The Sterling Consistency of Emanuel Ax Turns Special

Canada Bizet, Rameau, Debussy and Chopin: Emanuel Ax (piano), Chan Centre, Vancouver, BC, 18.1.2015 (GN)

Bizet: Variations Chromatiques de concert
Rameau: Six pieces from Nouvelles Pièces de clavecin
Debussy: Les Estampes, Hommage à Rameau, L’Isle joyeuse
Chopin: Four Scherzos

One thing that has always impressed me about Emanuel Ax is how well this pianist can engage an audience through interesting programming, often subtly combining intriguing but lesser-known works with more popular standard ones. His long-time colleague, Yo-Yo Ma, does the same. This was a lengthy programme, moving from a little-known set of variations by Bizet through Rameau and on to considerable Debussy, before finally coming home to rest with the more characteristic Chopin Scherzos. Even with the many wonderful performances sponsored by the Vancouver Recital Society over the years, it would be difficult to think of a more spontaneous and overwhelming standing ovation than the one at the end of this concert. Was it because the pianist is increasingly an icon of sorts? Was it because he originally grew up in Winnipeg? Was it because each performance vied with the best we had heard? No, it was because Emanuel Ax truly provided a model of how to execute a concert  ̶  with variety, emotional balance and, above all, a consummate musical integrity and consistency that simply forced listeners to follow on, always assured that they were in totally reliable hands.

The opening Bizet Chromatic Variations was both fun and convincing. These opera arrangements do not really fit the piano but, even in this form, they definitely have a seductive variety and obvious colour. Ax used tasteful, but not exaggerated, expression to bring the variations home, finding their sense of play and the (almost tongue-in-cheek) ominous gestures that unify the opening and close of the work. The six Rameau pieces had their own charm. Of course, Ax’s Rameau was a very pianistic rendering, and purists could object, but the slower pieces exhibited an elegance and an attractive pensive quality  ̶  as one also finds in his excellent Haydn  ̶  while the feathery lightness in the more athletic passages was appealing in its own way, though not particularly heavy on verve and point. This was basically refined playing, always cognizant of flow and, in the famous “La Poule,” illustrating an enviable structural control over its weight, texture and momentum.

Some of the same qualities were present in Ax’s Debussy, as large a jump in time as that is. The treatment of Les Estampes was very exact and indeed structurally aware, seeing each of its three movements as a cohesive whole. It was apparent right away that this was not going to be a particularly sensual reading that conjured up nuance, langour and other types of scented fragrance. This was Debussy in the light of day, intelligent, purposive and transparent, with a good range of colour  ̶  and indeed fully enjoyable. I noticed the effort to get phrase shapes exactly right in Hommage à Rameau, and here there was possibly greater suspension in the longer lines. Still, it was the conscientiousness of the reading that stood out, as it did in L’Isle Joyeux.

The pianist then arrived at the four Chopin Scherzos.  I had not really thought too much about how to perform these together in concert until a recent traversal by Arnaldo Cohen set the task of playing them continuously (without applause) as a sort of an extended tone-poem. I am sure this is much more difficult, and suffice it to say that Emanuel Ax followed the standard practice of one at a time, with applause after each.  I can still remember Ax’s very first RCA recordings of Chopin from the mid-1970s. His readings were not particularly big or architecturally imposing, but they had a strong sensitivity and intelligence, married to an attractively youthful impetuosity. His recording of the Scherzos was indeed one of the best of that period; the 2nd edition of the Penguin Guide cited the young Ax as “a pianist of no mean virtuosity and … an artist to his fingertips,” and placed his recording of these works in the company of the very finest.

These outlines still persist in his current performances, though his readings are clearly more detailed and thought-out and, at the same time, possibly less spontaneous and more insistent. The quick dynamic contrasts are still there, as is the affecting response to the tender reveries, but I think that there is greater weight to the impetuosity – now more bold and emphatic in rubato, though maintaining sparkle. Nonetheless, there is a tight-knit quality to it all. The playing still does not pretend to be earth-shaking Chopin, leaving its finely-honed sense of motion and structure to always shine through. I particularly liked the treatment of the 2nd and 3rd Scherzos, not to take anything away from the considerable feeling achieved in the 4th. I should remark that the Ax’s virtuoso skills are still splendid.

It was a long and varied journey from the opening Bizet to Chopin, but not once did Emanuel Ax’s concentration falter. The pianist quietly went about his business, doing no more and no less than he had intended. There were few emotional extremes sought and few moments of  demonstrative bravura, but there was a resilient consistency and integrity in all the pianism  ̶   which is exactly why this recital added up to something very special.

Geoffrey Newman

Previously published in a slightly different form on http://www.vanclassicalmusic.com