There’s no doubt that Miguel Baselga’s impetuous temperament and skillful instrumental prowess suit the unfettered virtuosity that permeates much of Albéniz’s piano music. If anything, Volume 5 of BIS’s complete Albéniz survey reveals the extent to which Baselga’s artistry has matured since he began the cycle some years back. For example, his fundamentally hard-hitting tone now embraces a wider range of colors, and he imbues his soft playing with more sustained lyricism. Staccato notes that used to shoot out like indiscreet BBs have acquired welcome roundness and definition, as borne out in the Suite Ancienne No. 2’s Chaconne and in the exceptionally articulated Arbola Azpian.
These virtues further distinguish Baselga’s excellent interpretation of the derivative yet fascinating Fourth Piano Sonata. This early work owes its rhythmic and motivic flavor to Mendelssohn and Schumann, although its sensuous keyboard writing already contains the textural genome that would spread like wildfire in Iberia. Among the Suite espagnole’s eight movements, I especially like Baselga’s snappy account of the Seguidillas, and his leaner, calmer Nocturno that differs from Alicia De Larrocha’s more massive, moody traversal. However, other movements find Baselga more vulnerable to comparison with the great lady.
His faster tempo for Asturias generates more superficial excitement, but at the expense of the uniformity and poise of De Larrocha’s peerless repeated notes. Baselga’s impulsive dynamic surges throughout Cádiz cause the balances between melodies, accompaniments, and bass lines to skew, whereas De Larrocha gets the proportions right in her simpler, more controlled, and utterly magical rendition. Walter Aaron Clark contributes succinct, informative notes, and the engineering sustains the high standards of this cycle’s previous volumes. A fine disc, overall.
