Brahms - Handel Variations [Gelber]
This is a disc i've recently acquired, and this is it's maiden voyage, it's a recent series of re-issues done by Warner of their back catalogue, this one caught my eye with gorgeous photography of a park gate by Dariush Mohammadi, beautiful autumn colours, i know the Handel Variations very well, just doing a count, i find six different discs in my Blog alone, the work is endlessly fascinating, one of Brahms's greatest works ever, and 25 minutes of pure excitement and bliss.
On this disc Bruno Leonardo Gelber is new to me, he's Argentinian, now 73 years old, he looks like a cross between Evgeny Kissin and Liberace!, he recorded fairly extensively for Denon in his earlier years, producing a full cycle of Beethoven piano sonatas, but hasn't recorded for years now, he even recorded the Handel Variations later for Denon in 1992, which is a different performance, and one that i'd like to check out as well.
Like i say, these variations are endlessly fascinating, on the whole i found Gelber to be a slow Pianist, even though comparing his timings to my two favourite versions of this work [Ax / Sony & Osorio / ASV], they both take exactly 26:10, so only half a minute quicker!, maybe he just 'sounds' slower, but he's also enlightening, i always learn something new from another performance.
On this listen i loved variations 14, 19-22, 25 and the Fugue at the end, so it's this clump of variations near the end that really got me going, and this is what i find about Variations, certainly the Handel variations inparticular, each variation doesn't stand alone, but in essence each variation has its own 'prelude & postlude', the variation before, and the variation after, they're all linked, each variation prepares you for the next one, here's a synopsis of this 'clump' of variations,
Variation 19 [15:52-16:51] - I notice the staccato tendency of Gelber here, a reflective variation of nobility, i guess he needs a little bit more poise, a little quieter would have done wonders, but it's an 'aching' variation, love the way Gelber slowly works his way up into the treble.
Variation 20 [16:52-18:01] - An even slower variation, but something that 'glues' this clump of variations together, again a slow traverse up the keyboard.
Variation 21 [18:03-18:56] - A truly superb variation, trills of delight, the right hand chimes so well, the 1977 recording captured so well.
Variation 22 [18:58-20:00] - An aching variation that seems to be the announcement to the final of these variations, the most delicious chimes, Gelber gets this right, you should never play this variation too loud, there's an aching nostalgia about it.
Here's Gelber playing the Handel Variations on YouTube.
On this disc Bruno Leonardo Gelber is new to me, he's Argentinian, now 73 years old, he looks like a cross between Evgeny Kissin and Liberace!, he recorded fairly extensively for Denon in his earlier years, producing a full cycle of Beethoven piano sonatas, but hasn't recorded for years now, he even recorded the Handel Variations later for Denon in 1992, which is a different performance, and one that i'd like to check out as well.
Like i say, these variations are endlessly fascinating, on the whole i found Gelber to be a slow Pianist, even though comparing his timings to my two favourite versions of this work [Ax / Sony & Osorio / ASV], they both take exactly 26:10, so only half a minute quicker!, maybe he just 'sounds' slower, but he's also enlightening, i always learn something new from another performance.
On this listen i loved variations 14, 19-22, 25 and the Fugue at the end, so it's this clump of variations near the end that really got me going, and this is what i find about Variations, certainly the Handel variations inparticular, each variation doesn't stand alone, but in essence each variation has its own 'prelude & postlude', the variation before, and the variation after, they're all linked, each variation prepares you for the next one, here's a synopsis of this 'clump' of variations,
Variation 19 [15:52-16:51] - I notice the staccato tendency of Gelber here, a reflective variation of nobility, i guess he needs a little bit more poise, a little quieter would have done wonders, but it's an 'aching' variation, love the way Gelber slowly works his way up into the treble.
Variation 20 [16:52-18:01] - An even slower variation, but something that 'glues' this clump of variations together, again a slow traverse up the keyboard.
Variation 21 [18:03-18:56] - A truly superb variation, trills of delight, the right hand chimes so well, the 1977 recording captured so well.
Variation 22 [18:58-20:00] - An aching variation that seems to be the announcement to the final of these variations, the most delicious chimes, Gelber gets this right, you should never play this variation too loud, there's an aching nostalgia about it.
Here's Gelber playing the Handel Variations on YouTube.
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