Search - Ernst Levy :: Forgotten Genius, Volume 2 - Plays Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart

A revelation

Michael Whincop | GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY, QLD AUSTRALIA | 03/11/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was astonished by Levy's first CD release, which I also have reviewed here. How could such a phenomenally original and powerful pianist -- both intellectual and dramatic -- have been neglected in favour of a raft of wishy-washy artists? I ask the same question again after hearing this disk. The only other pianist that stands as another such original thinker in Beethoven is Artur Schnabel. Levy is that good. Between the two sets, we have the inestimable good fortune to be able to hear Levy's thoughts on the last six sonatas, plus the Appassionata. This set contains the most challenging recordings you will hear of these works for a long, long time.The disk opens with his Haydn. I offer limited comparisons here, but it strikes me as the way I want to hear Haydn's piano music -- tough, adventurous, dramatic, and lacking in the clink of Dresden china so often inflicted on piano music from this era. The Beethoven op. 90 goes very well -- the first movement sounds not unlike Haydn in its taut purposeful lines, and the second movement is moved along without sounding too comfortable or sweet. Op. 101 is superb -- the first movement has fine legato, which makes the switch to the lively, jaunty march that much more effective. The slow movement is well paced, and the finale electric. Throughout, Levy's choice of pacing and his attention to accompaniment and counterpoint are superbly effective. Similar comments apply to 109, as fine a performance as any in the catalogue. The first movement sounds deeper than usual, the second movement is impetuous, and the range of moods in the third are caught superbly. I am however quite astonished by the Appassionata and 110. The former is searingly dramatic -- quite unrivalled even by the live Richter performance. The elasticity of tempo, the phrasing, and the severe attention to the bassline shape a reading of elemental power and rugged grandeur. The 110 is also astonishing. The finale is wholly unique. Levy constructs it as a massive double arch. Rather than take the recitative and aria sections slowly, and the fugues fast, he eases his tempo gradually forward or backward in each of these sections, so that, initially, the fugue begins at the same slow pace as the preceding aria theme, and only picks up pace as he goes, just as the beginning of the return of the aria is much faster than it ends. One has the sense of this section of a slow leaching of life from the music, as both the pulse drops, and the volume of sound recedes. The ensuing sequence of chords is dramatic, as the inversion of the fugue permits him to play accelerando once more, in a vital and compelling affirmation. The recordings from the late 1950s are acceptable.The disk closes with much older recordings of Mozart and Strauss, a bit distorted by surface noise, but fascinating once more."

Colossal, titanic, thrilling

John Grabowski | USA | 02/04/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Why couldn't Levy have left us with a Diabelli Variations?" That was my first thought after I finished listening to this set. His poetic flights, passionate temperament and love of sudden dramatic contrasts would have been perfect for Beethoven's most titanic of piano creations. "Why couldn't Levy have left us with more of *anything*?" was my second thought. When you consider all the Barenboims and Ashkenazys and other bland pianists who have little to say but feel compelled to say it often, it's so much a shame that so little Levy, so little Ugorski, so little Ignaz Friedman, so little (relatively) Ivo Pogorelich has come down to us. And so many pieces out there beckon for meaningful interpretations.



In volume 1 of this series we got a Lizst Sonata that ranks for me as the greatest on record, period, and some pretty fine Beethoven too. (Only the Hammerklavier was for me a little problematic, missing some needed bite and a little too romanticized.) In volume 2, we get more late Beethoven (wonderful for me, as I can never have too much late period Beethoven), the Appassionata (something of a Levy favorite: it's also on vols. 1 and 3 of this series, but I find this to be the most convincing of the three) Haydn sonatas, Mozart K. 397, and a Johann Strauss bonbon. The late Beethoven is the biggest revelation here-- this performance of Op. 90, in some of the best sound Levy was ever preserved in, is a revelation, displaying shades of richness I didn't know was there. Listen to how he handles the moment just before the first movement recap! Schnabel must have smiled. Ditto for the second movement coda. In fact, Levy reminds me of Schnabel through this set in his well-considered weighing of chords and judicious use of dynamics. But Levy has more control than Schnabel did, when comparing recordings at least (Schnabel was supposedly better when he didn't know he was being recorded, and the one aircheck I own where he presumably didn't know he was being recorded bears this out), and Levy doesn't seem to be made nervous by the whole recording process. And when you hear the colors Levy employed, you wish more had been preserved in first-rate sound. One can only begin to imagine his dizzying Liszt sonata (vol. 1) recorded under such conditions.



After Op. 90 it was the experience of a lifetime hearing the stupendous Op 101. This is my second-favorite Beethoven sonata (after Op. 111), but I've never found a recording I could call "my favorite." Until now. Oh, I might quibble a little with some skimming in the finale, where I think Gilels (live, M&A) scores better despite tons of wrong notes, but overall this is an amazing achievement. The other two late sonatas are also superb, though his heavy way with the first movement of Op. 109 takes some getting used to and his Op. 110 doesn't overshadow my favorite--Arrau (Philips, mid 60s). The Mozart, recorded along with the Strauss in 1929, is exquisite and delicate without being "china doll" precious. If you can listen through the crackle of 78-year-old pressings, you'll hear some astonishingly pure sound--more natural than the electronic Unicorn recordings from the 1950s in many ways. Again, this is a performance to rank up there with the very best.



The Haydn is also superb, though maybe not quite of the same astonishing character. Levy was first and foremost a Romantic, with a capital R. In the Haydn he finds a little less insight. At least he doesn't try to imbue his Haydn with romanticisms beyond what it can handle, however. The slow movement of Sonata 31 in A-flat, for example, is stately classical grace, but filled with deep feeling and a beautiful and unique sadness we don't often find associated with Haydn. Oh sure, maybe No. 47 in B minor is a little heavier and less "charming" than we are used to today, but I don't know what performance practices for Haydn were back then.



Marton's whole series of Levy is among the most distinguished and important piano reissues I know. It's sad these are no longer available from Amazon. They may still be obtainable through Marton directly, however, at www-dot-marstonrecords-dot-com. If not, search the cutout bins, Froogle, Yahoo Shopping, and whatever other second-hand record web sites you know, and work your damndest to obtain a copy of this and the other two volumes. Levy makes most of today's ivory-pressers sound like robots by comparison. He was a true Maverick--not a marketing creation, not a product of hype or snazzy/sexy record covers, but the rare real deal. It's a pity that half a century later, he's all but unknown, even by most classical music aficionados. Forgotten genius indeed."