This is an interesting and unusual coupling, underpinned by the idea that Beethoven regarded his Diabelli Variations, despite their breadth of conception, as a collection of bagatelles, or creative diversions from larger projects. Andrei Vieru, a Romanian pianist now living in France, plays the Bagatelles, Op. 119 first, and his approach is gently expressive, although ultimately rather one-dimensional. He is not in any hurry – No. 5 is hardly Risoluto and No. 9 could not be called Vivace – although in pieces of lyrical simplicity (especially Nos. 4 and 11) his unforced and contemplative manner does draw the listener in. On repeated listening, however, my overall impression tended towards one of blandness.
The Diabelli Variations continue almost without a break. Immediately there is a greater sense of urgency, with lively articulation and a wider dynamic range. Nevertheless, it soon becomes apparent that Vieru again intends to ponder the music at some length. By the end of Var. 8 (marked Poco vivace, but played at almost half the usual speed) it is difficult to feel any sense of momentum, or cumulative effect; the Pesante e risoluto of Var. 9 should come as a contrast, but Vieru, having eschewed Beethoven’s dolce for Var. 8, settles for a disappointing homogeneity of expression. The slow variations, too, are extremely broad, and while Vars. 14 and 20 are focused and concentrated (Var. 20 in particular is a moment of wonderful reflective calm), Var. 31 extends to eight minutes, yet gains nothing in expressiveness. More generally, the playing is often heavy-handed: Var. 10 lacks virtuosic sweep, and the humour of Var. 22, with its witty distortions of Leporello’s opening lines from Mozart’s Don Giovanni, falls rather flat. The dramatic shift of harmony at the end of Var. 32, and the miraculous final variation into which it leads, are rather shapeless, and convey little sense of peroration on arrival. I would still recommend Kovacevich’s classic account of the Diabelli Variations from 1968, now at mid price, which displays a fresher response and has more poetry and expressive variety, although it has no coupling.'