Gramofon: Secrets
Following a silence of six years Hungaroton has published a second double album from the Anna Dévény legacy. The famous physiotherapist recorded Annie Fischer’s concerts – in secret, until it was revealed – with a tape recorder qualifying good at the time hidden in a bag. We would be poorer without these pirate recordings today. And in this particular case we would be much poorer. The quality of the remastered recordings is not bad at all meaning that whoever is interested can enjoy them. They do sound like typical tape recordings, but the performances come across well with a characteristic ambiance. The new album is especially interesting because they are the only surviving recordings of Piano Schubert’s Sonata in A minor D.845, and D.959 in A major. Annie Fischer did not like record studios. That is a pity, but one understands listening to these musical documents of inestimable worth. She played much more freely in concert yield to the inspiration of the moment. We are witness to enchanting moments: already the first chords make the air sparkle. In terms of appearance, Schubert in the hands of Annie Fischer is particularly stylish, while for its internal features it is alternative, experimental, energetic, restless, and volatile. The performances may be best described as very intensive. As for the sonata in A major I risk the statement that we hear a superb interpretation. Speaking for myself I always had a sense of deficiency listening to this piece until I head this one. Fischer recorded Schumann’ Kreisleriana in studio, and the Fantasiestücke is also known from another live recording. The features referred to above perfectly match these if only one recalls the titles of the individual movements: ‘very fast, very agitated, very fast’, but she also profoundly identified with the indication ‘very slow’. One would think that these recordings of poorer sound quality are simply second-class add-ons to the Annie Fischer discography. This, however, is by far not the case. Some of her studio recordings are of course very good, while they still fail to fully render that unique atmosphere that made Annie Fischer’s concerts and art exceptional, a feature that is perfectly perceived on these proficiently re-mastered recordings. One feels just like sitting in the audience at the time, and can in fact live through the elevating moments of time long past. Same as some less successful Furtwängler recordings that offer a more memorable experience than many later recordings.
Balázs Zay
Source: Gramofon