Rachmaninov’s Chopin Variations finds Konstantin Scherbakov operating at the top of his estimable form. The pianist never flags in the face of the music’s orchestrally inspired full-bodied textures and cascading passagework. Numerous details impress, such as the feathery evenness of Variation 8’s murderous runs, the molten precision and security of Variation 10’s rapid chords, and the pianist’s long-lined control and canny timing of the slower variations. Scherbakov is not one to indulge in momentary tempo fluctuations and inner-voice coaxing à la Bolet or, to a lesser degree, Biret, but instead he offers a slightly more individual take on Howard Shelley’s big-boned objectivity.
Scherbakov brings admirable poise and character to the Op. 3 pieces, although he exaggerates the hackneyed C-sharp minor Prelude’s dynamic contrasts and pumps up the middle section faster and louder than it should be at the beginning. The pianist’s frequent phrase broadening in the Sonata’s first movement, plus his dry and discontinuous parsing of the Finale leave a curiously unfulfilling aftertaste, especially compared with Horowitz’s rhythmic vivacity, Thibaudet’s icy elegance, Freddy Kempf’s fluid lyricism, Weissenberg’s slashing momentum, and Van Cliburn’s, well, everything! Given the power and authority with which Scherbakov can play the meatiest Godowsky or Beethoven/Liszt, I expected more from his Rachmaninov Second sonata. This is recommended mainly for the Chopin Variations.
