BACKHAUS.

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 19986, 22 July 1930, Page 16

BACKHAUS.

A GREAT RECITAL. Four years ago Wilhelm Backhaus came and won our admiration for ever and aye. We placed him so high that wc never lost sight of him since. The echo of his name and famo at Home, his Beethoven exploits raising his prestige, reached us across the seas. We heard brilliant gramophone records of his which multiplied and grow in daring. llere and there, in Chopin Etudes, he even joined the gallant band of speed-record-breakers, a feat not dangerous to life and limb on keyboards, though, may be, fatal sometimes t< the music. When we knew, from a pen and ink. sketch, that he, with his lady, his parrot, and a shipload of chattels, had embarked for our shores on a new quest for the golden fleece, wo rejoiced. And, last night, we had him back again in all his glory, little changed in appearance. Two names loom largo in Backhaus'a programmes, both great and yet with little in common: Beethoven, ' master mind, a mouthpiece of every human emotion, and Chopin, who, on narrower grounds, had wrested from a reluctant keyboard its innermost Becrets, adorning them with the flashes of hL genius. Both, last night, had to yield pride of place to Bach and his Italian Concerto, which in its simple flow hides no intricate designs, but demands, nevertheless, no mean powers of delineation. Casals, the famous Spanish 'cellist, professes to have studied Bach tor ten years before ho ventured to P'py works in public. The virile mind o Backhaus would tathorn e P* ® without the loss of years. £o him Italian Concerto offers a- technical or interpretative difficulties. 1 e quite at home tiere. Neither of the two Beethoven Sonatas presented is to be met ip Vir.uos Concerts, where the choice lies fo * evcr between a few, now grown hackneyed. Many listeners will gratefully welcome the change, and appreciate the merits of the novel selections. In each new features are embodied. In the Sonata in E flat, with its quaint initial questioning theme, its ballad-like Scherzo, and a Presto which makes believe Beethoven to have been the happiest of men, there is also to be found the identical Menuetto which he discarded in favour of his Scherzos, and a Menuetto of touching simplicity ana ineffable charm it happens to be. Again in the Sonata Op. 84, the novel feature is that he discloses for once its motive, to illustrate the sensation? ot parting, absence, and happy return m

the separate movements. The Beethoven player in exoelsis must ponder every theme, Weign every phrase before he can understand the magnitude of his every attempt to reproduce Beethoven's intentions. That Mr Backhaus is fully aware of it, and prepareu for all the minute details, the performance of every movement of the two Sonatas last night has amply proved. He is a safe and eminently qualified guide. If preference is to be given to any movements it is for the Allegro of Op. 31 and the Menuetto of the same Sonata already referred to. After a short pause we arrived at the brilliant string of Chopin numbers, beginning with four Etudes from his opus 10. As one listens to the wonderful exhibition, one feels inclined to believe that the difficulties of pianopiaying have been much exaggerated. It sounds all so easy, unless you happen to be acquainted with the scores. To attain the speed of his double note passages of No. 7 in C major, how many useless attempt? would be needed on the part of most virtuosos it would be rash to calculate. Similarly came to perfect hearing No. 11, with its flying arpeggios, and the beauty of No. 3 was great, and how lovely the Nocturne in B major, a real gem, when it is treated with the. refinement prominent under the hands of our recitalist. Ihe Pielude in E flat is another of the easy pieces. As it was its constant skips never landed on a single wrong note. The Valse in D flat, the Scherzo_ id C sharp minor, with its delicate interludes, and, as an additional donation, the Valse in C sharp minor, all reached the highest level of virtuosity, and on Backhaus's palette every possible tint was ready at this service. There remains yet mention to be made of the delightful Don Juan Serenade, wh'cn he transcribed with wonderful skill and brilliance, requiring no new comment. Liszt's Liebestraum and his second Rhapsody completed the generous programme as intended, without the of a splendid audience fill ng the Hall. There was only one opinion in the house: He is a great master. SECOND CONCERT ON FRIDAY. Mr K. J. Gravestock announces that Mr Backhaus will give his second recital on E'riday evening next at the Municipal Concert Hall, when the programme will include: Three Preludes and Fugues from the "WellTempered Clavichord," by Bach; Brahms s intensely difficult Variations and Fugue on a theme by Handel, which have created a sensation whenever the distinguished pianist has played them; a group of Chopin works, including the Romance from the E minor Concerto (arranged by Backhaus); '"ree Mazurk&B, Berceuse, two studies in G flat major, Waltz in E flat major. Ballade in A flat major, Scherzo from "Midsummer Night's Dream" (Mendelssohn-Hutcheson), Triana (Albeniz), Dance d'Olaf (PickMang:agalli), Naila Waltz (Delibes-Don-hanyi). The final recital will be given on Saturday night.