Time then to sample DGG’s latest foray into analogue recording. This is Pletnev’s first piano disc for the label in 19-years. Uninterrupted access to the studio and an extended period of warm-up meant that the performance itself was recorded in a little over four-hours, a succession of single-takes with almost no edits necessary. It’s reflected in the confident playing of a performer with nothing left to prove. Musically, this is first rate, justification enough to add it to your collection. Sonically, it offers a remarkable contrast to the Ólafsson disc(s).If the latter’s transparency, resolution, stability and dynamics represent the best of digital, the AAA discs counter with a mellow warmth, rich tonal colours, body and substance. But there’s more to that contrast than simple encoding technology.
Pletnev prefers (and plays here) a Shigeru Kawai concert grand, with its notably softer, gentler and less expansive tone than the Steinways that dominate modern recordings. Did that choice lead to the analogue recording (or vice versa)? Either way, the harmonic density and warmth in the instrumental tone fairly screams “Analogue”, with an enveloping intimacy and presence that almost forces the instrument forward in the soundstage. This recording lacks the extensive and well-defined sense of space, the instrumental focus and dimensionality of the digital discs. It lacks the clearly structured harmonic layers of the Steinway. Instead, it’s a richer, fuller and weightier instrumental presentation with a lower centre of musical gravity, qualities that allow these expressive pieces to bloom and swell beautifully in response to Pletnev’s articulate rhythmic elasticity. While many listeners might buy this set for the Chopin pieces, if anything, the Scriabin Préludes are even more engaging, with greater contrast and a deeper, more thoughtful quality.
The one thing that mars these records is a persistent vinyl ‘rustle’ that afflicts two of the four sides, ameliorated but not eliminated by cleaning – and something of a shock after the silent purity of the clear surfaces. Is this a sample issue or a consistent pressing problem? Only time will tell. Where does that leave the comparison? Opus 109 is a better pressing on better vinyl. On this showing, I’m confirmed in my view that I’d take clear vinyl over 45RPM cutting every time. Where 45RPM discs so often seem to suffer from dynamic swings and tonal roundabouts, clear pressings have proved consistently excellent, their dynamic gains delivering exactly the supposed benefits of higher groove velocity, but their tonal purity and grain-free sound adding their own, significant musical and reproductive advantages. I love the fact that DGG has dabbled once again with analogue recording and, musically speaking, the results more than justify the effort. The chosen repertoire is ideal and if the recording style is slightly mannered, it also suits the subject. Does it trump DGG’s mainstream, digital recordings? No, I can’t say that it does – although the quiet sides of the Pletnev discs are a qualitative match for the mainstream discs. Properly pressed, especially if it was on clear vinyl, “equal but different” would be a fair assessment. As it is, the advantages that clear material (and presumably familiar recording technology) brings to the Ólafsson disc are clear.
