András Schiff - Smetana: Polkas (1999)

Smetana himself was a superb pianist and the main body of his compositional output consists of piano pieces. Not that any of it has made much headway in the standard repertoire, but at least with a disc like this some of it receives the excellent advocacy it deserves. Some of the polkas given here are true miniature masterpieces, such as the wonderfully wistful op.7 no.2, and they are all full of memorable ideas, strong tunes and atmosphere, fresh and engaging - it is indeed remarkable how variegated and compelling the program is; as opposed to what one might have suspected, this disc can actually bear being listened to straight through. Indeed, these are not (all) throwaway salon pieces - several of them reveal remarkable depths and levels of intimacy, and harmonic richness. That, of course, is not the least due to Schiff's marvelously warm and sympathetic performances. The rhythms are clean, fresh and sparkling with remarkably clear lines, the melodies beautifully phrased and the textures gorgeous. There is plenty of élan, vigor and buoyancy, but also a certain tender wistfulness that serves the music beautifully. The recording is first class as well, and this is really a disc to treasure; strongly recommended.