István Várdai Bach Cello Suites. Brilliant Classics CD 95392BR.
Currently only available as download including Hi Res Flac 96/24 files. Released 2017.
Recorded March 2016 at Chapel of the Capucin Convent Velp, Grave, The Netherlands.
Cello used, Montagnana cello from 1720.
No other information regards set up available.
The Cellist.
István Várdai is a Hungarian born cellist and on winning the Berlin ARD prize in Munich was declared by the Daily News Hungary to be the world’s best cellist!
He does indeed have an impressive list of competition successes including third prize at the Tchaikovsky competition of 2007.
Várdai was just 30 when he recorded the Suites and joins the increasing trend for younger cellists who refuse to be daunted by this incomparable work. Zuill Bailey springs to mind and in fact during listening other similarities were apparent.
A lot of the internet activity seems to be taken up with the news of an extended loan to Várdai of the Stradivarius cello formerly played by Jacqueline du Pre and then Lynn Harrell. This appears to have taken place after this recording.
Although not a cellist well known to myself he is clearly in the upper echelons of current international performers!
The Recording.
The CD of this recording appears out of print but there are many still available from the usual outlets. I chose to download high resolution files at a bargain price and use Audirvana sound platform. Speakers and DAC were the Kef Egg desktop system. This is not the ideal way to assess the quality of the download but it was certainly impressive.
My assessment is that the acoustic has just the right balance of resonance and focus, without significant extraneous sounds from the performer. In fact my mind rarely wandered onto issues of recording preferring to dwell on the music and so I conclude all is well! The Montagnana cello sounds as impressive as one would expect.
The Music.
This performance is yet another “hybrid.” The sound is full but minimal vibrato. There are plenty of dynamics. I am aware of both legato style playing with long sustained notes as per a more romantic style and also well articulated passages as befits Baroque playing. I was very impressed by Várdai’s use of the many different “voices” he is able to extract from his cello which add to the variety generated by dynamics, moderate flexibility with timing and most significantly ornamentation.
Ornamentation.
Most performers whether they have modern style or romantic style do use occasional ornamentation. Generally, Baroque performers use notably more, which many feel adds to the authenticity of the interpretation. Várdai, whilst clearly not adopting the Historically Informed Performance (HIP) approach goes for full on ornamentation. I certainly was not aware of lowered tuning, or obvious use of gut strings of HIP. However, I can think of few performances with as much ornamentation as that used by Várdai.
I would suggest that by and large the ornamentation does enhance the end result. It very rarely intrudes. It adds variety to repeats and particularly in the Gigues which are played slightly slower than many, it adds excitement and rhythm. Just occasionally I thought to myself, “I wish he had left that one out”.
I am aware of another recording which is not a HIP. Namely, that of Zlotkin. Until 2010 this was a difficult to obtain LP-only release from 1981. Unfortunately, it is now released on CD. I have listened on streaming and could find nothing positive to say about it so have not done a full review. Suffice to say, in my humble opinion, the “embellishments” are hugely distracting and disturb the music flow.
The interpretation.
Ornamentation aside, I would say this is one of my favourite performances. In many ways the speeds and phrasing are unremarkable, so no surprises. However Várdai with pinpoint articulation and rhythmic playing is able to bring out the polyphonic nature of the music very clearly. Cross string playing is very accurate particularly the start of the sixth Suite Prelude. One can imagine the bow bouncing firmly between the two strings with just the right amount of tension.
Várdai’s phrasing is very attractive. There is a gentle rise and fall in the melody lines not as marked as in some HIP but it adds to a sense of momentum. This seemed very effective in the fifth Prelude where in the fugal section the different melodies could be heard winding in and out of each other!
The Allemandes in the first four Suites were quite brisk but played lightly retaining poise and rhythm.
The Sarabandes were not disrupted by forced bass notes or uneven tone. The fifth was almost magical in that the performer seemed to be able to produce a very ethereal sound without any impression of bowing. It just was there as if coming from a wind instrument or a Theramin! It was just a fraction faster for my taste but that’s not a significant detractor.
A good example of the thought and musicality of this performance is that the second Prelude had no ornamentation at all. This in my view emphasised the bleak and sad nature of this movement.
The fourth Prelude demonstrated the different voices or tonality that Várdai is clearly able to produce. At times soft and gentle, then reflective, then bold and assertive. Great stuff and bears repeated listening.
Conclusion.
In summary this is a recording I would recommend to all. The ornamentation is interesting and at times gripping. There are many similarities to the recording by Zuill Bailey. Examples are: clarity of the polyphonic nature of the music, exciting playing, assertive approach, but with contrasting gentleness and subtle nuances. Hopefully there is room in your collection for both, the justification being the added ornamentation of the performance by Várdai.