Walter Gieseking’s commercial studio recordings of Beethoven’s G major and Schumann’s A minor concertos only hint at the energy and brio that these Cologne broadcast performances convey. Within the framework of the 1953 Beethoven Fourth outer movements, Gieseking and conductor Joseph Keilberth achieve flexible repartée in phrases that toss back and forth between soloist and orchestra, while the slow movement stands out for the massive, full-bodied string section in striking contrast to Gieseking’s sustained calm. Medici’s annotator claims the first-movement cadenza as Gieseking’s own, but in fact it’s Beethoven’s less-common alternative (the same one Brendel, Gilels, and Moravec favored), played with stunning improvisatory fervor. The cadenza alone is worth the price of the disc.
Similar comments apply to the Schumann, notwithstanding a less alluring orchestra (the Intermezzo’s acid-tinged woodwind solos, for example). Even at the finale’s near-breakneck tempo, Günter Wand is able to get his Cologne Radio musicians to clearly delineate Schumann’s cross-rhythms and counter-melodies. Gieseking’s fluent technique holds up remarkably well, and a few understandable bobbles in the heat of battle don’t matter.
Solos from a 1948 Stockholm broadcast round out this release. Debussy’s La plus que lente and Danse are just as translucent and suave as Gieseking’s studio counterparts. Ravel’s Jeux d’eau gets off to an overly fast, slapdash start but soon settles down to Gieseking’s high regulation standard. Although I don’t pretend to love Gieseking’s rather reserved and cool Bach playing, the First Partita’s Menuets and Gigue amount to a master class in legato/staccato differentiation from which every aspiring piano student can learn. Recommended to Gieseking fans.
