Is there a trait common to recordings conceived during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic? Probably not to all of them, but the isolation allowed a certain kind of in-depth exploration that is exemplified by this recording from
Shai Wosner
of
Beethoven
's giant
Diabelli Variations, Op. 120
. Consider the very first variation, generally taken as a discrete chunk that sets the scene by finding the possibility of something imposing in
Diabelli
's simple theme.
Wosner
breaks it up, emphasizing the little antiphonal answers by taking a little bit of time with them. It goes on from there;
finds many small details that haven't occurred to any other pianist. He joins the variations together with very little time between them, except for a few more substantial breaks. The result is that the work takes on almost a fantasy-like quality, with its substantial experimentation in tonality and texture being emphasized. Listeners intent on finding larger structural principles in the
Diabelli Variations
, akin to those in
Bach
's
Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
, aren't going to cotton to this reading, which is a bit busy despite a predominantly delicate, lyrical tone. However,
deserves a great deal of credit for finding new things in a much-recorded
work. ~ James Manheim