Forgotten Genius

Ernst Levy - Forgotten Genius

Forgotten Genius
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CD Details

Artist: Ernst Levy
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1998-02-10
Music Label: Marston
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
  1. Piano Sonata No. 29 In B-flat, Op. 106, 'Hammerklavier': I. Allegro
  2. Piano Sonata No. 29 In B-flat, Op. 106, 'Hammerklavier': II. Scherzo: Assai vivace
  3. Piano Sonata No. 29 In B-flat, Op. 106, 'Hammerklavier': III. Adagio Sostenuto: Appassionato e con molto sentimento
  4. Piano Sonata No. 29 In B-flat, Op. 106, 'Hammerklavier': IV. Largo: Allegro risoluto
  5. Piano Sonata No. 32 In C Minor, Op. 111: I. Maestoso - Allegro con brio ed appassionato
  6. Piano Sonata No. 32 In C Minor, Op. 111: II. Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile
Music CD 2
  1. Piano Sonata In B Minor: Lento assai - Allegro energico
  2. Piano Sonata In B Minor: Andante sostenuto
  3. Piano Sonata In B Minor: Allegro energico
  4. Benediction de Dieu dans la solitude, Harmonies Poetiques et Religieuses No. 3
  5. Sposalizio, Annees de Pelerinage, Seconde Annee-Italie: No. 1
  6. Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 In C-sharp Minor
  7. Pieces For Piano: No. 6
  8. Pieces For Piano: No. 7
  9. Pieces For Piano: No. 8
  10. Pieces For Piano: No. 9
  11. Pieces For Piano: No. 18

Music reviews of Forgotten Genius

Music Review: A maverick with a titanic sound
Rating: 5 Stars

Listening to Ernst Levy, I'm reminded of Mahler's dictum, "Tradition is slovenliness." Throughout this set the pianist plays music very differently from "the way it's supposed to go." But who determines how it's supposed to go? Usually, past a point of reading a score and applying certain basic logic, popular consensus. In this age of Ashkenazy, Goode and Brendel, people like Levy sound like anachronisms from other times. And they may be. God bless them.

This CD features Levy in a terrifying reading of the Liszt sonata. And I mean terrifying. The piano sounds *threatening* for the first time in this work--like some primal beast--but also, in the softer parts, sweetly consoling. It's exactly the sort of almost bipolar interpretation I've always thought the B minor sonata needed. Don't look for scrupulous attention to the markings. If you're following with a score you'll quickly see that Levy cheerfully ignores accents, dynamic markings, and oddly plays one key arpeggio as an unbroken chord. (For that matter, you don't even need to have a score to hear many of his deviations; they start with the first three g's, which are not played as written, with sharp accents.) Other pianists (Argerich, Pogorelich) have wrung out the keyboard over the years with these notes, but even they sound like well-behaved Sunday school children compared to Levy. I imagine the piano was a heap of dust after he finished this performance. Dynamics are extreme: Bass lines thunder; pianissimos are carressed to the point that they are barely audible and are sensed more than heard. The tempo shifts every few seconds--probably more like the way Liszt played it, because they reportedly took big chance back then. Most importantly, there is a feeling of perpetual motion and constant morphing of the music like I've never heard before--BUT, he never gets lost in the structure. He knows where he is every moment, and so do we. There are admittedly some sloppy passages here and there, but this again just marks Levy as a throwback to an earlier era that wasn't as concerned with note-perfect playing. The Benediction that follows the B minor is beautifully played and equally memorable, and should be heard more often. A few of Levy's own small compositions are included as filler. They are pleasant, but he was a great pianist, not a great composer.

The Beethoven is a little more problematic, admittedly. Schnabel, who sought (unsuccessfully) to perform the Hammerklavier at or near the indicated metronome markings, would not agree with Levy's interpretation, which would be called expansive if one is being charitable and a bit flaccid if one is not. I'm inclined to the latter. I have no trouble with a big, epic Hk--Arrau does not rush tempi and his is one of my favorite recordings--but here the tension sags, and the playing is sometimes soft and soggy, with a lack of accent. The strife, the fight to the summit, is missing, and thus is some of the uniqueness of this work, in my opinion. This recording needs more energy in its outer movements, though the scherzo is light and deft (and perhaps the most poetic I've heard) and the slow movement is gorgeously still and eternal, with all the spirituality that implies. The finale is the biggest eyebrow-raiser. Levy adopts a tempo and a rhythmic stance that suggests Bach instead of Beethoven. Whether it works or not will depend on your taste or mood that day, but one thing is clear: at a slower tempo colors and harmonics are highlighted that in other, fleeter recordings whiz by too fast to appreciate. This is not how I'd want to hear my Hammerklavier every day, but it's an interesting and worthy alternative when you already have about ten "straight-ahead" versions.

Even more striking and successful, to my ears, is his Op. 111. This is my favorite Beethoven piano sonata, and I think its Arietta is one of the greatest movements in piano literature. No interpretation can plumb the depths, but this one is pretty remarkable, with a quality of "stopped time" that comes closest to Schnabel's unsurpassed 1933 account on HMV. The slow variations are miraculous. They are the musical equivalent of staring into a perfectly clear and still pond, and I'm convinced this extremely simple, distilled quality is exactly what Beethoven was looking for. The movement builds to a big climax that makes it clear Levy considered Beethoven to be the first romantic. The coda walks on water--again, the pianissimo notes are more felt than heard.

The 2-disc set is well-done. The liner notes by Donald Manildi and Frank Cooper are extremely detailed and informative. They chronicle a major pianist who has slipped from our consciousness.

If you enjoy this set, get the subsequent two volumes as well. They may be out of print, but can be found used if you look a bit, and may also still be available from Marston directly. (He does direct mail.) These may not be the first versions of these works you want, but they do belong on your shelf.
More Forgotten Genius free music reviews:
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Description of Forgotten Genius

The Swiss pianist and composer Ernst Lévy spent several decades teaching and giving rare concerts in the United States. His few LPs for the Kapp and Unicorn labels are highly sought-after collectors' items, and this set demonstrates why. In huge pianistic challenges like Beethoven's "Hammerklavier" Sonata and the Liszt Sonata, Lévy's conceptions, technique, and gigantic sound are almost overwhelming. Never mind a few messy passages; this is grand, memorable playing. The few small pieces by Lévy show him as a fine composer, too, although he was most successful in large forms. This set should go beyond the limited appeal of most mono piano reissues; it's one for the ages. -- Leslie Gerber

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