In the course of a long, fruitful career, pianist Andor Földes had the good fortune to work with a substantial list of composers from Alban Berg and Virgil Thomson to his countrymen Zoltan Kodály and Béla Bartók. His commercial recordings included distinguished solo releases for Deutsche Grammophon, among them some excellent Bartók performances from 1950. DG reissued the latter for its deleted Dokument series. As the present Bartók, Kodály, and Dohnányi broadcast recordings from 1977/82 bear out, the pianist’s technique remained impressively nimble into his mid-to-late 60s.
Földes never was much of a colorist, but what vibrancy he gives to Bartók’s speech-like melodies! And he executes gnarly passages such as the Sonata’s assymetrical unison scales and leaping block chords as naturally and effortlessly as possible. His marvelously timed runs and parlando sequences in the Kodály pieces illuminate the music’s kinship with Debussy’s Preludes. The Dohnányi is gorgeous, and it benefits from warmer, roomier sound that adds dynamic vitamins to Földes’ flexible, lyrical phrasing (especially the floating tenor lines in the left hand). And the pianist’s modest but well-crafted original pieces will attract repertoire hounds seeking ear-catching encore throwaways. Highly recommended, and not just to piano specialists.
