Angela Hewitt and Schumann’s First Piano Sonata date back at least to 1982, when the young pianist recorded it for the tiny Canadian label Damzell. She returns to the work a quarter-century later, where her seasoned hands and sympathetic musical mind work in concentrated tandem. Hewitt’s astute sense of textural diversity and well-judged rubatos help unify the discursive outer movements and colorize their contrapuntal sequences. Her classical poise and impeccable balances hold much to admire in the Scherzo and Intermezzo, even if other contenders prove more willing to let the music’s inherent giddiness rip (I’m thinking of Hyperion’s earlier release with Demidenko). While I prefer a faster basic tempo and calmer, steadier line in the Aria (Klara Würtz’s version, for example), Hewitt justifies her drawn-out deliberation by virtue of her masterful legato pedaling.
Similarly, she maintains a fresh palette throughout the Humoreske’s unpredictable thematic discourse and wild swings of mood while uncovering voicings and articulations that sound novel yet totally reflect Schumann’s wishes. For example, go to track 6 and hear how Hewitt veils the right-hand melody so that the left-hand counterlines may better come into focus, or notice the pianist’s strong attention to the composer’s offbeat cross-rhythmic accents. You won’t find Horowitz’s smoldering subjectivity, nor the mercurial swing with which Radu Lupu and Freddy Kempf set fire to your ear, yet Hewitt’s obvious care, forethought, and genuine affinity for the idiom are likely to wear well for the long haul. As always, Hewitt provides her own vivid and informative booklet notes.
