Johann Sebastian Bach occasionally had artistic visions that transcended in his mind the limitations of the instruments for which some of his works were composed. For example, the great Chaconne from the second Partita for Unaccompanied Violin demands effects that stretch the resources of the violin to their extreme limits — so much so that Busoni was inspired to arrange the work for piano in a transcription that storms the heavens and expands the emotions and meanings of the original work, and in the process creating one of the the greatest transcriptions ever written for the piano.
Some keyboard works, such as the slow movement of the Concerto in the Italian Style, can sound embarrassingly weak and unsonglike performed on the harpsichord. Similarly, the theme and some of the more expressive variations of the Goldberg Variations demand a lovely cantabile, long legato singing lines and elaborate textures that can be voiced and shaped on the piano in a way not possible on the harpsichord. Not surprisingly, today more recordings of the Bach’s Goldberg Variations are being released on piano than on harpsichord.
In his splendid piano recital last night, presented by the Mozart Series of the Carmel Music Society, Hans Boepple without taking it on himself to emulate the exaggerated Busoni approach, adhered strictly to an accepted Urtext edition and gave us a very pure account of the Goldberg. In the process his performance made a strong case for the superiority of the piano as an instrument on which to hear these Variations.
This is a work Mr. Boepple has lived with as a constant companion for many decades, and I have heard him perform it on at least three occasions. Did I have a sense of deja vu? Absolutely not, for this key work in his repertoire has changed over the years and developed in new directions. What I am hearing now is a new mellowness with some of the sharper edges softened down, with the ornaments and embellishment now sounding more natural and friendly. The virtuosity is still there, and it is impressive, especially when you consider that some of the truly virtuosic passages play much more easily on the light actions of harpsichords than the 55-60-gram downweight of the keys on a Steinway concert grand designed more for Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff concertos than for lightly scored Bach keyboard works.
During Boeple’s performance, we heard layers and levels of expressiveness that were astonishing, although these were done not for effect, but exclusively for musical purposes. This was a musicianly performance and a thoroughly artistic performance.
After intermission, Boepple took us along a magic path through the wonderful world of the Chopin’s Twenty-four Chopin Preludes, and it was a journey we are unlikely to forget. Whereas in the Goldberg Variations we heard amazing layers and levels of expressiveness, it was in the Chopin Preludes that we also heard amazing layers and levels of dynamic shadings that at times had us holding our breath. Never in the Bach did we hear dynamics exploited down from pp to pppp, nor would it have seemed suitable in that context, but we certainly heard it effectively used in the Preludes.
Boepple was not afraid to desentimentalize pieces that have long been slowed down to levels of pseudo profundity for no purpose but pianistic effect. His performance of the Prelude No. 2 in A Minor and no. 4 in E Minor were examples of how faster tempos (they were marked “alla breve” by Chopin) brought a convincing inevitability to them. The Prelude in B Minor was so lovingly played I again found myself not wanting to breathe at its conclusion so as not to disturb the magical mood of its ending.
A few of the Preludes are “mini” Nocturnes, and two of these, the famous “Raindrop” Prelude and No. 17, with its amazing tolling bells in the bass on its last page, were sensitively played and with new felicitous details highlighted so that I had the feeling we were hearing them for the first time. There were two that are often underestimated — No. 13 in F-sharp Major and No. 21 in B-flat Major — and Bopple’s sensitive and expressive playing of these made us take notice in a new way. Now we come to those Preludes that are for virtuosos only: Nos. 8, 12, 16, and 24. For these you need seatbelts and airbags in case anything goes wrong. Well, I am happy to report that not only did nothing go wrong, but everything went splendidly right. Boepple took lots of chances in some of these and came through with flying colors. As a final word, it has to be said that hearing the Preludes in their entirety has a significant cumulative effect, for the individual miniatures add up to a magnificent masterpiece.
An appreciative audience gave Mr. Boepple a rousing standing ovation. Speaking from the stage He graciously thanked the audience for being there and mentioned that his mother, a violinist, had played the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto with the Monterey Symphony in 1933, so that he was hoping this would become a family institution, albeit at 100-year intervals. We learned that Darnell Whitt, who had graciously underwritten Mr. Boepple’s appearance, had requested that he play an encore by Mozart. After reflecting that Mozart, in fact, had not written anything specifically for playing as encores, Boepple played for us the first movement of Mozart’s Sonata in C Major, K. 330, and it was lovely!
The entire audience was invited to a lavish reception to wine and fabulous delicacies prepared by Victoria Davis.
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