Invitation à la Valse
Janina Fialkowska
ATMA ACD2 2913 (atmaclassique.com/en/product/invitation-a-la-valse)
Beginning with Weber’s Invitation to the Dance of 1819 and ending with Ravel’s Valses nobles et sentimentales of 1911, Janina Fialkowska’s new recital album is a journey through almost a century’s worth of waltzes. Continuing with a dozen of Schubert’s Valses sentimentales D.779, two of Chopin’s most charming waltzes, and more rarely heard works by Liszt, Grieg, Sibelius and Tchaikovsky, the works tend toward the graceful and the refined. These works do not generally plumb great depths of expression, and Fialkowska’s approach is marked by an effortless elegance and a stylish use of rubato, never weighing the music down with unnecessary seriousness. There is a fluid, conversational flow that highlights the gentle, salon-like nature of this repertoire.
This approach is perhaps less successful in Ravel’s homage to Schubert. Here, one might miss the underlying shadows and the sardonic bite of the harmonic language. The same flexibility of pulse that brings the recital’s 19th century waltzes to life can seem to hinder the forward momentum of Ravel’s crystalline writing. The Ravel, in particular, is also not helped by a rather closely recorded sound, also noticeable in the suddenly climactic final minute of Sibelius’ otherwise nostalgic Valse triste.
Nevertheless, this remains an hour’s worth of lovely music, lovingly performed. If the repertoire appeals, Fialkowska’s invitation is one you should certainly accept without hesitation.
