The sonata gets a thought-provoking
performance and after a few comparisons
with performances by Earl Wild and Stephen
Hough I came to wonder if what at first
seemed a drawback was not actually a
point in favour of this new version.
Let me explain. Crude
timings will tell you that Hatto takes
longer over all but the brief 4th
movement (remember this is a sonata
with 5 movements). But when she launches
each movement she does not seem slow
at all, indeed quite the reverse in
the exuberant Scherzo. What happens
is that, sooner than the other two,
she starts relaxing the tension so that
cantabile second subjects or the trio
of the Scherzo seem not so much lyrical
parentheses as points of repose. The
result is that these lyrical points
emerge as the real heart of the sonata
with the more dramatic moments apparently
coincidental to them. One supposes that
the ideal is to keep a balance between
the various elements rather than tip
the scales one way or the other, but
one must also salute the lyrical warmth
with which these passages are played.
Also, in the finale Hatto takes very
seriously Brahms’s "ma rubato"
direction to produce a quirky, almost
tempo-less beginning which is then stabilized
by the lyrical music. Thereafter the
movement gathers in strength and stability
so that in the end the energetic music
gets the upper hand. I would say this
finale produces the most inspired playing
in this performance, whereas a rehearing
didn’t entirely persuade me to withdraw
my initial impression that the broad
first movement is a bit laboured at
times. Still, it’s an interesting performance
and all things considered I would as
soon listen to it as either of the other
two I’ve mentioned. They are, however,
better recorded (especially Hough on
Hyperion); the sound here is not bad
but a bit cavernous and blurry.
The sound is better
in the Handel Variations, or perhaps
I ceased to notice, for I can only describe
this performance as enthralling. Interestingly,
while in the Paganini Variations (see
Volume 4) Hatto bathed the theme in
Brahmsian warmth, here she gives a perky,
harpsichord-like rendering, as though
she were about to play Handel’s own
variations on this theme (it might have
been rather nice if she had done so,
as a prelude – there would have been
space on the disc). There is something
rather baroque, too, about the festive
first variation, as though Brahms is
letting himself into the show gradually.
This is a marvellously cholesterol-free
performance, with tempi often very swift
indeed, obtaining a Mendelssohnian fleetness
without losing sight of the rich Brahmsian
sonority, while the more cantabile variations
have a Viennese grace. Another aspect
of this performance is its sense of
humour, something we do not always give
Brahms credit for. But I don’t want
to single out particular variations
since I was quite bowled over, not just
by the individual characterisations
but by the overall sweep of it all.
Not for the first time, I note that
in some of her very recent performances
(post 2000) Joyce Hatto, always a reliable
and sympathetic artist, has touched
new heights; on this particular day
she was truly inspired.
Day? I find it intriguing
that a performance which sounds so all
of a piece should apparently have been
recorded over two years. Perhaps the
answer (we are not told the actual dates)
is that she started playing late on
December 31st 2002 and played
the New Year in; that’s the sort of
performance it is.
Christopher Howell
see also
review by Jonathan Woolf
Joyce Hatto (piano) 
