We can take for granted that the digital dexterity on this disc will be of the highest quality, and so from a purely technical point of view it is. Mikhail Pletnev arranged the music from Cinderella specifically as a vehicle to perform with Martha Argerich, and they play the living daylights out of it. Two waltzes lie at the heart of this nine-movement suite lasting some 35 minutes: the first is Cinderella’s big number at the ball, the second is the midnight sequence, complete with the clock striking 12 (not very effective in transcription, it has to be admitted). How these two players remain in lock-step and at the same time manage nearly stupefying extremes of rubato and tempo adjustment is just one of those feats of exceptional artistry that even intense rehearsal can’t fully explain. It all sounds totally spontaneous, and in the fast numbers, such as the Quarrel and the Gallop, the toccata-like rhythmic resiliency is similarly remarkable.
And yet, I have to register a few reservations. First is the music itself, which, absent its orchestration, lacks the allure of the same composer’s Romeo and Juliet piano arrangements. Much of it sounds simply busy but otherwise melodically uninteresting. Second, as a filler, Argerich and Pletnev deliver an absolutely charmless performance of Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite, blasting through the three inner movements with such haste that even their nimble fingers fail to catch the music’s childlike sense of wonder and melodic eloquence. In fact, they play it like slightly softer-edged Prokofiev, which is frankly just plain weird, not to mention cold and insensitive, despite moments of astonishing (if somewhat random) sensitivity of touch. So that means 35 minutes of extraordinary music-making in less than interesting music, at full price. Don’t get me wrong: for the Prokofiev this is a keeper, and the engineering is very well-balanced and clean; but if you decided to pass, I would certainly understand.
