Olga Kern has the fingers of steel, huge sound, and lyrical instincts to put over late-Romantic Russian repertoire the way it should be heard. What’s often missing, however, is rhythmic consistency and a true feeling for the overall pulse of a composition. As a result, her shapeless speeding up and slowing down throughout the Rachmaninov sonata make the 1931 revision actually seem longer and less compact than it is. The opening few minutes indicate all too well what to expect as Kern pulls the rhythm about so much that by the time the slower second theme arrives you scarcely perceive the contrast in mood that the composer intended. Notice also how she dawdles over the C-sharp minor Prelude’s tolling chords and speeds through the middle section as if it had no relationship whatsoever to the music that preceded it. A firmer pulse also would have underlined the balletic qualities in Polichinelle and Sérénade to greater effect, while Kern’s push/pull rubatos in Polka de V.R. are incongruously timed.
Liadov’s Musical Snuff Box lacks sparkle via Kern’s pallid, introspective treatment, and although she can accurately and assuredly negotiate Balakirev’s murderously difficult figurations in Islamey, what is the purpose of those overly long breath pauses in the opening theme and its return? Nevertheless, Kern gives a sensitive and beautifully shaded rendition of the same composer’s In the Garden, plus a lightfingered and propulsive romp through Taneyev’s Prelude and Fugue. The piano itself, a Hamburg Steinway model D 0170, sounds particularly resplendent in Harmonia Mundi’s superbly engineered recording.
