Timothy Ehlen Plays Beethoven
Posted by: Todd A on 26 February 2010
One of the newer complete cycles to get under way is Timothy Ehlen’s on Azica. Wait, who? Well, he’s a prof at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has played at various august halls around the world and competed, so he’s been around. This is my first acquaintance with this pianist, and like all other pianists, I can only assess his playing based on my (admittedly) personal criteria.
That written, he ain’t none too shabby. His first volume includes Opp 2/1, 27/2, and the mighty 106 - a nice, mixed program that offers a decent early-middle-late cross-section. Ehlen’s playing overall is characterized by clear, clean playing and sensible tempi, nothing too fast and most certainly nothing too slow. He deploys some unique phrasing and tinkers with tempi and dynamics a bit here and there, but he’s pretty much a straight-shooter, if you will. His 2/1 is appropriately youthful, and if it could have had a bit more oomph in places, especially the last movement, it still works for me. The Mondschein is a straight shot, with a not too hazy open and a satisfyingly driven ending. The big work here is of course the Hammerklavier, which comes off well. There’s fine clarity and order, with the fugue sounding nicely ordered, and the Adagio is quite good, offering a sort of detached transcendence at times.
I can’t say that Mr Ehlen matches up against the best, but I can say that I am interested in hearing his recently released second volume in the cycle. My only gripe is with the sound. It is thin and dry, making Ehlen sound lightweight – no piano sounds this thin in person.
I decided to give Timothy Ehlen’s second volume of Beethoven’s piano sonatas a shot, and I have mixed feelings about both the playing and the sound.
First to the playing. This disc contains four works – Opp 2/2, 31/2, 78, and 109 – so once again it offers a nice cross-section of the sonatas. Like in the first volume, Mr Ehlen throws in unique touches throughout (indeed, he does more so here than in the first volume), and he displays nice clarity and sensible tempi. However, particularly in the first two works, he can sound a bit low wattage in parts, making the music come across as Background Beethoven. That won’t work for me. That’s not to say that both works in their entirety come across that way, just that notable portions do. The 2/2 also sounds fun and chipper in parts, and 31/2 sounds almost fiery and or stormy in parts. The last two works are better. Op 78 is the highlight of the disc for me. It’s fun, peppy, and not at all too serious. Mr Ehlen seems to be having fun with the piece. Op 109, if ultimately lacking the transcendence I usually listen for and the best players deliver, sounds like late Beethoven and has enough heft to satisfy at least somewhat.
Quite a few caveats, I know, but the biggest one is with the sound. Unusually for a classical release, this disc sounds noticeably compressed. It was clearly very closely miked, and it’s quite dry as a result, but the note attacks are blunted and dynamics are compromised. In the opening movement of 31/2 I heard what was either overload or some post-production artifact. Sonically, this is mediocre effort by today’s standards. (It strikes me as a modern day equivalent of old Vox recordings.) I didn’t expect SOTA sound, but I expected better than this.
A mixed bag tending toward the disappointing. I wonder how volume three will turn out.
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