Pianist Irina Ossipova admirably navigates the burly textures of Medtner’s Forgotten Melodies, while her impulsive temperament and capacity to sustain their most note-laden climaxes are nothing if not idiomatic. However, several key factors qualify my recommendation. For one, Ossipova’s capabilities as a colorist are limited, and so is her ability to transmit the dance-like nature characterizing most of the Op. 38 pieces; Arte Nova’s drab and constricted sonics reinforce this impression. Three words spell out the other factor: Marc, André, and Hamelin. His extraordinary pianistic fluency and command simply pick up way past the point where Ossipova leaves off. Nor can Arte Nova’s sound compete against Hyperion’s gorgeous, full-bodied engineering. In a Hamelin-less (or even Geoffrey Tozer-less) world, Ossipova’s Medtner would be a genuine bargain rather than a budget-priced alternative.
