British-born but American-based Harold Bauer (1873-1951) was largely self taught and, well into his career, made a dramatic switch from violinist to pianist. Paderewski was among the first to sense his rare poetic warmth and brio, qualities confirmed in this most endearing recital. True, the odd muddle (notably in the two Liszt etudes) reminds us of Bauer’s unorthodox background, yet his eloquence invariably shines through, and his very personal charm is surely worth a thousand more ‘correct’ performances. His Schumann is lovingly and lavishly inflected (he takes the composer’s con molto sentimento in “Des Abends” very much at face value) and in the central section of “In der Nacht” – intriguingly offered in two versions – he sets melody and counter-melody softly chiming against each other in an interplay as subtle as it is heart-easing. His “Fabel” dances with Schumann’s cardinal qualities, his quixotic fantasy, freedom and colour, and if “Traumes Wirren” is no match for, say, Martha Argerich’s enviable fleetness, it is none the less richly responsive and engaging.
Bauer’s Grieg is, again, more inviting than provokingly old-fashioned. You won’t hear much of the distilled poetry such as is found in Gilels’s legendary DG Grieg recital (3/75 – recently reissued in DG’s The Originals series) but you will be hard pressed to resist Bauer’s buoyancy and lilt in “Norwegian Bridal Procession” (Op. 19 No. 2), or the ‘blue’ interior quality of his “Album leaf” (track 14).
This very special recital was clearly made at a time when the spirit was at least as important as the letter of the score. Ward Marston’s transfers of recordings dating from 1935-42 have come up remarkably well, there are several previously unissued performances and Terry Bennett’s annotation hardly stretches things when he writes of Bauer’s sublimity and “lasting appeal”.'