Rudolf Serkin’s gaunt tone and impassioned phrasing, along with Eugene Ormandy’s robust, alert support, have long distinguished this 1964 recording of Schumann’s A minor concerto as one of the catalog’s finest. And for years, the fluent and bracing Serkin/Ormandy performance of Schumann’s underrated G major Introduction and Allegro Appassionato served as the version of reference, and still does in many respects. Both recordings sound fuller and more vividly detailed in Sony’s newest transfers than in previous CD editions. However, the big news here concerns the very first CD release (I believe) of Serkin’s 1952 Schubert Moments Musicaux, originally coupled on LP with the same composer’s unfinished D. 840 “Relique” sonata.
Epic rigor governs Serkin’s lavishly nuanced approach to No. 1, so different from Schnabel’s forward moving impetuosity and lyrical fancy. Its basic tempo flows directly into No. 2, a full-bodied reading that proves how Serkin could spin out warm, ample-toned cantabile lines more often than he’s given credit for. He plays No. 3 simply and directly, with tiny, strategically placed rubato. No. 4 is surprisingly sedate and rhetorical, without sacrificing inner strength, while Serkin grasps No. 5’s tricky leaps with tigerish assurance. The pianist’s keen attention to voice leading and coiled intensity throughout No. 6 holds for the music’s loudest pronouncements and softest musings and compels the listener to pay undivided attention. The mono sonics are excellent for their vintage, capturing the pianist’s elusive sonority more accurately than many of his stereo releases do. Needless to say, this is a must-have for Serkin fans.
