Beethoven/Scharwenka: Complete Symphonies, Vol. 5
To purchase it from the SOMM Recordings website, please click here.Reviews
Gramophone Magazine
Review by Jed Distler (July 2024):
I’ve previously written about how Xaver Scharwenka’s piano-duet transcriptions of Beethoven’s symphonies are more resourceful and idiomatic from a pianistic standpoint in comparison to relatively utilitarian editions from such 19th-century ‘in-house’ arrangers as Selmar Bagge, Hugo Ulrich and Wilhelm Meves. The words ‘resourceful’ and ‘idiomatic’ also apply to Tessa Uys and Ben Schoeman’s remarkable ensemble synchronicity.
There’s a sense of mystery to the tremolos in the introduction to the Symphony No. 4’s first movement, which leads towards a perfectly judged transition into the Allegro vivace proper. Note the subtle shifts of colour and balance when unexpected modulations kick in. The duo bring appropriate drive and ferocity to the Scherzo’s syncopated accents, while relaxing just enough in the Trio so that the music doesn’t melt. By taking the finale’s Allegro ma non troppo directive seriously, the double-note inner voices and melodic embellishments have more room to breathe than in many whipped-up orchestral performances.
Given Symphony No. 8’s somewhat light-hearted reputation, Scharwenka’s four hand scoring of the first movement is atypically thick and sometimes clattery. Yet one must credit the clarity of the bass lines as they move into stating the main theme at the first movement’s recapitulation. The duo’s measured pacing for the Allegretto scherzando puts focus on the uncanny precision of their staccato chords. Conversely, the Menuetto proceeds at a genially brisk tempo that conveys the felling of one beat to a bar, rather than a heavy three. Of course there’s no way to replicate rapid bow-strokes in the finale’s main theme on the piano with equal amounts of speed and accuracy. But if the basic tempo is necessarily a compromise, the players still manage to keep up the momentum and convey the music’s sardonic humour. Exemplary phrasing and strong linear orientation result in one of the most intelligently balanced and nuanced recordings of Busoni’s Magic Flute Overture I’ve ever heard.
Collectors who’ve been following this series since the beginning need no special recommendation to acquire Vol. 5. Having heard Uys and Schoeman play the Beethoven/Scharwenka Ninth Symphony in a wonderful, livestreamed performance from St Mary’s Perivale this past February, I eagerly await this cycle’s concluding volume.
