Among the monuments of Baroque music,
Handel
's keyboard music is comparatively rarely played and recorded. Thus, it is unsurprising that pianist
Seong-Jin Cho
's program here seems so fresh; performers haven't really come to grips with
Brahms
' homage to
in his
Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel, Op. 24
. It is a fascinating work, with small, chaconne-like variations that explore register and melodic shape in profound ways.
Cho
gives a muscular, arresting performance of the work here, in which the energies built up over the course of the variation set make the final fugue seem almost inevitable. Perhaps even better are
's performances of three
keyboard suites, plus a pair of Baroque dances included as encores.
delves into the suites in great detail. Hear how he digs into the startling harmonic shadings right at the outset, in the opening Adagio of the
Suite No. 2 in F major, HWV 427
. His are powerful readings of the suites, with great variety in articulation and tempo. At times, one thinks of
Glenn Gould
;
is much more sparing in his use of the pedal, but he is that commanding and charismatic. This is a strong program, brilliantly executed, and it marks the arrival of
in the pianistic top rank. ~ James Manheim