If her latest disc is anything to go by, Elisabeth Leonskaya’s command of Brahms’ gnarly keyboard idiom has developed and deepened since her earlier recorded efforts on the composer’s behalf. For instance, Leonskaya’s ear for polyphonic clarity allows her to generate and sustain harmonic and dramatic tension at slow tempos that would be suicidal in less seasoned hands. Op. 116 Nos. 2 and 5 persuasively illustrate my point. If the central episodes of Op. 117 Nos. 2 and 3 are not quite “con moto”, or Op. 118 No. 4’s busy triplet figurations are not as “agitato” as Brahms indicates, there’s nothing static about Leonskaya’s subtly inflected long lines.
I’m especially moved by how she fuses tender vulnerability and inner strength in the beautiful Op. 118 No. 2 and Op. 119 No. 1 Intermezzi. Given the expansive mood that permeates these interpretations, I was caught off guard by Leonskaya’s bubbly and graceful rendition of the C major Op. 119 No. 3 Intermezzo (shades of Myra Hess, the work’s one-time “owner”), as well as by her forceful, decisive dispatch of the cycle’s concluding Rhapsodie. The vintage 1901 Steinway’s remarkable registral differentiation comes off with just a little more immediacy, resonance, and color when experienced in surround-sound, although conventional two-channel playback leaves nothing to be desired. Also note MDG’s generous 81-plus minutes of playing time.
