fazil say 20022020 bern switzerland casino bern

Say brings gaiety to the notes with the crips staccatos, chirpy trills, and, once again, well-defined contrapuntal lines. This variation, in the context of the entire work, is very much a joyful and long-awaited arrival. Not only is it the final canon (this time at the octave) but it also quotes two famous German folk tunes.

There’s a lot that goes in the Quodlibet (Variation 30).

While some recordings can wind up sounding stodgy with too much volume too consistently, Say’s switches up the articulation and dynamics organically. Say brings stately quality to the forefront with an ample sound while the recurrent scalar runs have just enough speed to give them an extra sense of flourish. The Ouverture (Variation 16) marks the halfway point of the work and shows the extroversion that I’d hoped to hear a little more frequently throughout.

Here, the pianist again arches the long phrases, creating a plaintive singing quality. The next canon (Variation 15) marks the arrival of the minor variation. He reveals a tangible connection between the treble and inner voices in Variation 12 (the canon at the 4th) I liked how the fluid yet dynamic shifts in character between the two give way to an engaging dialogue. The efforts are clear in how he demonstrates a firm grasp on how Bach’s contrapuntal lines work in relation to each other. In his forward, Say mentions the extent to which he studied the work outside of actually playing it. Variation 5, however, is successful what I picked up on in particular was how Say lends orchestral qualities to different registers: the higher notes have a spritzy, even piquant sound reminiscent of a piccolo. The tone quality is admittedly beautiful – round and mellow – but what suits better is a more robust sound profile (Murray Perahia’s 2000 recording has exactly this the rhythmic accents are present but not overdone, providing the energetic lilt central to the variation). There are times, however, when the refined approach detracts from a more vibrant interpretation, as we hear in Variation 4.

Fazil say 20022020 bern switzerland casino bern