Alessandra Ammara - Scelsi: Preludi, Serie I-IV (2009)

By following her debut album of the Ballades and other pieces by Frédéric Chopin with the Preludes, Series I-IV of Giacinto Scelsi, pianist Alessandra Ammara takes a big risk that most of her fans may not follow her. The refined romanticism of Chopin does not necessarily lead one to think of Scelsi's eccentric brand of modernism, and listeners who appreciate the smoothness of the former may well be jolted by the harshness and angularity of the latter. Yet surface impressions may yield to deeper connections, and it's possible to find some common ground between the poetic side of Chopin and the fragile mysticism of Scelsi, perhaps by way of Scriabin as a kind of spiritual link; some of Scelsi's more delicate passages seem to show a lineage that could even include the darker late miniatures of Franz Liszt. However one finds a way into Scelsi's piano music, it is worth investigating and more pleasurable than some of his monotonous ensemble pieces and experimental vocal works, which can seem tedious after only a few minutes. The Preludes, however, are full of invention and variety, and despite the predominance of atonality and too much pointillism, the sonorities that are discovered along the way are often startling in their originality. Ammara puts considerable energy into her performances, and her playing is assured and unflagging throughout the nearly 73 minutes of running time. The sound of this SACD is remarkably focused and clean, with a close-up feeling enhanced by a lively acoustic.