PLATTER PERSPECTIVE: Pianist: Sir Clifford Curzon with Pierre Boulez conducting

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by  Peter Cates

Sir Clifford Curzon

Beethoven

Piano Concerto No. 5
Emperor

Mozart

Piano Concerto No. 26, Coronation

Clifford Curzon, pianist, with Pierre Boulez conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra; BBC Legends- BBCL 4020-2, CD, Beethoven recorded February 17, 1971; Mozart, August 14, 1974, both concerts at Royal Festival Hall, London, England.

Sir Clifford Curzon (1907-1982) was praised by one critic as being a pianist who was capable of achieving 20 different shades of pianissimo, itself being the quietest note on the scale. Now any musician of competence will speak of the special challenges of sustaining just one such note, not to mention 20 shades, and being able to make all of them sing. Yet, if one simply listens to the second movement, or Larghetto, of Mozart’s very last Piano Concerto, No. 27, one will hear these shades played with such sublime singing clarity (I wholeheartedly recommend the 24 disc box, Clifford Curzon Edition, which contains every recording he did for the Decca/London label. And there is no other pianist I would commend so readily for a once in a lifetime bulk purchase).

Sir Clifford Curzon

Curzon studied with two major artists of the keyboard, each of them quite different from the other and each of them having an impact on Curzon that was priceless. The first, Artur Schnabel (1882-1951), was the first to record all Beethoven 32 Piano Sonatas and perform cycles of them throughout the world. He also gave uniquely pleasurable muscular and playful performances of composers who interested him and, due to his speeding bullet virtuosity, could turn a quick Allegretto into a belly tickler. Finally, he would have Curzon thinking about the specific demands of every piece of music that they went over but, very importantly, insist that his student develop his own interpretation instead of copying the teacher.

As opposed to the emphasis Schnabel placed on connecting with a piece of music, the second teacher, pianist/harpsichordist Wanda Landowska (1879-1959) focused on technique, tone, pedaling, touch – the whole nine yards of mastering an instrument, and have the necessary discipline to sustain that mastery. As a result, Curzon’s own playing was a most individualistic combination of Schnabel’s stylistic understanding and Landowska’s exacting technique. And the 2 Concertos were given first class performances.

Pierre Boulez

The conductor, Pierre Boulez (1925-2016), was a hard-nosed enthusiast for the kind of 20th century music that sounded like the most horrific root canal; it would escalate the savage beast rather than soothe him. And he advocated tossing out most of what we call the great classics. Yet, when he collaborated with Curzon for the Beethoven and Mozart, it was a labor of love on his part. A major recommendation!