Looking back at my unflattering review of pianist Margaret Wacyk’s previous Roméo release (type Q8767 in Search Reviews), I hoped that her follow-up recital would offer improvement. At least it proves her ability to put together a concept program (i.e. “journeys”) that works well musically, and the sound quality is light-years better than before. However, my previous comments concerning inelegant, choppy phrasing, picky articulation, and little sense of line mostly apply here. Examples: her clumsy textural control throughout the Schumann Arabesque, and her labored dispatch of the Beethoven sonata’s outer movements and the Chopin Ballade coda. Wacyk’s attention-getting chord balances and inner voices in the Chopin Polonaise are akin to those in Josef Hofmann’s controversial 1938 recording, but her prosaic sense of rhythm ultimately renders her ideas unlistenable. But the Bach/Liszt finds Wacyk on far more fluid and comfortable turf, especially in the Fugue, where she achieves some beautiful pedal effects. This is worth it for the Bach/Liszt; the rest you can ignore.
