[Editor’s Note: In the wake of the late-breaking scandal concerning the provenance of Joyce Hatto’s recordings, we had the option of removing all Hatto reviews, or leaving them intact and identifying the correct artists, to the extent possible, as we learn them. We have elected the latter, both as a caution and as a way to do some justice to the real artists as we learn their identities. So enjoy the review, but please refrain from purchasing this disc until we know who should get proper credit for it. DH]
Joyce Hatto’s cultivated musicality and unassailable technique effortlessly fuse in the Liszt sonata. Although you could imagine more incisive climaxes and overall dramatic thrust, the musical narrative flows with ease and authority. However, to experience Hatto’s Liszt operating at full inspirational, individual, passionate, and genius tilt, put on the Mephisto Waltz No. 1. She unfolds the opening section’s stacked-up sonorities at a precipitous clip that somehow never sounds rushed, launches the big upward glissando from a booming bass note that few others articulate, and employs meaningful rubato to transform the central “love” episode’s right-hand melody and tenor counterline into an intense, yearning dialogue. This is a Mephisto Waltz right up there with the best ever, including Feinberg, Kapell, Fiorentino, and Ashkenazy. Her Rhapsodie espagnol also has few peers for surface bravura, rhythmic élan, textural variety, and joyous demeanor, replete with stupefyingly tossed-off rapid scales and ornaments. By contrast, the rambling, introspective La Notte benefits from Hatto’s multi-leveled legato touch and fluid directness. The quality of engineering varies from piece to piece, but that shouldn’t deter you from investigating this disc.
