Recorded between 1964 and 1983, these selections by Borodin, Chopin, Liszt, Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Ravel and Schumann cover a fair, albeit incomplete spectrum of Ashkenazy’s large, eclectic recorded output. Two items stand out. The pianist has largely avoided Liszt, yet a selection of Trancendental Etudes plus the First Mephisto Waltz are delivered with mesmerizing vivacity and stylistic panache. In his 1965 “Gaspard de la nuit” (the earlier and better of Ashkenazy’s two recorded attempts)the pianist shapes Ravel’s neo-Lisztian textures in rounded arcs that are languid but never limp. By contrast, a 1965 Chopin E Major Scherzo doesn’t quite replicate the miraculous poise and light-fingered crispness of Ashkenazy’s EMI version from his teens. The other Chopin selections don’t resonate with the idiomatic diction and airy phrasing of Rubinstein’s noble stereo versions. But another youthful specialty, Rachmaninoff’s “Corelli Variations,” reveals a sturdier, more mature outlook via Ashkenazy’s 1972 remake. Schumann’s rambling “Humoreske” also gets a direct, sympathetic reading. It falls short, though, juxtaposed with the personalized poetry of Lupu, Kempff, and, best of all, Richter. The little Borodin “Scherzo” makes a dazzling encore. All in all, a well-considered compilation, but one that would have been stronger with a different Chopin group, an alternate Schumann selection (Ashkenazy’s superlative “Symphonic Etudes), and some Beethoven and Scriabin.
