A world premiere recording of Godowsky's Java Suite is surprising until you stop to confront its savagely ornate and idiosyncratic demands. Most pianists would rather consider such complexity from a distance. Not so Esther Budiardjo, herself Javanese (though resident in America), who resolves some formidable problems with such natural grace that you are able to concentrate exclusively on the music of an exotic land, seen and heard through the eyes and ears of a clearly enchanted - but richly cosmopolitan - composer/pianist. How intriguing to hear the ghost of Albeniz's Jerez surface through the mists of 'Wayang Purwau', to recall Debussy's 'Pagodes' in 'In the Kraton' or to become aware of the Russian voices of Rimsky-Korsakov, Medtner and Rachmaninov elsewhere.
But whether conscious or unconscious, such influences are translated into a delectably rich and local fabric of sound. The opening 'Carillon' is a chime with a difference, not a peal of Moscow bells or the resonance of the Sacre Coeur, but the gentle and enticing sound of the gamelan. In 'The Gardens of Buitenzorg' Budiardjo hardly suggests Stephen Hough's magical and insinuating pianism (heard on the first of his two Virgin 'Piano albums', 1/89R) but she is none the less delicate and acute, proving, in Godowsky's words, that 'even when all the interpretative signs are scrupulously observed, there remains ample scope for self-expression and individuality. 'Elsewhere she shows an enviably stylish mastery of every intricate or polyphonic challenge the music throws up.
The three pieces by Alexandre Tansman (another world premiere recording of music by a composer who came to the Far East via Poland, Paris and Hollywood) weave a less potent spell, but they are beautifully played, and the quality of Esther Budiardjo's Kawai has been excellently recorded throughout a considerable dynamic range. Music for an exclusive taste, this is a special issue.'