Search - Ludwig van Beethoven, Peter Serkin :: Peter Serkin: Beethoven Sonatas

Peter Serkin's extraordinary musical lineage (grandson of Adolf Busch and son of the legendary Rudolf Serkin) hasn't given the pianist a Buddenbrooks complex. Far from it--Serkin stands on his own as a gutsy artist who can tap into traditions past at will, while remaining a probingly individual, questing voice. He is, in fact, one of the most interesting interpreters on the scene today. So, before you sigh, "not another Moonlight!" rest assured that Serkin actually has something to say with this collection of Beethoven warhorses. By programming the Moonlight's lesser-known, beguiling twin next to it (Op. 27, No. 1--sometimes facetiously called the "Sunlight"), Serkin creates the context for a larger tone poem full of variety and exploration and, especially in the slower music, premonitions of the late sonatas. Serkin can be deeply, seductively analytical, distilling the rhythmic undulations of the Moonlight's first movement into hypnotic abstraction. But he never comes across as overly cerebral, thanks to the depth of his emotional connection with the music. In the Appassionata, Serkin immerses himself in exploring the sound world of the piece as the secret to its inner structure--just try to count how many degrees of uneasy quiet or pouncing vehemence he uses. Serkin also achieves something beyond the angry-young-man defiance of many Appassionata interpretations, hurtling at a measured--but in his hands all the more ineluctable--pace in the finale toward the grim conclusion. Two irritations: the engineering is less than adequate, with a harsh, often brittle sound in the upper register. Moreover, Serkin is a major exponent of contemporary composers, and he intriguingly coupled the music of Stefan Wolpe with the Appassionata on his concert tour during the period of this recording (1995--inexplicably held back from release until now). Does BMG really think following Serkin's own creative lead would frighten off classical fans? --Thomas May