Hamish Milne is a seasoned hand in the realm of Romantic piano rarities, and therefore is a perfect candidate for Hyperion’s ongoing Bach transcription survey. As a pianist who tosses off the most difficult Weber and Medtner finger twisters with consummate, undemonstrative ease, it comes as no surprise that Milne takes the mighty octave passages and barrel-chested chords throughout the Bach/Kabalevsky “Dorian” Prelude and Fugue or the Bach/Catoire C minor Passacaglia (more garish than Eugen d’Albert’s better-known transcription of the same work) in fluent stride. Even the densest textures of the Bach/Goedicke D minor Fugue (based on the G minor Solo Violin Sonata’s fugue) seem to bypass the piano en route to the music, with not an ugly sound within earshot.
Milne’s capabilities as a colorist and tonal magician particularly hit home in slower, more lyrical pieces. His gorgeous, melting legato touch and ravishingly contoured inner voices in the Bach/Siloti B minor Prelude and in the same transcriber’s treatment of the F minor Violin and Keyboard Sonata’s Adagio are worth this disc’s price. Indeed, Milne’s piano playing is so wonderful that you nearly forget that these transcriptions are hopelessly outmoded by today’s purist zeitgeist. And the pianist’s intelligent, frank, and informative booklet notes deserve their own 10/10 review. [7/16/2005]
