Rudolf Serkin

Martha Argerich has made such a rousing specialty of the Schumann Cto. that it's hard to remember a time when another pianist attacked the work with as much passion and spontaneity but here is Rudolf Serkin from 1964 to remind us. Ormandy was at his best as an accompanist, yet he excels himself here with an orchestral part that is vivid and urgent, not what one expects from him. Serkin always favored very close miking of the piano essentially under the lid and we're lucky that this cheap digital remastering isn't hard or glassy; in fact, it has considerable visceral impact while still sounding fairly natural a bit of shallowness is all that I can complain about.

Though Serkin isn`t concertizing a great deal these days, he remains a fascinating pianist on disc. Some listeners (this one included) find Serkin`s playing occasionally too pointed and harsh. Yet for those who tire of the delicate, jewel-box Mozart that is fashionable among pianists today, Serkin surely represents a compelling alternative. His performances of the Concertos Nos. 15 (K. 450 in B-flat Major) and 22 (K. 482 in E-flat Major) are expansive, thoughtful and pleasantly unhurried. In slow movements, he`s never less than thoughtful, creating some exquisite pianissimos in the process. Abbado is ever the sensitive accompanist.

Pablo Casals was once the greatest living cellist. His technique was formidable, his tone was magisterial, and his interpretations were sovereign. In the '20s and '30s, Casals was a charismatic virtuoso on the same level as Kreisler and Horowitz. Those days were over by the time he recorded Beethoven's works for cello and piano with the superb Rudolf Serkin in 1954. His formidable technique had irrevocably decayed: in the fast passages and movements, Casals could barely keep up and he dropped notes like a tree drops leaves in a late autumn rain. His magisterial tone has deteriorated: in the slow passages and movements, Casals groaned and growled like boughs and branches in a hard autumn wind.

Pablo Casals was once the greatest living cellist. His technique was formidable, his tone was magisterial, and his interpretations were sovereign. In the '20s and '30s, Casals was a charismatic virtuoso on the same level as Kreisler and Horowitz. Those days were over by the time he recorded Beethoven's works for cello and piano with the superb Rudolf Serkin in 1954. His formidable technique had irrevocably decayed: in the fast passages and movements, Casals could barely keep up and he dropped notes like a tree drops leaves in a late autumn rain. His magisterial tone has deteriorated: in the slow passages and movements, Casals groaned and growled like boughs and branches in a hard autumn wind.

What always shone through Serkin's playing was its unvarnished honesty, its refusal to do anything for effect or to ingratiate itself. Sometimes that makes for uncomfortable results – Serkin often seems to be in mortal combat with what he was playing – but his finest performances, as in the late sonatas (Opp 109, 110 and 111) here, were unique.

The partnership of Serkin and Abbado in Mozart is a fascinating one. They are such different musical personalities, yet they work remarkably well together, so that each performance becomes an artistic amalgam of two quite different artistic approaches. Abbado matches a natural spontaneous warmth (listen to the beguiling way the orchestra shapes the secondary theme in the first movement of the A major Concerto) with the utmost refinement of detail; whereas Serkin, patrician, authoritative, strong, is more selfconsciously expressive when he deviates from a strictly rhythmic presentation of the melodic line in the same movement.

Rudulf Serkin, in the company of Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra shine a wonderful light on Brahm's First Piano Concerto. Serkin brings the same radiance he delivers to Beethoven's "Emperor". Self-effacing, Serkin noted, "We are nothing next to the immense pieces we play… nothing, we are mere dwarfs". A challenging piece by any measure, Serkin's performance is well balanced with that of the orchestra, which play in harmony to produce elegant sound on this well-recorded Sony edition. The Handel Variations are a delightful change of pace as a makeweight.

From the notes: Charisma is an overworked term, but there are times when no other will do. Rudolf
Serkin had it in abundance. He had no striking physical feature that would at once single him out. […..] He had only an aura - of power, yes, but not the power of a politician or a great impresario; rather, it was a power of incorruptibility formed by an iron discipline, which one felt instinctively.

This new recording of…the great D minor, K466, made last November with the LSO under Abbado, is immensely welcome. The old magic is still there: the ability to make every semiquaver in a run count: the way he can invest even quite 'innocent' music…with real meaning and character; the pathos and lyricism he brings to the slow movements; and the tension and drama he reveals in the outer movements of K466.

Historical recording, over 5 decades old, but still "in the mood"