If you’re going to play these benchmarks of the Romantic piano literature, it doesn’t hurt to possess Vesselin Stanev’s best qualities, namely an all-encompassing technique, a big sound, and lots of nervous energy. Sometimes this energy spills over into impatience. For instance, Stanev tends to rush phrase endings in the Schumann Fantasia’s first movement, or suddenly accelerates the second movement’s relentless dotted rhythms. Similarly, Stanev’s rhythmic freedom throughout the Liszt Sonata seems more casual than purposeful. The long notes bridging the first double octave onslaughts, for example, are shortchanged of their full value, almost as if the pianist had decided to pull the basic pulse out from under our ears. Stanev also has trouble keeping the lyrical D major theme in perspective alongside its accompanying countermelodies and filigree. Still, Stanev’s ardent temperament and almost-improvisational, forward moving impetus overrides these considerations. Indeed, the Liszt Sonata clocks in at nearly 27 minutes, which is fast for today but normal for most dead pianists born before 1900. While these performances don’t command the staying power and seasoned musicianship that distinguish my reference versions, I’m glad to have heard them.
