There’s plenty of lyrical beauty behind the “age of steel” demeanor that often characterizes Prokofiev’s piano music. While many keyboard practitioners emphasize Prokofiev’s combative and percussive side, the Cuban-born Marcos Madrigal is every inch the singer. Imagine Claudio Arrau’s regal bearing and sonorous heft in Prokofiev’s Visions fugitives, and you’ll get an idea of what distinguishes Madrigal’s interpretations.
He spins out No. 1’s long lines to high heaven, and creates a more massive than usual patina in No. 3 through generous pedaling. No. 4 is definitely more “sostenuto” than “animato” via Madrigal’s deliberation, but No. 6’s frequently ignored “con eleganza” directive takes center stage. What lovely harp-like arpeggios in No. 7, and deliciously pointed tenutos in No. 11. No. 19 may not be ideally brisk and agitated, yet Madrigal’s deliberation gives the music an ironic, quasi ragtime twist.
If one describes as Mozartean the luminous transparency of Anne-Marie McDermott’s supple outer movements in the Prokofiev Fifth sonata, then Madrigal’s broader, darker sound world is compellingly Brahmsian. Some listeners may find his Seventh sonata first movement underpowered and lacking in momentum, but the central Andante resembles an eloquent aria. In the Precipitato finale, Madrigal shapes the motoric cross-rhythmic patterns into long arcs, carefully scaling his dynamics so that the climaxes convey maximum impact. Let’s hope that this excellently engineered and annotated release will lead to installments beyond Volume 1.
