Erika Haase - Ligeti: Piano & Harpsichord Works (2020)

Collectors seeking Ligeti’s piano and harpsichord works in a single package certainly will enjoy Erika Haase’s solid virtuosity and affinity for the composer’s multi-layered rhythmic innovations. The question is how her performances fare alongside our reference “Ligeti Pianists” such as Aimard (Sony) and Ullen (BIS). To be sure, in the more rhythmically complex Etudes Haase is not so refined as her younger colleagues in matters of articulation and textural control. Yet certain interpretations benefit from Haase’s pliability. In the Musica Ricercata, for example, I prefer the impulsive momentum she generates in the third piece to Aimard’s less yielding viewpoint, as well as her quicker, giddier take on the Tempo di Valse (No. 4). And in the harpsichord works, I prefer the gentler quality and clearer timbre of Haase’s lute stop in contrast to the relatively percussive and less distinguishable pitches from Irona Kataeva’s instrument (compare Hungarian Rock’s jumping left-hand chords to hear what I mean).

Carmen Piazzini joins Haase in Ligeti’s five early pieces for piano duet and in his 1976 triptych for two pianos. Though they play well, their ensemble precision is not quite so finely tuned as the Kataeva/Aimard team (Sony) regarding exposed unison attacks and rapid repeated phrases. In essence, Volumes 3 and 6 of Sony’s Ligeti Edition duplicate Tacet and add three organ works for good measure. On the other hand, Haase includes several Book Three Etudes (Nos. 16, 17, and 18) not yet composed when the Aimard disc first appeared. While Sony remains my overall first choice, Haase’s integrity and musicianship are no less worthy of serious attention.