Whatever programmatic agenda Yuja Wang had in mind for her third solo DG release, I detect not so much a “Fantasia” as a “Vladimir Horowitz Tribute” due to her inclusion of two celebrated Horowitz transcriptions, along with other works associated with the legendary pianist such as Rachmaninov’s E-flat minor Etude-Tableau, Scriabin’s Op. 32 No. 1 Poème, Chopin’s C-sharp minor Waltz, and Scarlatti’s G major K. 455 sonata. That said, Wang’s impressive prowess and effusive personality can withstand the comparison.
Granted, her repeated notes in the Scarlatti don’t quite match Horowitz’s power, projection, and colorful contrasts (nor does Wang observe the repeats that Horowitz took in his 1962 studio recording), while the E-flat minor Etude-Tableau’s yearning melodies fall short of Horowitz’s shapely specificity and inner drama. While Wang’s skittish phrasing in the Rachmaninov B minor Op. 39 No. 4 underplays the music’s rhythmic backbone, the opposite holds true in her supple, effortless grasp of the Op. 39 No. 6 A minor’s leaping chords and swirling runs. Her lithe and flexible treatments of the Schubert/Liszt Gretchen am Spinnrade and Gluck/Sgambati “Melodie” from Orfeo ed Euridice seem to float out of the instrument, and the Chopin Waltz’s middle-section embellishments are seductively understated. Wang’s sparkling and wittily pointed pianism throughout Victor Straub’s rare solo piano transcription of Dukas’ L’apprenti sorcier almost makes you forget the composer’s ingenious orchestration.
The Scriabin miniatures are appropriately atmospheric by virtue of Wang’s careful pedaling and nuanced phrasing. She makes child’s play of the interlocking octaves and nearly impossible leaps in the Cziffra/Strauss Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka, yet where is the nervous energy, explosive accentuation, and high-wire temperament of Cziffra’s own recording? But Wang brings off Horowitz’s Carmen and Danse macabre with admirable aplomb. Indeed, her smaller, rounder piano tone suits the diabolical passagework just as effectively as Horowitz’s more forceful, gaunter sonority. She doesn’t internalize Triana’s lively accentuations and juicy harmonic concoctions to Alicia De Larrocha’s smoldering degree, but then again, few other pianists do. Overall, an enchanting release.
