On track: Radical spin on variations

By WILLIAM DART

Jazz musician Uri Caine is one radical spirit. This is the man who reduced Wagner's great Liebestod to a Palm Court Symphoniette, imported sleazy foxtrots and turntables into the first movement of Mahler's Fifth Symphony and treated Schumann's Dichterliebe as if poet Heinrich Heine was trying out for a Hallmark Cards commission.

Your blood may run cold at the very thought of any of these but, trust me, Wagner, Mahler and Schumann are not threatened - in fact they end up being vindicated through Caine's interpretations. And who could not be staggered by the American's virtuosity and chutzpah?

Caine's latest CD takes to Beethoven's Diabelli Variations and features Caine on an 1839 Erard fortepiano and the 28-piece Concerto Koln, along with their roster of historical instruments.

While there's nothing quite as confrontational as the booze-swilling choristers and turntablists in Caine's Goldberg Variations, there are still minor outrages (yes, Virginia, that sneeze was meant to be there in Variation 14). There are also neat postmodernist nudges (Rite of Spring chords in Variation 3 and a touch of Tristan in Variation 18).

You'll smile at the clever patching from Beethoven's 3rd and 5th symphonies in Variation 6, tap a toe to the barrelhouse boogie of Variation 16 and melt at the ravishing beauty of Variation 19, which Caine transforms into a Jewish lament.

The changing relationship between orchestra and soloist is fascinating - this, along with the bold style shifts, is what sustains the piece over its 56 minutes.

You won't find this CD in your local shop, despite it being singled out by BBC Music Magazine as one of its monthly best last year, but it's well worth ordering from a specialist dealer.

* Uri Caine with the Concerto Koln, Diabelli Variations (Winter & Winter 910 086-2)