Two earlier discs by Boris Giltburg got slightly lukewarm reviews in
Fanfare
. Reviewing a recital back in 2006, Colin Clarke concluded that, despite the pianist’s
“tonal resources,” Mussorgsky’s
Pictures
just didn’t “all add up,” while his Prokofiev Eighth, intelligent
as it was, needed to be more diabolic in the finale (30:2). Reviewing a
more recent disc of Prokofiev’s three so-called “War Sonatas”
(including a reprise of the Eighth), Raymond Beegle was even more
neutral: “Boris Giltburg has many of the qualities of his predecessors,
but gives us no particular virtue that stands above them” (36:4). This
new disc offers repertoire of similar grandeur—but I hear playing of a
distinctly higher order.
Giltburg is, without a doubt, a hard-hitting pianist with an
old-fashioned, heart-on-the-sleeve Romantic temperament. Although he’s
capable of caressing the instrument (he miraculously captures the
distilled beauty of the chordal section that begins seven bars from the
end of the second movement of the Grieg), you’re more likely to be
struck by his bass-centered tone and his huge sonority (try, for
instance, the weighty left-hand octaves toward the end of the Grieg’s
first movement or the first appearance of the
Grandioso
theme of the Liszt) and by his emphatic persona (he’s certainly
not a pianist to tear through Liszt’s fugue). And while he’s capable of
reflective simplicity (he’s especially sensitive to Rachmaninoff’s
aching regret), you’re more likely to be struck by the moments of
extreme passion. His tempos tend to be on the slow side of the spectrum,
and he’s always ready to knead them in a way that increases our sense
of anticipation. As a result, the climaxes always explode with a
tremendous sense of arrival. Textures can be slightly thick (certainly,
he seems to have little sympathy for the neoclassical side of Rachmaninoff’s aesthetic), but his tonal bear-hug is sufficiently
compelling that, as you’re listening, you’re unlikely to complain.
To some, I suppose, his approach might seem too high-pressure or
overwrought—especially if you listen to all three of these sonatas in a
single sitting. Still, Giltburg is a player with a strong and compelling
personality; and while none of these performances trumps the very
considerable competition (although it’s pretty near the top in the
Grieg), pianophiles who decide to supplement their favorites with these
new recordings will find themselves well rewarded. The sound is good,
and the pianist provides exceptionally lucid and informative notes,
which include a compelling case for the revised version of the
Rachmaninoff. (FANFARE / Peter J. Rabinowitz)
