Pearl’s recent Shura Cherkassky reissue appeared concurrently with this truly complete edition of the late pianist’s commercial recordings from the 1940s. All the 78s from the Pearl disc are included in this collection from Ivory Classics, in addition to the pianist’s exceedingly rare Brahms F minor Sonata on Vox, plus 10 selections recorded for HMV. The Brahms suffers from poor, dynamically restricted engineering, not unlike what you might hear in AM radio airchecks from the mid-1940s. Listeners accustomed to Germanic rigor and a firm, bass-oriented architecture may find Cherkassky’s rounded-off, Chopinesque phrasing, arching melodies, and penchant for inner voices (both real and imagined!) bordering on the glib and unidiomatic. For instance, the tempo fluctuations in the Intermezzo undermine the repeated “Funeral March” motive’s cumulative impact. At the same time, Cherkassky’s preoccupation with line clarifies a great deal of detail other pianists merely slog through in the outer movements.
Among the short HMV works, a thoughtful and kitsch-free Liszt Liebesträum is gorgeously voiced and perpetually sung out. Saint-Saëns’ Prelude and Fugue in F minor Op. 90 No. 1 boasts stunning repeated chords, while introspective poetry and magically weighted chords characterize one of the lovliest Chopin F-sharp Impromptus recorded in the 78 era. By contrast, the C major (Op. 68 No. 1) and D major (Op. 33 No. 3) Mazurkas don’t match the sheer athleticism and soaring rhythm of Rubinstein’s early HMV versions. Cherkassky plays hob with Chopin’s dynamic indications throughout the F minor Fantasy, bringing his ideas of voice leading and accentuation to the table. The results intrigue but don’t cohere in the manner of Solomon’s more grounded, classically poised performance, or Cortot’s forceful reading.
Often the C-sharp minor Etude is played for speed and effect, yet Cherkassky allows the rotary patterns tossing back and forth between the hands to converse, even sharing each others’ thoughts. My verdict on the other selections (including short Russian works and four Liszt Hungarian Rhapsodies) remains unchanged since reviewing the aforementioned Pearl CD (type Q3887 in Search Reviews). Ivory Classics’ transfers, however, radically differ from Seth Winner’s for Pearl. Ed Thompson and Victor Ledin use a great deal more noise reduction, along with varying degrees of artificial reverberation. This may appeal to listeners who can’t deal with abundant surface scratch, especially in the case of the noisy Vox items. Others will prefer Winner’s non-interventionist transfer philosophy. In any event, piano collectors should be grateful.
