Bartok: Improvisations, Op. 20; Out of Doors; Hungarian Peasant Songs; Sonata; Sonatina; Suite, Op. 14

COMPOSERS: Bartok
LABELS: Centaur
WORKS: Improvisations, Op. 20; Out of Doors; Hungarian Peasant Songs; Sonata; Sonatina; Suite, Op. 14
PERFORMER: Jeffrey Jacob (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: CRC 2494

This selection of Bartók’s ‘major piano works’ focuses on pieces that involve an especially strong element of Hungarian folk music, beginning with the Improvisations that present an indissoluble meld of folksongs and perfect pastiches of them. A dance element underlies much of the music on the disc and Jacob pays special attention to that, with a strongly energetic rhythmic sense that sometimes gets the feet literally tapping (as in the first movement of the Suite, Op. 14, and the ‘Drums and Pipes’ of Out of Doors). His careful balance of voicing along the full range of the keyboard is admirable, together with his awareness of the many layers that allow Bartók’s piano music to invoke an entire band of folk instruments. There’s plenty of excitement, too, for instance in the way he shapes the conclusion of the Sonata’s first movement with its wild acceleration. On the whole, Jacob’s performances are very earthy, good-natured and enjoyable; if he misses anything it’s the occasional moment when a greater sense of mystery or a darker, more sinister strain would have deepened the outlook and provided greater contrast – the ‘Nocturnes’ of the Out of Doors suite is a case in point. The biggest problem with this disc, however, is its sound quality. The piano seems to have an unpleasantly clangy quality with a limited range that makes the CD sound like a bad remastering (in fact it was only recorded in 1999); the acoustic is somewhat dry and it sometimes seems that Jacob is overpedalling in places to make up for that. Jessica Duchen