaninov Preludes editions, Vladimir Ashkenazy’s, with its tonal warmth and caring musicianship, remains a durable point of reference.

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