Elena Riu - Piano Icons for the 21st Century (2000)

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Elena Riu - Piano Icons for the 21st Century (2000)

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Arvo Part's eloquently simple and extraordinarily touching Variationen zur Gesundung von Arinushka ('Variations for the Healing of Arinushka') sets the mood for the entire disc - an overall mood in which ego is subjugated to a more contemplative spiritual dimension. Peter Sculthorpe is represented by a series of piano pieces drawing inspiration from both Australian Aboriginal culture and Japanese orientalism. Djilile is a gently haunting work based on an Aboriginal melody which, translated, means 'whistling duck on a billabong'. Sculthorpe rather modestly remarks that he made the arrangement 'simply for my own pleasure, and perhaps the pleasure of others' - there's little danger of it failing in the latter, for it's almost certain to give universal pleasure to all who hear it.

'Singing Sun' (a mere 1'34" in length), again inspired by Aboriginal spirituality, possesses the same simple, haunting qualities as do the five piano pieces under the title Night Pieces. Here, Sculthorpe's inspiration comes from the Japanese idea of setsugekka (literally snow, moon flowers) to create a set of five movingly poetic Haiku-like pieces.

The central work of the disc is the world premiere recording of Sir John Tavener's Ypakoe, written especially for Elena Riu. Ypakoe consists of five movements, each relating to the words spoken by the angels to the disciples who came to Christ's tomb on the morning of the Resurrection. At 21 minutes Ypakoe can be considered a substantial addition to the repertoire - nothing unusual about that, perhaps, but what is unusual is that it is the only substantial piano piece to have appeared in Tavener's output since Palin of 1977. A few years ago I asked Tavener why he had written so little for the piano, to which he replied that he felt unsympathetic to it as an instrument for conveying the 'sacred'. I think he would almost certainly retract that statement now, as Ypakoe is an extraordinary work of great power and spirituality, and certainly a work of major importance. It is not an overtly virtuosic piece, but is like much of Tavener's output, contemplative and chant-like. However, it is by no means an easy piece for the pianist - not least in the interpretative challenge it presents. Elena Riu gives us an exceptionally fine and beautifully meditative performance.

Janacek's intensely personal and darkly hued cycle In the Mists raises the dynamic temperature a degree, but nevertheless sits perfectly in this well-balanced recital, and Mompou's introverted and delicately magical Charmes brings this thought-provoking disc to a close.

Riu's performances throughout are of the highest order, particularly in the Tavener premiere, for which she obviously feels much sympathy - I look forward to hearing more from this pianist in the future. This is a fascinating and highly rewarding disc: my recommendation - an absolute must.

Review by Michael Stewart, Gramophone

The words "mystical" and "spiritual" tend to be misapplied when used in connection with music, in particular piano music. Too often these words signify a general dreaminess, a kind of tone-bath idiom that is easily imitated but is rather difficult to actually say anything in it. The sound is the backbone of the New Age genre. All the more astounding, then, is this recording by Elena Riu.

Most of these works are avowedly spiritual: Parts Variationen is a prayer for the healing of a friend, Tavener's Ypakoe - written for Riu - is a series of meditations on the death of Jesus, and Sculthorpe's works draw on the cultural traditions of Australian aborigines, of Koori people of south-eastern Australia, and of the Japanese.

All the works are spellbinding in Riu's readings; she brings a concert artist's technique to the business of understatement, and the result couldn't be more distant from the New Age aesthetic. Except for a few spots in Janacek's In The Mists, there is almost no flashiness here, no thundering octaves or blistering passagework, and it is because each note is so exposed that the integrity of these interpretations is so compelling.

The soundscapes are often familiar: major and minor tonalities, chant-like melodic writing, bell-like sounds. Dissonance of any kind is rare, and it is something of a shock to note how vivid the barest musical means can become in the hands of these contemporary composers. (Janacek died in 1928, but Mompou died only in 1997, and the other three are still living). Riu's mastery of the all-but-inaudible range is not only wonderful but a rare gift in this era of competition-winner; her balances in Sculthorpe's Djilile are breathtaking. It is hard to imagine a more persuasive In The Mists.

Review by American Record Guide

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Elena Riu - Piano Icons for the 21st Century (2000)

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Elena Riu - Piano Icons for the 21st Century (2000)

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