Volume 5 in Paolo Giacometti’s ongoing complete Rossini piano music cycle begins with the final six of the 24 “Quelques riens pour album” (Volume 4 offered numbers 1 through 18). Don’t take Rossini’s self-deprecating title seriously; this music abounds in harmonic sophistication, sly wit, and melodic charm, as do the eight selections from Album de Chaumièr that follow. And for all their lightness of mood, these pieces are not for lightweight pianists! “Un Rien sur le Mode enharmonique”, for example, contains enough technical busywork to keep even the smuggest Liszt player humble. Rossini also demands a huge dynamic range, and by virtue of SACD surround-sound playback, Giacometti’s 1837 Erard seems to acquire a larger, roomier sonority than conveyed by conventional two-channel CD reproduction. In flashier pieces such as the etude-like “Gymnastique d’écartement”, we might wish for brasher fingerwork and a firmer basic pulse, but Giacometti’s excellent timing in regard to humorous pauses and transitions (particularly adroit in the respective “Major”- and “Minor”-mode variation sets) shouldn’t go unnoticed. All told, this is another excellent release in a valuable series. [10/15/2004]
