The three Nocturnes and Four Pieces date from Rachmaninov’s teen years. Already the composer displays a knack for rich textures that encompass the entire range of piano, and a wistful melodic sense. The latter emerges fully flowered in Rachmaninov’s Op. 10 Morceaux de salon from a few years later, together with a more sophisticated harmonic and expressive pallette. Idil Biret fares best in the gentler works, relishing the pliable lyricism of the G minor Barcarolle and F minor Romance. Ideally, we might wish for firmer basic tempos to offset Rachmaninov’s trademark metric shifts, as in the brusque D major Gavotte (the last of the Four Pieces). No question, though, concerning Biret’s deep-in-the-keys sonority and genuine affinity for these gems of Rachmaninov’s formative years. [10/26/1999]
