Peter Donohoe
is a pianist known for
Liszt
,
Prokofiev
, and other virtuoso repertory, but with this 2024 release, he attempts something of a different kind and with considerable success. The program is devoted to the shades the waltz took on in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and none of it is particularly daunting technically. All the music is relatively well known, although
Schumann
's
Abegg Variations, Op. 1
, one of his very few encounters with the waltz form, is not played terribly often.
Donohoe
nicely captures the explosive quality of the young
's talent. At the center of the program are 13
Chopin
waltzes sequenced by
into logical key relationships and a shifting dynamic between bigger pieces and more reflective ones.
's tempos are overall on the deliberate side, and the delightful effect here is of being invited in for a tour of the
waltzes by a pianistic master. The tour continues with
Ravel
Valses Nobles et Sentimentales
and with a single waltz by
Debussy
as the boundaries of the genre became wider and more diffuse. Along the way are many small details in the music that will delight even listeners who have heard these pieces many times. The sound environment of the Menuhin Hall is ideal for
's aims. ~ James Manheim