Has Alice Ader ever made a poor recording? I strongly doubt it. She’s an exceptional artist, her excellent technique always at the service of rewarding musical ideas. Twenty Scarlatti sonatas at a go poses a challenge to any pianist (or listener), and perhaps this recital is best heard in a couple of sittings–but that’s certainly not because Ader doesn’t bring something characterful to each and every work. Generally, these aren’t the most familiar of the sonatas, and not the most Spanish-sounding, but that doesn’t mean that they are any less enjoyable than the more popular ones, and the selection reveals an obvious knowledge and love of this repertoire.
Most of the pieces that Ader has chosen are lively, and they give plenty of scope for her to display her remarkably even scales and flourishes (try K. 373). However, it may be in the slower sonatas (K. 40, K. 144) where Ader’s variety of touch and articulation can be best appreciated. One of the more satisfying aspects of these performances is the way that she varies the repeats, not by ornamenting the music differently, but by altering dynamics and accents, and in particular letting her piano shine without compromising the music’s clarity or precision. It’s really quite marvelous, and extremely well engineered. This is an absolutely delicious release. [1/3/2011]
