Listeners familiar with Juana Zayas’ Chopin recordings, particularly her outstanding versions of the Etudes, will not be surprised to learn that her fingers and temperament do justice to Schumann’s mercurial creative world, albeit inconsistently. Carnaval contains many arresting details. In Pierrot, Zayas shifts melodic emphasis between right and left hands, much as Cortot did. She generates rhythmic tension in the gnarly Papillons by accenting certain upbeats, and keeps Reconnaissance’s repeated notes on an even keel. In Paganini, the pianist’s keen attention to accents, subito dynamics, and inner voices compensates for a more moderate tempo than the proscribed Presto. However, in slower movements, Zayas tends to elongate phrases to the point where they lose rhythmic clarity and render Schumann’s marked ritards meaningless, as in Eusebius’ quintuplet/triplet juxtapositions. These liberties prove doubly indulgent considering that Zayas takes all the repeats.
Fantasiestücke begins with a calm, flowing Des Abends that leads into a full-bodied rendition of Aufschwung, featuring unusual inner voices and a refreshingly unsentimental central episode. Warum’s conversational melodic qualities are offset by Zayas’ slightly heavy and dragging basic tempo, although she sustains her similarly grand-scaled Grillen quite well. For my taste, tighter, more straightforward rhythm is needed to fully convey Schumann’s driving, appassionato mood. Unfortunately, the momentum continues to erode with an undercharacterized Fabel, lackluster Traumes-Wirren, and heavy-handed Ende von Lied.
By contrast, Zayas’ supple fingerwork and imaginative textural differentiation in the Toccata makes you hear the music behind the virtuoso showpiece, while the Arabesque’s lyric breadth and proportion is stylistically and spiritually akin to Rubinstein’s priceless live Carnegie Hall version. The sonics accurately reflect the largeness of Zayas’ tone as heard in concert, yet with a harsher, less luminous veneer.
