Anna Malikova is one of the few Prokofiev pianists to show how the incisive rhythms and percussive edge of Prokofiev’s keyboard writing gains from lyrical inflections and tone color. As far as the 10 pieces from Romeo and Juliet go, I wouldn’t be surprised if Malikova had studied the original orchestral scores alongside the composer’s piano transcriptions. To illustrate my point, listen to the middle section of “the Arrival of the Guests”, where the pianist delineates legato and non-legato articulation with caring mastery, or notice her perfectly-textured “tutti/soloist” juxtapositions in “Mercutio”. The five Sarcasms retain their motoric, aggressive momentum without a trace of strain or harshness on the pianist’s part.
Characterful contrasts between pieces also distinguish the Visions Fugitives readings, along with some unusual interpretive touches. Nos. 4 and 5 are more laid-back than their respective Animato and Molto Giocoso directives imply. Conversely, Malikova eschews the long, harp-like pedal indications in No. 7 in favor of a clearer-cut, less impressionistic vantage point. She employs tiny rhythmic hesitations in No. 12 that underline the music’s deliberately clumsy waltz mood. My comments about the Sarcasms apply to the note-churning No. 15, which manages to sound both beautiful and exciting. And, in No. 17, note Malikova’s eerie sculpting of the chromatic legatissimo lines, and how she ever-so-slightly pads out the sound in measure 15 when Prokofiev changes the figurations to simple legato.
In fact, my only reservation concerns the less than ideal engineering. Certain pieces betray a noticeable change of venue, piano, or microphone placement. For instance, the relatively full if over-resonant sonic image we encounter in the first five Romeo and Juliet selections contrasts to the relatively thinner-sounding No. 6.
