In most respects Garrick Ohlsson’s Hyperion remake of the Debussy Etudes differs from his earlier Arabesque version released in 1990. For starters, the engineering is less robust yet more judiciously equalized. Tempos are mostly faster, characterized by simpler phrasing and more discreet rubato.
The accents in No. 1’s five-finger exercise parody now are subtle interruptions rather than blunt stings. No. 2 is more straightforward and drier in texture, compared to the earlier reading’s curvaceous, liberally-pedaled itinerary. No. 5’s octave leaps and waltz-like intimations gain lilt and lift, although No. 6’s rapid eight-finger runs have lost their earlier playful inflection. No. 10’s dynamics are scrupulously observed, but the central climax is less fervently and impulsively achieved. The younger Ohlsson also made more of No. 11’s flighty mood changes and sexy harmonies. And compared to Uchida and Bavouzet, with their energetic, sweeping dispatch of No. 12’s two-handed chord-to-octave leaps, Ohlsson sounds relatively cautious.
His big technique takes the youthful brashness and relentless double notes throughout Prokofiev’s Op. 2 Etudes in stride, but not to the edgy, effortless level of Ondine’s Matti Raekallio. Likewise, Ohlsson’s solid and forthright Bartók Etudes yield to suppler, more vivacious interpretations by Zoltan Kocsis and the young Sean Chen. Given the high and often transcendent level distinguishing some of Ohlsson’s recent offerings (the “Close Connections” new music recital; the Liszt/Busoni “Ad Nos” Fantasy and Liszt B minor Sonata; and the complete Brahms variations, for example), this disc could have been better.
