Severin von Eckardstein - Metner: Piano Works '2007

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. Canzona matinata, Op. 39,4: Allegretto cantando
02. Sonata tragica, Op. 39,5: Allegro risoluto
03. Hymne vor der Arbeit, Op. 49,1: Allegretto molto tranquillo
04. Märchen, Op. 26,1: Allegretto frescamente
05. March of the Paladin, Op. 14,2: Allegro marciale
06. Houmoresque: Vivace
07. Märchen, Op. 26,3: Narrante a piacere
08. Stimmungsbild, Op. 1,5: Andante
09. Märchen, Op. 35,4: Allegro appassionato e tempestoso
10. Leichtes Klavierstück Nr. 1: Allegretto leggiero
11. Albumblatt: Andantino (quasi allegretto)
12. Sonata in E Minor, Op. 25,2 "Night Wind": I. Introduzione. Andante con
moto-Allegro
13. Sonata in E Minor, Op. 25,2 "Night Wind": II. Allegro molto sfrenamente,
presto

The 1901 Steinway that Severin von Eckardstein uses throughout his MDG Medtner
recital appears to be the same instrument heard in Jean-Eflam Bavouzet’s
Ravel and Liszt sessions for the same label. Much as I appreciate this
piano’s idiosyncratic registral differentiation and slightly nasal bass,
loud passages emerge with more congestion and less clarity than in the Bavouzet
releases, while certain notes in the higher octaves hold their tuning less
consistently. That aside, Eckardstein plays Medtner to the manner born. Thick,
rapidly leaping chords such as those in the early Houmoresque pose no problems.
He also displays a more dynamic, volatile temperament than Hamish Milne in the
Op. 26 selections–compare Eckardstein’s fearless accelerandos in
No. 3 to Milne’s tamer tempo changes and you’ll hear what I mean.

Eckardstein usually proves more liberal with rubato than Marc-André Hamelin
in the two sonatas’ lyrical passages, as the Sonata tragica’s
second subject demonstrates. Yet Hamelin genuinely manages to translate the
composer’s frequent “espressivo marcato” directives into
sound. The aforementioned sonic issues particularly hit home in the epic
“Night Wind” Sonata. Eckardstein easily commands the notes, yet I
find much of his playing in the first section texturally heavy and dynamically
careless. The introduction alone illustrates my reservations. While he takes
Medtner’s “all’ improvvisa” and “con moto”
indications to heart, somehow the music gets stuck in the mud. By contrast,
Hamelin takes a slower tempo, yet his keener attention to dynamics and
variegated chord voicings convey a greater sense of motion. However, Eckardstein
brings more attention to detail to the Allegro molto sfrenatamente section and
really distinguishes the composer’s various accentuations, in contrast to
the paragraphic sweep of Hamelin’s suaver, brisker, more generalized
rendition.

You can split comparative hairs until the cows come home, yet it should be clear
that Eckardstein more than holds his own in the company of Medtner’s
strongest interpreters. And that’s no small achievement.

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