<<  -- 3 --  John Bell Young    INCOMPARABLE PERFORMANCES

Much the same can be said for her handling of the remaining works on this recital, including a bit of Albenezian juvenilia, the Pavana-capricho and the Pavana facil, each an epigrammatic confection intended for the salon. Unlike his vivacious, sprawling sonata, Alberto Ginastera's two character pieces Milonga and Malambo, so beautifully etched by Ms Baytelman, pay tribute to musical contrast. Indeed, while the former appropriates a tango to paint, ever so briefly, a world of vanquished regrets, the latter sets the stage for the spirited Argentinean gaucho's dance that inspired it. The now explosive, now wistful Danzas argentinas are distinguished by its most famous work, the Danza de la moza donosa, (Graceful Maiden's Dance) an elegant, if melancholy love song that finds a poignant protagonist in Ms Baytelman. In the concluding entry, the wild Danza del gaucho matrero (Shrewd Cowboy's Dance), she lets out all the stops in a veritable explosion of festivity.

This then, is a recital distinguished by the immeasurable authority of an interpreter who is thoroughly in touch with the interpretive and technical demands of this complex repertoire. It seems that Ms Baytelman has even written a book on Albéniz piano music, published by Harmonie Park Press in 1993. Whatever she may have to say about it, and however substantial her ideas, words will most certainly remain at a loss to match her incomparable performances.

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