Fabian Müller opens this recital
with a delicious performance of one of Claude Debussy’s lesser-known piano works,
the Ballade, dating from 1890-1. It was written when Debussy was in
Russia as piano tutor to Nadezhda von Meck’s children. Von Meck, it will be
recalled, was ‘patroness’ to Tchaikovsky. Originally entitled Ballade Slav,
to reflect the influence of Balakirev and Borodin, it was retitled for its 1903
publication by Durand.
The work balances a lovely, if
slightly repetitive, melody, with complex arpeggios and figurations. The
harmonies are chromatic. The listener may detect hints of the melody of La
Plus que Lente (1910). It is a pity
that the Ballade does not have a greater standing in recitals and
recordings of Debussy’s music. One simple fact highlights this. The Arkiv
catalogue currently lists 38 recordings of the Ballade compared to a
whopping 411 of ‘Clair de Lune’ from the Suite Bergamasque!
French composer Gabriel Dupont is
quite a rarity. I recall listening to an extract from his piano suite Les
heures dolentes on the 2017 Husum release, but apart from that I have heard
nothing. Gabriel Dupont was born in the Normandy town of Caen in 1878. After
study at the Paris Conservatoire with Jules Massenet and Charles-Marie Widor,
he had an early success by winning the second prize at the 1901 Prix de Rome.
He manged to beat Maurice Ravel, of all people, into third place. Dupont had a
tragically short life, dying of tuberculosis in 1914. He wrote music for the
piano, chamber ensembles and several operas.
The present La maison dans les
dunes (The House in the Dunes) was composed whilst the composer was
convalescing in a sanatorium at Cap Ferret in the Gironde department of France.
Some five years previously, Dupont had written his above-mentioned hour-long
piano cycle Les Heures Dolente which was a meditation on imminent death.
Now recovered, he considers the joys of sun, sea, sand and the surrounding
landscape. Two pieces are given here: ‘Dans les Dune’ and ‘Houles’ The first is
a gentle ‘early morning’ stroll in the dunes which are such an important
feature of Cap Ferrat, whilst the second is a massive portrayal of a stormy sea
with a great swell (houles). There are echoes of Schumann, Liszt and
Rachmaninov as well the French ‘greats’, Ravel and Debussy.
Severin von Eckardstein brings contrast
and colour to these musically descriptive pieces. I must listen to the complete
cycle…
I guess that most listeners will
associate Louis Vierne with his superlative organ music. This is still heard
daily in recitals and cathedral/church services around the world. Unfortunately,
it has led to virtually all his other music being side-lined. He wrote in a
wide variety of genres, including a respectable symphony, much for chamber ensembles,
songs and piano solos. Mūza Rubackytė plays two numbers from his ‘Twelve
Preludes’ for piano, composed in La Rochelle during the Great War. Both the ‘Evocation
of a day of anguish’ and ‘Alone…’ may be understood in terms of Vierne’s
depression at his blindness or it could refer to a fractured love affair. The
stylistic language is largely 19th century (Brahms, Greig, and
Liszt) with something a little more contemporary to spice things up. They are
excellent and I guess that the entire cycle, played by Rubackytė will be worth
searching out (Brilliant Classics, BT0916).
Pancho Vladigerov’s ‘Passion’ from
his Ten Impressions, op. 9 is one of those discoveries that epitomise the Rarities
of Piano Music from Husum project. I
have never heard of this composer, despite being a listener who enjoys
exploring the overgrown paths of classical music. Turns out that he is an
important Bulgarian composer living during much of the twentieth century. He
was influenced by romanticism and national folk song. A brief search of YouTube
reveals a musician with whom I could do business with – especially his Piano Concerto
no.3. The present Impression ‘Passion’ was composed in 1920. It lives up
to its title, which, I think, emphasises the emotional meaning of the word
rather that the ‘suffering’ one. Look
out for overtones of Rachmaninov and Richard Strauss. It is given a wonderful
performance by Etsuko Hirose.
I am not sure about Hirose’s
second number. For some reason I have never really ‘got’ Charles-Valentin
Alkan. Despite Busoni’s contention that he was ‘the greatest of the post-Beethoven
composers’, I find that his music may be absorbing, advanced, exhilarating and
captivating, but does it not speak to my heart. ‘Le Grillon’ was inspired by a chirping
cricket and is a complex piece that belies the innocence of the subject. It is
imaginatively and magically played here.
Fauna also features in the title
of Venezuela-born Reynaldo Hahn’s massive piano suite Le Rossignol éperdu
(The Distressed Nightingale), composed in 1912. I guess that the ‘Nightingale’
in question may well be the composer himself. This was a gigantic project, set
out in four volumes/suites with a total of 53 pieces. Lukas Geniušas plays a ‘mere’
two excerpts from this album. The first, no.31 ‘En Caique’, provides a
reflective picture of a day at sea in the Mediterranean, aboard a traditional
Turkish fishing boat. And the second,
no.51 (‘Adieux au soir tombant’), bids farewell to the day at dusk. They
present an enchanted mood. One day I will listen to the entire cycle, following
the score: I think it will be an interesting adventure.
The Russian composer Valery
Arzumanov has written numerous pieces for his massive collection Piano World
op.74. I confess to finding them somewhat insipid, bearing in mind that he
was a pupil of the ‘advanced’ and ‘colourful’ Olivier Messiaen. Perhaps they
sound too much like didactic music (which is not a problem). They just left me
cold. ‘Before the exam’ is written with a ‘rare’ 58-4 time signature and is
rhythmically exciting.
The liner notes lament the fact
that there is only room on a ‘well-filled disc’ for one of Russian composer Leonid
Desyatnikov’s pieces from his ‘Songs from Bukovina’. It is part of a collection
of 24 preludes in all the major and minor keys. This E minor one is vibrant and
nods towards jazz and majors on folksong from the Bukovina region. This was a
border state between what is now Romania and the Ukraine. It is played with great enthusiasm by Lukas
Geniušas. I am not sure if the work is entitled ‘Songs from Bukovina’ or 24
Preludes: the internet and the insert do not help here.
Jean Louis Nicodé was a Prussian
composer despite his Gallic sounding name. The liner notes explain that Simon
Callaghan played his ‘masterpiece’ Memories of Robert Schumann at the
Festival. Unfortunately, there are no extracts from this work on the CD. I am
lucky to have heard Memories and I feel that Nicodé has out Schumann-ed
Schumann. The complete recording is available on Hyperion (CDA68269). What is given in this present disc are two
short movements from his Liebesleben (A life of love) which is a
collection of 10 pieces with gnomic titles such as ‘Repentance’ and ‘Remembrance’.
Once again, Schumann is the exemplar, but that is fine. They are well-crafted,
surprisingly profound and quite lovely. Callaghan’s performance highlights the
fact that this composer does not deserve neglect.
The finale of Roberto Fuchs’
Sonata No.1 in G flat major, op. 19 is racy and imaginative. This composer is
probably best remembered today as the teacher of Gustav Mahler, Erich Wolfgang
Korngold, Jean Sibelius and George Enescu. Brahms once wrote that ‘Fuchs is a
splendid musician, everything is so fine and so skilful, so charmingly
invented, that one is always pleased.’ These words certainly sum up this stylistically
conservative little ‘allegro.’
Anton Arensky’s ‘Intermezzo’ is the
twelfth of his 24 Morceaux caractéristiques, op. 36 dating from
1894. This is a pleasant piece, which merits
a greater accolade than Maurice Hinson’s designation a. ‘salon music’ There are
hints of Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov here, which is hardly surprising as he
studied with the latter and was friends with the former. It is characterised by
a wistful melody and attractive accompaniment. Sina Kloke gives the ‘intermezzo’
a suitably introverted feel.
This compilation from the 2018
Husum Festival closes with four pieces played by the superb Italian American
pianist, Antonio Pompa-Baldi. Sergei Rachmaninov’s beautiful Vocalise
needs no special pleading. It was originally the final number of 14 Songs or Romances
published in 1912. It has been arranged for many instrumental
combinations. Clearly, it has appeared for
solo piano, with versions by Earl Wild and Alan Richardson. Pompo-Baldi’s transcription
is satisfying and gently nostalgic, which is just the way it should be.
An arrangement of the Sardinian
folk song ‘La Rosa’ follows. This is given a virtuosic but also ‘restrained’
treatment by Roberto Piana.
Gabriel Grovlez’s L’almanach
aux images (A Diary of Snaps) often features in the repertoire of the aspiring
pianist. The two ‘images’ ‘Les Anes’ and ‘Petites Litanies de Jesus’ retain
their popularity. Less-well-known is the seven-movement suite ‘Fancies’
composed in 1915. Pompa-Baldi presents the charming ‘Serenade’
which exudes all the sunshine of a Spanish holiday.
The final work is pure magic:
Astor Piazzolla’s Libertango is everything that can be imagined about
this Argentinian composer’s exploration of the genre. The notes explain that
the title is a ‘portmanteau’ word combining ‘Libertad’ (liberty) and ‘Tango’.
It is supposed to reflect Piazzolla’s break from ‘classical’ tango to the ‘new’
tango for which he is renowned. It has been arranged for many combinations. As
an enthusiast of the piano, I feel that this one is the best!
The liner notes by Peter Grove
are excellent and give all the information required to appreciate these
‘rarities.’ There are no pianists’ biographies: they can all be found on the
Internet. The text is printed in English and German.
This wide-ranging exploration of
largely romantic music is matched by an excellent recording, that allows all
the nuances of the universally impressive playing to emerge. It is a live recording, but there is nothing
here that intrudes from the audience. Applause is restricted to the final track.
Finally, many of the works
presented on this CD were extracts from the ‘full works.’ I will repeat my plea
recorded in previous reviews of the Husum Festival CDs. Could we please
have a doubler (at least) as there seems so much of interest that has fallen by
the wayside.
Track Listing:
Claude DEBUSSY (1862-1918) Ballade (1890/1903)
Fabian Müller (piano)
Gabriel DUPONT (1878-1914) from La maison dans les
dunes (1908/09): 1. Dans les dunes par un clair matin; 10. Houles
Severin von Eckardstein (piano)
Louis VIERNE (1870-1937) from 12 Préludes op. 36
(1914/15): 7. Evocation d'un jour d'angoisse; 12. Seul...
Mūza Rubackytė (piano)
Pancho VLADIGEROV (1899-1978) from 10 Impressions, op.
9 (1920): 8. Passion
Charles-Valentin ALKAN (1813-1888) ‘Le Grillon’, op.
60 bis (Nocturne No. 4) (c.1859)
Etsuko Hirose (piano)
Reynaldo HAHN (1874-1947) from Le Rossignol éperdu
(1912): 31. En caique;
51. Adieux au soir tombant
Valery ARZUMANOV (b. 1944) from 27 Pieces for (piano),
op. 74 (1985) To a Brighter Future; Forgotten and Abandoned; Dedication to
Mahler; Before the Exam
Leonid DESYATNIKOV (b. 1955) from Songs of Bukovina,
Prelude in E minor (2017)
Lukas Geniušas (piano)
Jean Louis NICODÉ (1853-1919) from "Ein
Liebesleben”, op. 22 (1880): 6. Reue; 8. Erinnerung
Simon Callaghan (piano)
Robert FUCHS (1847-1927) from Sonata No.1 in G flat
major, op. 19 (1877) 4. Allegro molto – Quasi presto
Ingrid Marsoner (piano)
Anton ARENSKY (1861-1906) from 24 Morceaux
caractéristiques, op. 36 (1894) 12. Intermezzo
Sina Kloke (piano)
Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) / Antonio POMPA-BALDI
(b.1974) Vocalise, op. 34 no.14 (1912, rev. 1915)
(arr. Roberto PIANA b.1971) Neapolitan Song: La Rosa
Gabriel GROVLEZ (1879-1944) Sérénade, from Fancies (1915)
Astor PIAZOLLA (1921-1992)/Roberto PIANA / Antonio
POMPA-BALDI Libertango (1974)
Antonio Pompa-Baldi (piano)
Rec. 18-25 August 2018, Schloss vor Husum
DANACORD DACOCD 839
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review
was first published.
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