A varied and generous (seventy-six-minute) recital of Caprice-based piano pieces played by Catherine Gordeladze with style and commitment, and very well recorded, too, as recently as December last year. J. S. gets the grand piano treatment (as well as subtle shading and dynamics) in his Capriccio “on the departure of his beloved brother”, followed by updated baroquery, Dandrieu arranged Godowsky. Then comes Capriccio (Opus 71) by Nikolai Kapustin (born 1937), angularly jazzy at first, then perhaps alluding to Bill Evans and Oscar Peterson, although I am hedging my bets as to these references. Very engaging piece, given with swing. Clementi, Beethoven (furious regarding missing money) and Mendelssohn (fantasising) are represented, and Moszkowski’s Opus 37 brings out his Spanish side; while this enjoyable collection closes with opera-stimulated confections (Verdi/Jaëll and Donizetti/Liszt) and the last-named composer’s Sixth Hungarian Rhapsody, more and more glittering. Antes Edition BM319306.
Catherine Gordeladze – Caprice Brillant [Antes Edition]
