Reviews
Bogusław Rottermund, Ruch Muzyczny, August 2008
Tchaikovsky: Concert SuitesMikhail Pletnev, pianist, conductor, author and performer of numerous transcriptions of pieces by Russian composers, may boast a personal approach to his repertoire, a great intuition and creative potential in his quest of new manners of performance, and is easily recognizable by his peculiar treatment of the issues of articulation and rhythm. It may be claimed that this excellent musician in certain respects does not comply with what is generally considered the distinguishing characteristics of the Russian school of piano playing, yet he always manages to capture the audience’s attention. If the author of the transcriptions is himself their unsurpassed performer, then can the audience expect anything more? Joanna Marcinkowska proves that it indeed can.
This young pianist, winner of many competitions, displays the ability, so rare nowadays, to combine harmoniously the epic and lyrical (rendering the latter in a peerless way) with the virtuoso ingredient of a piece, without disturbing its intrinsic integrity. Her lyricism radiates with warmth, and her virtuosity is always secondary to the musical idea of the composition. The blithe rhythm of the March, the serene Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy, coming, as it were, from another world, the Tarantella perhaps a little too slow, the poetic song of the Intermezzo (which is the expressive apogee of the suite), the gruff Russian Trepak, which however does not overdo its folk style, the China Dance with its emphasis on the ostinato bass voice, and the emotional complexities of the final Andante Maestoso all constituted a highly elegant performance of the Nutcracker suite. In turn, the equally superb performance of the suite from The Sleeping Beauty consisted of the Prologue with its virtuoso energy, the impish Dance of the Pages, the Vision with its excellent technique of repetition, the Andante, where a properly rendered melodic line creates emotions in a masterly way, the ethereal Variations of the Silver Fairy and the Puss in Boots and the White She-Cat, the Gavotte, truly a gem, here performed in a childishly ingenuous and playful manner, the brilliant Singing Canary, the Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf, the poetic, timeless Adagio which inspires peace and bliss in spite of its tempestuous middle section, and the Finale with its mighty impetus and verve. All of this was governed by a consistent and logical phrasing as well as a careful balancing of the tempos of the various movements of the suites. Joanna Marcinkowska’s playing has a homogeneous piano nature, as instead of imitating orchestral instruments, the musician underlines the multifaceted quality of the texture and focuses on developing the narrative and stimulating the intended moods. Accordingly, each movement of either suite constitutes both an independent entity and an integral component of a cycle. Insofar as in today’s commercialized world the value of many things is measured by the pleasure of communing with them, it must be stated that the pleasure of listening to the reviewed record is very large.
