As a Scarlatti interpreter Marianna Rashkovetsky proudly pulls out all the pianistic stops, coloring a group of seven sonatas with a palette of dynamics, articulations, and pedalings that have nothing to do with the music's harpsichord origins. So be it, for her playing oozes imagination and character at every turn. Listen, for instance, to how ravishingly she shades the B-flat sonata's repeated phrases, or to the eloquent, rounded diction of her comely trills in the D major and E-flat major pieces. If you respond to, say, Mikhail Pletnev's similarly pianistic approach to this composer, you'll surely find Rashkovetsky to be a kindred spirit. Out of curiosity I compared Rashkovetsky and Pletnev in the one sonata they share, the A major K. 24. Pletnev's more assertive stance, wider dynamic range, and more solid fingerwork made a stronger impression yet took nothing away from Rashkovetsky's persuasive artistry.

Schubert's early A minor sonata features large-scaled phrase shaping and tightly sprung dotted rhythms in the first movement and lyrical flexibility in the central Allegretto, where the pianist achieves a perfect balance between the detaché phrasing in the left hand and the right hand's legato lines in octaves. If her finale lacks Michelangeli's nth degree of polish and headlong rigor, she applies just enough tempo fluctuation to stir up the dramatic stakes. Liszt's seldom-encountered Mephisto Waltz No. 3 is brisk, concise, and supple, although some of the chord playing and difficult octave passages are not as cleanly projected as you'd expect from a studio recording these days. Likewise, Mephisto Waltz No. 1 contains a few rough edges and split notes that easily could have been corrected in the editing room. I'm not so keen on Rashkovetsky's excessive lingering on key downbeats, and her gingerly upward right-hand scales in octaves dissipates their intended dramatic effect. Rashkovetsky's beautifully adjusted soft runs and repeated notes in the tender central episode, however, are worth the price of admission. On the whole, this is a very enjoyable recital whose positive qualities far outweigh any minor reservations.

--Jed Distler