Rarities of Piano Music at Schloss vor Husum from the August 2022 Festival

This CD presents a selection of piano music from the August 2022 Festival at the Schloss vor Husum in the Schleswig-Holstein region of Germany. It is the 36th volume in this series which began in 1987. It is an edition that I look forward to reviewing every year. In 2022 there were two festivals: the first in June which replaced the Covid-19-cancelled festival of the previous year. Highlights were issued on DACOCD 949, reviewed here. The second was held in August.

I cannot recall having heard Beethoven’s Polonaise in C major, op.89 (1814) before. It was dedicated to the Russian Empress, Elizabeth Alexeievna. Beethoven had met her at the Congress of Vienna which had been convened to create a new political landscape for Europe after the defeat of Napoleon. Matthias Kirschnereit gives a splendid account of this piece that is untroubled from the first bar to the last. It is usually regarded as a precursor to Chopin’s monumental series of sixteen surviving Polonaises. The track listing wrongly gives the date as 1802: it is correct in the liner notes.

Kyiv-born pianist Vadym Kholodenko performed Franz Schubert’s Sonata in E flat, D568. The present CD gives the second movement, Andante molto. The work was originally conceived in D flat major (1817, not 1807 as stated in the track listing) but was revised posthumously around 1826. The booklet states that this is Sonata No.8: it is No.7. The slow movement presents two lyrical but contrasting themes, the first of which unfolds in melancholy mood with the second being livelier. The soloist creates a feeling of desolation. Kholodenko also gives a perfect performance of fellow-countryman Valentin Silvestrov’s Bagatelle op.1, no.1, Allegretto. Despite its late date (2005) it is full of Viennese Romanticism.

I always wish I had devoted more time to the study of Scriabin’s piano music. His complex language developed from “youthful echoes of Chopin” to a deeply personal language of his own making, which explored the limits of chromaticism and technical possibilities. Jean-Paul Gasparian presents the gentle Désir, op.57, no.1 (1908) and the exquisite Prelude, op.37, no.1 (1903). There is nothing challenging here for the listener, just pure magic.

Mélanie Hélène (Mel) Bonis was born in Paris in 1858. She studied with César Franck at the Conservatoire. Much of her catalogue is piano music. An edition of her complete work for this instrument has been issued in nine volumes. The Romance sans Paroles in G flat major, op.,56 (1905), played by Nicolas Stavy, nods towards Mendelssohn and Fauré. It features an elaborately interwoven “right hand melody [with a] finely woven accompaniment shared between the hands.” It is comforting romantic pianism.

Ignace Strasfogel (1909-1994) is a new name to me. He was a Polish pianist, conductor, and composer. The Variations on a Well-Known Tune (1946) were written for his six-year-old son, Ian. Each variation is “a portrait of family life.” The well-kent tune is the American classic, Home on the Range. This is no cowboy serenade, but a sophisticated take on several musical styles with nods to cabaret, Hindemith, Mussorgsky, and the Baroque. Kolja Lessing perfectly mirrors the eclectic nature of this music. Lessing also plays the stark tone-poem for piano, Au pays dévasté, op.155 (1914) by Cécile Chaminade. The liner notes are accurate in stating that this troubled piece is so different to the charming salon miniatures, for which she was well-known.

Nadejda Vlaeva contributes two contrasting works that deserve better recognition. The Piano Piece, op.101, no.3 (1897), Allegro non troppo by Philipp Scharwenka (brother of the better-known Franz Xaver Scharwenka) shows that Robert Schumann’s influence was still prevalent at the very end of the nineteenth century. It is given a refined performance here. The liner notes explain that Friedrich Gulda’s Play Piano Play (1971) is a collection of pieces that “encourages classically trained pianists…to loosen up and learn techniques of jazz and improvisation.” To this end, the sixth number, Presto possible, uses “stride piano” left hand and improvised right hand figurations. This brilliantly played piece would make a splendid encore for any recital.

Paul Guinery made his debut at the Husum Festival with a selection from the work of less-well-known composers such as Iris Taylor, Harry Engelman and Madeleine Dring. Included on this CD is Arnold Bax’s hauntingly beautiful Oliver’s Sleepless Night written as part of the score for David Lean’s film, Oliver Twist (1948). Nothing here of Bax’s Celtic Twilight. Billy Mayerl is one of those musicians who crosses the popular/classical divide. Often syncopated and jazzy, but sometimes downright sentimental, his tunes are always a delight. Jill All Alone in G major was completed in 1955 and dedicated to his wife. It has more than hints of Ivor Novello in the progress of this nostalgic waltz. I have remarked before that “Jill” was clearly a fascinating lady to inspire this delicious musical portrait.

Another work using a ‘found tune’ is Antonio Pompa-Baldi’s Smile-Improvisation on a Chaplin Tune (2021). This majors on the well-loved romantic theme Smile, first made a hit song by Nat King Cole. It was later covered by the late Tony Bennett, Judy Garland and Lady Gaga amongst many others. It is given the full treatment in this delicious performance by the composer. Pompa-Baldi also contributes the Chilean Enrique Soro Barriga’s Andante appassionato, op.2 (1901). Pure romanticism oozes from every bar. Then there is his account of Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalli’s Tre Studi da Concerto, op.31, no.1, Vivacissimo (1915, ed. 1929). This short piece is an express train, developing intricate right-hand sequences and short, sharp harmonic shocks.

Berlinskaya and Ancelle Piano Duo’s performance of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Cradle Song from Act 3 of his opera Sadko, is delightful. Arranged by Victor Babin, it gives a dreamy account of this aria. The CD closes with the Duo’s performance of Alexander Tsfasman’s Fantasy on George Gershwin “The Man I Love.” No date is given. Tsfasman was born in Odessa, studied alongside Vladimir Horowitz but developed as a jazz pianist, composer, conductor, arranger, publisher, and activist. He was an important figure in Russian jazz in the middle of the twentieth century. Tsfasman was obsessed by the music of George Gershwin. The liner notes state the song was transcribed by Igor Tsygankov (no dates) from a recording. This fine tune originally from Lady, Be Good, then reused in Strike up the Band, is given a characteristically thoughtful performance by the Duo.

I cannot fault anything about this latest release of music from the Husum Festival. The performances are ideal, the repertoire is well-chosen and full of interest, the recording is first rate, and the liner notes are most helpful. The only downside is that I wish it were a double or a treble CD: but again, I guess the entire series of recitals cannot be included…

I look forward to reviewing the 2023 editions. 

Track Listing:
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Polonaise in C major, op.89 (1814)
Matthias Kirschnereit (piano)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Piano Sonata No.7 in E flat major, D568, II. Andante molto (1817)
Valentin Silvestrov (b.1937)
Bagatelle op.1, no.1, Allegretto (2005)
Vadym Kholodenko (piano)
Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915)
Désir, op.57, no.1 (1908); Prelude, op.37, no.1 (1903)
Jean-Paul Gasparian (piano)
Mélanie (Mel) Bonis (1858-1937)
Romance sans paroles in G flat major, op.56 (1905)
Nicolas Stavy (piano)
Cécile Chaminade (1857-1944)
Au pays dévasté, op.155 (1914)
Ignace Strasfogel (1909-1994)
Variations on a Well-Known Tune (1946)
Kolja Lessing (piano)
Philipp Scharwenka (1847-1917)
5 Piano Pieces, op.101, no.3, Allegro non troppo (1897)
Friedrich Gulda (1930-2000)
Play Piano Play “10 Pieces for Yuko,” no.6, Presto possible (1971)
Nadejda Vlaeva (piano)
Arnold Bax (1883-1953)
Oliver’s Sleepless Night (from Oliver Twist) (1948)
Billy Mayerl (1902-59)
Jill All Alone in G major (1955)
Paul Guinery (piano)
Enrique Soro Barriga (1884-1954)
Andante appassionato, op.2 (1901)
Riccardo Pick-Mangiagalli (1882-1949)
3 Studi da Concerto, op.31, no.1, Vivacissimo (1915, ed. 1929)
Antonio Pompa-Baldi (b.1974)
Smile-Improvisation on a Chaplin Tune (2021)
Antonio Pompa-Baldi (piano)
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908), arr. Victor Babin
Cradle Song (from Sadko) (1937)
Alexander Tsfasman (1906-71), arr. Igor Tsygankov
Fantasy on George Gershwin “The Man I Love.” (?) 

Berlinskaya and Ancelle Piano Duo (piano)
With thanks to MusicWeb International where this review was first published.