Granados: 8 Valses Poéticos (Grosvenor, Fernando Pérez)

Two lovely -- and very different -- performances of the Valses Poéticos. Grosvenor plays these as improvisatory waltzes with a poetic element; Pérez, as poetic pieces with some waltz-like elements. While apparently simple, the Valses Poéticos are gems of craftsmanship: in Valse No.1 the harmonies are nudged just ever-so-slightly ajar from what we’d expect, for instance, Valses Nos.4-5 really turn out to be a pair of mazurkas (or something very similar), and the coda which begins as a spryly chromatic 6/8 Presto winds down and resolves – suddenly and beautifully – into a complete literal reprise of Valse No.1, bringing the suite full circle.

In Grosvenor’s playing the rhythms are taut, the articulation razor-sharp, the faster passages sleek and sparkling [see the Vivo, for instance]. He’s got a pretty distinctive style: often shorter notes which lie just alongside longer ones are given a shorter value than they actually are worth, which gives the playing a characteristic snap and feeling of spontaneity.

Pérez’s recording has long been one of my very favourites: it’s basically a case study in perfect use of rubato. The sound is rich, the phrasing liquid and translucent (the idea of “phrasing” can often be a bit opaque because hard to explain in words, but you only need to compare both pianists’ playing of the Melodico to see what a huge difference it can make), and the voicing of even the thinnest intimations of counterpoint incredibly precise. The emotional heft generated from such an apparently lighthearted suite can be quite surprising: Perez’s return to the Melodico theme from Valse No.1 at 22:43, for instance, is intensely moving.

Grosvenor -
00:00 – 1. Vivace Molto – Melodico [1:03]
02:04 – 2. Tempo di Valse noble
03:30 – 3. Tempo di Valse lente
05:02 – 4. Allegro umoristico
05:40 – 5. Allegretto
06:49 – 6. Quasi ad libitum
07:52 – 7. Vivo
08:32 – 8. Presto

Fernando Pérez -
10:18 – 1. Vivace Molto – Melodico [11:36]
13:25 – 2. Tempo di Valse noble
14:51 – 3. Tempo di Valse lente
17:08 – 4. Allegro umoristico
17:57 – 5. Allegretto
19:26 – 6. Quasi ad libitum
21:07 – 7. Vivo
21:55 – 8. Presto