Well if it isn't ANOTHER Chopin disc. And hey – ANOTHER Third Sonata, and ANOTHER Barcarolle, and ANOTHER Polonaise-Fantaisie! With yet more miniatures rounding out the musical packaging. Added to hundreds of recordings featuring the same repertoire. Going back decades, and decades...and decades. In perpetuity, with no end in sight.
Did we really need more? I often ask that very question. I asked it before listening to this recording. But after multiple times through (just to be sure of what I was hearing), my answer is: YES, emphatically. Because great artists can make this music their own and yet honor the composer's conception. They let us hear things we've never heard before in repertoire we think we know so well. They offer hope and affirmation: hope that we'll be rewarded with the occasional gem in a sea of ordinary releases; affirmation that this music still matters, and still speaks to new generations of performers and listeners during what can seem dreary days for our glorious Western classical tradition.
For make no mistake: Yulianna Avdeeva is the real deal. I know some were sore at how the 16th International Chopin Piano Competition in 2010 shook out. Too many incredible pianists simply deserved to win the gold medal. Judges Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire gave top marks to my own personal choice, Daniil Trifonov. There was some surprise and even disappointment when Avdeeva won. But I can't say she didn't deserve it as much as several others. And while her interpretations of Chopin's music sometimes aren't my preferences for how it should go, I cannot deny her first-rate artistry. Chopin Voyage is for me an encapsulation of these feelings.
Sometimes Avdeeva's melodic lines are too soft for my liking, and her tempi just occasionally a tad off-target. But my gosh, what a SOUND! It is absolutely rich and varied all the way through. So much so that I can easily live with these other things. Take her Op. 62/2 Nocturne. The brief surprise recast of the main theme in D major to kick off the closing section (mm. 60-61 if I am counting correctly) is almost TOO quiet. But the rich colors she creates throughout the piece are a thing of beauty, and she unfolds the wistful first interlude theme with keen affect. This nocturne turns out to be even more than the devastatingly sad jewel it ought to be; I'm hearing it anew. Avdeeva's performance of it (and its Op. 62 companion) makes me wish for her release of the complete Chopin nocturnes some day. If they're all like these she'll distinguish herself even in a crowded field.
Or take the Polonaise-Fantaisie. Avdeeva rushes the opening too much for my liking. I would prefer more time to let its mystique be felt. But this only foreshadows what is a marvelously brisk and passionate interpretation to follow. She once more brings her kaleidoscope of colors to bear, with an amazingly controlled melodic projection during the intense parts. Only later in the piece could I perceive how the opening fits with what follows. While I still prefer a different approach early on, it all turns out to be something I can gladly get behind.
Almost the opposite trajectory marks the Barcarolle. After a wonderfully gentle and dreamy start, we get some stretches that are too breathless (especially in the middle section), with certain melodic notes that sound under-projected. The trills (fiendishly difficult to bring off properly) sound noisy in parts, and the pedaling is just a touch heavy. But the whole last section somehow returns to the promise of the opening; it's gorgeous. Once again I ask myself if the shortcomings (or MY perceived shortcomings) are a worthy price for a stellar remainder, and once again I have to say they are.
By-now-familiar patterns mark Avdeeva's performance of the Third Sonata. In short, beautiful sound combines with unpredictable dynamic and tempo decisions. Examples of the latter include briskness in some of the softer passages in the first movement, right before the closing theme of the exposition. My least favorite point in the whole interpretation are the right-hand figures in the third movement's sostenuto section starting at measure 29. This is lovely playing but sounds too étude-like to my ears. The finale could stand in for my entire experience of Avdeeva's Chopin. It is the most sotto voce performance I've ever heard, and I'm not sure I like the draggy feel of the last rondo theme statement. But again the colors she produces are awesome, and her control breathtaking. Best of all, she brings out inner voices in some passages that I've never heard enhanced before...all without losing the main melody. I'll say it a different way: I may not always agree with Avdeeva's interpretive approach, but even in such places I am impressed with her playing almost against my will.
I have little to offer about the included Op. 59 mazurkas. They're fantastic – an ideal capper to an aptly named album. It's all quite a voyage indeed. I guess in sum I'd have to say that even where Avdeeva does something I think is strange, I'm satisfied she isn't just doing it to be different. Her uniqueness isn't feigned; it comes from a place of genuine feeling for the music. It may sometimes be different from my feeling, but it's nonetheless free of gimmicky sensationalism. Here is an artist with a strong vision.
Verdict: Highly Recommended
