RECENSIONI

Una pubblicazione che va ben al di là dall’essere un complemento all’opera omnia pianistica di Mendelssohn incisa negli scorsi anni da Prosseda, questo cd inciso con la collaborazione della moglie Alessandra Ammara presenta un ventaglio di lavori che affondano le proprie radici nella fanciullezza di un compositore dotato di una facilità e di un estro stupefacenti. Non sappiamo se ammirare di più, in questo disco, il perfetto aplomb, il suono preziosissimo, il gusto eccellente, la conoscenza del linguaggio mendelssohniano dimostrati dai due protagonisti alla tastiera o la bellezza di tutti i numeri eseguiti, ivi compresi i molto mozartiani “compiti in classe” vergati dalla mano di un musicista ancora fanciullo.

Is there another single-disc recording of all five of the complete original pieces composed by Mendelssohn for piano duet and two pianos? If so, I doubt if it’s as good as this with Roberto Prosseda, tireless champion of the composer, joined here by his wife Alessandra Ammara.

In Alessandra Ammara’s single-disc selection (the rest is to follow) her superfine pianism is complemented by an uncanny insight into Ravel’s outwardly teasing and enigmatic surface. She is scintillating and witty in the early Sérénade grotesque, where the composer declares his love of Spain in music of a distinctive rawness and edge. Few more magically evocative performances of the incomparable marinescape ‘Une barque sur l’océan’ (Miroirs) exist on record and, in the same suite, ‘Alborada’ is as bright and sparky as you could wish. Ammara’s ‘Ondine’ is a true ‘shimmer of harmony’ and in ‘Scarbo’ her tempo never obscures the waltz rhythm hovering beneath every whirlwind gesture. Hear her in the macabre chiming effect she achieves at 7'34", the start of an eerie sequence of ascents made hauntingly graphic, and you are clearly in the presence of a Ravelian as acute and individual as she is faithful to the score. I would not want to be without either but, of the two, Ammara is the more fascinating and personally engaging.

In a world overflowing with Debussy piano discs, Alessandra Amara proves there is room for more. This is an impeccably produced recording, with expert booklet notes by Ammara’s husband and duo partner Roberto Prosseda. The first book of Images is beautifully drawn. Ammara’s variety of touch is limitless, and her excellently prepared Fazioli supports her journeys of the imagination. It’s clear that great thought has gone into the vexed subject of pedalling: Prosseda’s description of Debussy’s counterpoint as ‘polytimbric’ seems particularly apposite here. Ammara has all the technique required for the Préludes; her greatest strength, though, is in the individual characterisation of each. Very few fall short of the mark, though perhaps ‘Cathédrale’ loses its sense of grandeur and expanse. Finally, and best of all, is the Fauré-influenced Nocturne. Like the Fantaisie for piano and orchestra, this is late-Romantic but still identifiably Debussy. Ammara lavishes great affection on a piece in which she evidently fully believes. Recommended.

I " Preludi" di Debussy diventano un organismo vivente sotto le dita di Alessandra Ammara che li ha registrati per l'etichetta Piano Classics. Il cd non racchiude soltanto il primo dei due libri di "Preludi" (ci stanno anche il primo trittico di