Recording of the Month

Mari Kodama: Bruckner Piano Works
Mari Kodama, piano
Pentatone PTC 5187 224 (reviewed as 24/192 WAV, also CD). 2024. Erdo Groot, prod., eng.; Shunsuke Yokoyama, piano technician.
Performance *****
Sonics ****½

Music history, like all human history, is filled with nooks and crannies—digressions from the main course of events. Take Anton Bruckner for example. The global concert hall calendars are filled with performances of his symphonies and some of his choral works. New recordings of these pieces are frequently released. How many of you have ever heard a performance, or recording, of any piece for solo piano by Bruckner?

I had not, until now hearing the new sparkling recording by pianist Mari Kodama, Bruckner Piano Works. I spoke with Kodama about this, and she commented: "Nobody is aware of the piano pieces. They are so different, and they deserve to get some attention. They are so different from what we think of as Bruckner. At first sight it looks like Bach, or Chopin—but they are not. It is Bruckner himself. It doesn't look like the symphonies—but it is, just in a very compressed way."

A rich calorie-laden meal—that's how Anton Bruckner's orchestral music feels to me. These piano pieces aren't like that; it's Bruckner cuisine minceur. The sonic gulf is the simplest and most striking difference; when Anton sets up one of his lengthy climaxes with a full orchestra, it's like going surfing and getting rolled by a particularly heavy set. Part of the revelation in hearing these brief piano works is their different scale and emotional affect.

Dates range from 1850 to 1868; it was in 1863 that Bruckner first encountered Wagner's music. I asked Kodama why she thought Bruckner did not continue to compose more for the piano. She responded: "Probably he was really hearing the big structures, and the sound of an orchestra. The piano music was a different lens for him to look at his composing. He used ink, and there was no doubt, no erasing. These are not sketches for symphonies."

The longest piece in the 20 tracks included in this album times out at 8:57. Most are in the two- to three-minute range. Do you associate musical humor with Anton Bruckner? In these short works for piano, that quality is palpable. In the upbeat piece titled "4 Lancier-Quadrilles" (1850), it could almost be Debussy Golliwogging at the ivories! You can hear the full range of "influencers" on Bruckner, the permanent grad student; "Klavierstück in E-Flat Major" (1856) presents a Schubertian chorale style, whereas Stille Betrachtung an einem Herbstabend (Quiet Contemplation on an Autumn Evening) from 1863 features a lovely simple Chopinesque minor melody, in Nocturne ABA form, with left-hand arpeggios.

Then there's Beethoven. The opening track, "Piano Sonata in G minor" (1861), exhibits some of that pugilistic declamatory quality shared by both composers. You can feel, in short form, Bruckner practicing ramping up to the full-tilt outbursts that so characterize his symphonies. Kodama commented that "(Beethoven's) harmonies are quite different. But Bruckner is an Austrian composer, and whatever he does there is an Austrian component. The symphonies are one side, one face of Bruckner. But there is another side that people do not know. But it is still Bruckner. There is joking and lightness in a way that transforms the dances. He was obviously experimenting with many different styles."

Kodama performs these works with great nuance and flexibility, responding to the variety of the material. There are not a lot of indications in the scores in terms of tempi and dynamics, so Kodama brings her own creativity to the interpretations. As for the recording itself, the decision was made to record in a studio, not at a concert venue. Kodama commented: "I have been recording for Pentatone for 20 years or so. Pentatone used to be Philips. The people in the studio in Holland all came from Philips." The piano used was a Yamaha, from their new CFX Concert Grand series. Kodama explained: "I grew up with Steinway. But a couple of years ago, I was introduced to the Yamaha CFX grands. It is quite striking what they have achieved. The Yamaha technicians are really amazing."

Kodama's Bruckner Piano Works is an important new recording, shedding light on one of classical music's towering artists. Kodama's husband, conductor Kent Nagano, agreed with me: "As it seems for you and for many others who have recently been introduced to these works, for those of us for whom the Bruckner symphonies form an essential part of the foundation of our repertoire, the research behind these newly recorded works is a true discovery. These works serve as a reference for a more intimate understanding of the traditional folk forms, dances, structures, and melodies that Bruckner employs, while offering new perspectives on both the thematic and motivic material within his symphonic and choral works." Kodama's excellent personal comments in the accompanying booklet are augmented by thorough historical analysis from Nigel Simeone. A fine recording on all levels.—Sasha Matson