Although we can’t accuse Weber’s four piano sonatas of overrepresentation on disc, the competition is fierce enough to ward off all but the most imaginative, transcendental virtuosos. Think of the full-priced cycles from Hamish Milne and Garrick Ohlsson, Michael Endres’ brilliant budget offering, plus myriad “historical” single sonata recordings (Arrau’s First, Cortot’s Second, Richter’s Third, Fleisher’s Fourth). In such company, Mariaclara Monetti von Slawik’s workmanlike pianism rarely inspires. Granted, she ably handles the Third Sonata Finale’s treacherous double notes, but can she make them shimmer like Richter? Yes, there are nice lyrical touches, such as in the Second Sonata Scherzo’s Trio, but does Slawik match Endres’ supple verve and positively winged unison octaves in the outer sections? Slawik’s literal, prosaic traversal of Invitation to the Dance does not invite you to dance, let alone part with Endres or Fleisher, to say nothing about Schnabel and Friedman, or Moiseiwitsch’s genius performance of Weber’s text as dolled up by Tausig. Comparisons speak louder than words. In all, this is a decently performed and inexpensive disc, but not a particularly memorable one.
