In the main, Claudio Arrau’s live Beethoven Op. 2 No. 3 from the 1976 Prague Spring Festival differs little from his Philips studio version of the previous decade. The pianist digs deeper into the Adagio this time and his ripe inflections generate plenty of dramatic tension without impeding the music’s flow. At 73, Arrau’s pianistic poise remains quite awesome both in the Scherzo (lighter and more lithe than Richter’s Prague performance from the same year) and in the first movement, although his italicized phrasing of the latter’s second subject borders on mannerism. Only in the rollicking Allegro assai do I miss Richter’s rhythmic spring and scintillation, or that of Solomon and Rubinstein, among favorite versions. The Czech radio recording is close-up and bass shy.
Bryan Crimp, though, has worked wonders cleaning up a semi-professional, in-house audience cassette recording of Arrau’s Brahms F minor sonata, taped at the pianist’s 75th birthday recital on February 5, 1978 at Avery Fisher Hall. Despite the limited sound quality you still get a realistic sense of how Arrau’s majestic, robust sonority carried in the concert hall at every dynamic level. I actually attended this concert, and my stage seat allowed me to observe Arrau’s relaxed, economical body language from an ideal vantagepoint. Arrau is in terrific technical form and takes bolder interpretive risks than he does in his better-proportioned studio version. He recreates Brahms’ massive textures from the bottom up, in broad, spacious brushstrokes and long, pliable lines, notably in the impassioned slow movement. The Scherzo swaggers to a larger-scaled degree than in Arrau’s studio recording, and the Finale’s fingerbusting right-hand runs are so secure that Arrau can afford to throw them away in order to give equal time to the left hand’s motivic material. After this exhilarating performance, stagehands rolled out a big celebratory cake and the audience sang “Happy Birthday” to Arrau. We weren’t served any cake, of course, but I hope Arrau at least brought some home in a doggie bag!
