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| Photo:Jiyang Chen |
“RED”, pianist
Shira Shaked’s first solo CD covers a lot of ground. Choosing to open with the
Fantasia in F sharp minor, H.300, Wq.67 (1787) of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach,
Johann Sebastian’s second oldest son (and the most avant-garde of the four composer
sons), Shaked challenges the listener to join her in some of the quirkiest
keyboard music emerging from the 18th century. Shaked’s reading of
this late work engages, first and foremost, in the improvisational character of
the piece, re-creating Emanuel’s own style of “Empfindsamkeit”, characterised
by eccentric, wild emotionalism, of sudden contrasting moods but also of much sublime
melodiousness. Her minimal use of the sustaining pedal serves her well
stylistically, as does her careful pacing, as she examines the shape and fibre
of each motif. Fast, extravagant passages are well controlled, displaying fine, light finger-work and she
presents some with a touch of whimsy. Shaked pays tribute to Bach’s belief in
“freedom that eliminates anything slavish”, her playing creating a coherent
whole in performance that is highly personal, as would have been the case in C.P.E.Bach’s
ruminations on the keyboard.
Shaked’s
playing of W.A.Mozart’s Piano Sonata No.13 in B flat major K.333 breathes the
charm and grace of this gem, as she reminds the listener of the lightness and
beauty inherent in two-part keyboard textures occasionally visited by fuller
chords. In presenting its different subjects and profusion of melodies, she
addresses the subtlety of contrast present only under the fingers of a sophisticated
pianist, never launching into thick, unwieldy textures, as its darker moments
emerge from the natural qualities of the minor mode, rather than from agitated expression.
And how unique the final movement is in its concerto allegro form, with the
pianist playing all roles. Shaked’s playing of the jaunty movement is crisp,
her melodies clean; she gives individuality to the diversified elements of the
(genuine) cadenza, lingering at its end to make room for the return of the “orchestra”
for the bracing closing section. Mozart would have played the work on his 1782
Anton Walter fortepiano. Recording it on a Model D Steinway & Sons piano,
Shira Shaked has made an informed effort at evoking the real sound-world of
this galant work.
And to the art of the miniature. For this, Shaked has
chosen Alexander Scriabin’s Trois Morceaux opus 45 (1905), written during his
six-year sojourn in western Europe - three tiny pieces, the longest of them
lasting just over a minute. Shaked engages in the mystery and rapture of these
vignettes as well as in the unconventionality balanced with discipline of the idiomatic
style of Scriabin’s middle period that straddled tonality and his own gentle
move towards atonality. Shaked’s splendidly sculpted playing of the
contemplative, bitter-sweet “Feuillet d’Album” (Album Leaf), allowing for just a
touch of Romantic sentimentality, is followed by the volatile, unpredictable “Poème Fantastique”,
dazzling and roguish, its atonal agenda closing with the surprising gesture of
a tonal cadence. And back to Scriabin’s
more contemplative mood and his hyper-refined sensibility, with Shaked’s sympathetic
rendering of the wistful “Prelude” richly wrought in sweeping phrases, some of
them diminishing upwards into pastel arpeggii.
In April of 1844, Heinrich Heine wrote: ”When I am near
Chopin, I quite forget his mastery of piano technique and plunge into the soft
abysses of his music, into the mingled pain and delight of his creations, which
are as tender as they are profound.” Chopin was 34 years old when he composed
his Piano Sonata No.3 in B-minor, op.58. His health was now beginning to
decline. The sonata, his last for piano, was written mostly during the summer spent
at George Sand’s estate in Nohant, but never played by Chopin in public. In her
performance of this masterpiece, Shira Shaked addresses the hallmarks of
Chopin’s style. The opening Allegro maestoso is a typical Chopin piano
soundscape: we hear its myriad of lyrical melodies, shifting moods and textures
flowing at an unrelenting pace, each examined for its shape and content as she
orchestrates their Romantic language in playing that is crystal clear. With nimble, agility, Shaked highlights the
elusive, entertaining spirit of the Scherzo, its middle section darker in
register and more introspective. The ominous chords opening the Largo give way
to some graceful and fragile melodies, to references of Bach’s counterpoint and
to personal expression on the part of the artist, all these woven into an
opulent fantasia. In the Finale, Shaked
addresses the finest of details together with the richness of its content, her masterful
playing of it never lapsing into ostentatious show or melodrama. This is a rewarding,
insightful performance of the sonata, capturing the beauty and power of
Chopin’s music.
Recorded in 2015 at HaTeiva, Jaffa,
Israel, the disc’s sound quality is distinct, warm and intimate (Noam Dorembus
– recording engineer, Udi Koomran – mixing and mastering). Ilana R. Schroeder's comprehensive liner notes make for interesting reading. The four different
works heard on RED provide a convincing picture of Shira Shaked’s grasp of
style and outstanding musicianship. A graduate of the Buchmann-Mehta School of
Music (Tel Aviv) and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Shira Shaked graduated
as a Doctor of Musical Arts from the State University of New York, Stony Brook,
where she was a student of Prof. Gilbert Kalish.
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