For his solo-debut CD release, 21-year-old pianist Joseph Moog offers an unusual and stunningly executed program. It opens with three Joseph Jongen works that might strike the casual listener as early Scriabin knock-offs endorsed by Ravel, yet their craftsmanship and idiomatic flair hold considerable interest. So do the delightfully varied character pieces that make up Reger’s Träume am Kamin cycle.
It’s a shame that Reger’s reputation for humongous variation sets and Crisco-thick fugues overshadows his more emotionally authentic piano miniatures, which count among the repertoire’s most undervalued gems. Op. 143’s second and seventh pieces easily hold their own alongside the darkest of Brahms’ late Intermezzi. By contrast, the Humoreske (No. 10) is a marvelously concise, witty, and harmonically surprising piece that might be described as a link between Grieg’s Lyric Pieces and Prokofiev’s Visions Fugitives. Moog’s polished and colorful interpretations are frequently faster and more supple than Markus Becker’s generally broader and more heavily textured readings on Thorofon.
The Scriabin selections abound with rhythmic verve and tonal nuance. Note the scampering precision and stinging accents of the Fourth sonata’s Prestissimo volando, or the nervous energy and focused trills in the Seventh (Volodos’ recent live Vienna recording, however, conveys more appropriate mystery in softer passages). The shorter pieces also stand out for the intensity with which Moog shapes the melodic lines in exact accordance with the composer’s dynamic indications. A highly distinctive debut on all levels, not to mention Claves’ superb engineering. [10/15/2010]
