All the way through this original program, Murray Perahia aims at one of the highest possible achievements for a pianist: to sing or speak on his instrument. Bach’s Organ Choral-Preludes opulently transcribed by Busoni, Mendelssohn’s delicate Songs without Words, and Schubert’s Lieder in Liszt’s dark-colored free arrangements are the vehicles chosen for this attempted “art of singing” on the piano. Perahia’s playing is as intelligent and sensitive as one would expect from such a thoughtful and “classical” performer: not a single dynamic marking, not the slightest harmonic detail, not the smallest parcel of polyphony escapes his attentive reading of the scores. Richly textured as it is, his tone nonetheless keeps an intensely fragile quality that makes it constantly pleasant to listen to.
Yet the question remains: does it sing or speak? Lipatti’s out-of-this-world, sorrowful “Ich ruf’ zu dir” or Sofronitzky’s breathtaking singing lines and tragic gestures in a handful of Schubert/Liszt Lieder (Denon, import) are two extremely convincing–if totally different–ways to play this music. Perahia finds his own voice, but his gentle, well-educated approach sounds both superficial and lacking in relief, no matter how musically “right” it is. It won’t come as a surprise, though, that the selections from Mendelssohn’s Lieder ohne Worte count among the best performances of this music recorded in recent years, combining joyful exuberance and intimate atmosphere with the most exquisitely refined phrasings. The velvety and deep recording could hardly sound better.
