Lithuanian-born American pianist Nadia Reisenberg never attained the international status of, say, Vladimir Horowitz or Arthur Rubinstein, but in the New York of her time she was as much an insider as one could speculate, given her high-level activities as educator, accompanist, chamber musician, duo pianist (often with Arthur Balsam), prolific recording artist, and competition judge, not to mention the power of her flamboyant, but dignified, personality. There was a time, however, when Reisenberg appeared as an eagerly anticipated concert artist on the New York scene, both in concerto appearances with the New York Philharmonic and in solo recitals. Bridge's Nadia Reisenberg: Carnegie Hall Recital 1947 brings into sharp relief the experience of attending one of Reisenberg's ambitious concert recitals. She performs Handel, Mozart, Weber, Chopin, and Tchaikovsky and Scriabin, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Khachaturian, and Samuel Barber, presumably on the same date, although the notes are unclear on that point in sound that is at worst only slightly noisy and at best as gloriously realistic an account of Reisenberg's playing as the late '40s Carnegie Hall recorders are likely to yield.
"Dazzling" would be a good word to describe much of this; Reisenberg's technique is absolutely secure, but her fiery, highly individual temperament can hardly be described as restrained. As a matter of principle, Reisenberg -- like Toscanini -- felt that the text should be the letter of the law, but -- also like Toscanini -- she did not shy away from putting her own unique stamp on her music making; far from it. The ink was hardly dry on Samuel Barber's Excursions when Reisenberg played it at Carnegie Hall; just two years before, Horowitz had given the premiere, but without the third movement. Is this the world premiere of the complete piece? Reisenberg instinctively blends the folksy melody of the third movement -- based on The Streets of Laredo -- into the overall texture of the harmony and creates something that balances out with the other three movements. Her Scriabin is well-measured and beautifully voiced; her Chopin Sonata No. 3 in B minor is white hot and brimming with passion. The Khachaturian Toccata is blinding in its sheer virtuosity; the Tchaikovsky In the Village is obviously an encore meant to appeal directly to Reisenberg's Lithuanian core constituency, and Reisenberg turns on the charm especially for them. Clearly here is a pianist of excellent taste and high integrity who nevertheless wanted to entertain, and did; no wonder she was in such demand at the time.
The purpose of the best historical recordings is not to reproduce every documented baton swipe of a legendary conductor, though given the general thrust of that market one might think so. In the best cases, historicals are capable of restoring great, underappreciated artists back to some semblance to acclaim long after they have passed into history. Bridge's Nadia Reisenberg: Carnegie Hall Recital 1947 is one of those best-case scenarios, taking the listener into the gallery to hear an underrepresented -- and great -- artist from a distant time hold forth in sound that is perfectly acceptable to the contemporary ear. Those who genuinely appreciate the piano won't want to be without this disc.
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