I was impressed and
enchanted by Hyperion's CD of the
two Stojowski piano concertos (CDA67314).
How could I pass up the chance to review
this collection of the solo piano music?
The Deux Pensees
Musicales are his Op. 1, approved
by his countryman Paderewski and by
Léo Délibes. These are
succulent morceaux tending to ape Chopin
but with a distinctly impressionistic
luxuriance. This vein is more eloquently
and sometimes more subtly explored in
the four pieces from Aspirations
Op. 39 (trs.8-11). The Deux
Orientales are similarly from
his Parisian years, mixing the gentle
breath of Romance with the masculine
gallop of Caprice. Neither is
preciously exotic. From the Op. 26 Morceaux
we also get the Chopin-Schuman
romance of Chant d'Amour, lovingly
rounded by Plowright who has us thinking
about Rachmaninov and Medtner from time
to time. The difference is that where
either of those composers might lean
towards profundity of expression, Stojowski
usually surrenders to a certain beguiling
prettiness. The big Op. 38 Fantasie
has a heady spontaneity which
made me think of the titled sonatas
of Macdowell and the more perfumed section
of the four Bax sonatas. This is carried
over into the Variations et Fugue
sur un thème original Op.
42. This work is dedicated 'a ma très
chère femme' where Stojowski
approaches Medtner in subtlety of mood
and quality of invention. The lento
ma non troppo rubato (tr. 20) is
outstanding and takes us well into Griffes
territory. The icing is blemished by
a rather conventional final flourish
and the initial stultifying academicism
of the Fugue. That said there is much
that is instantly and enduringly enjoyable
here Throughout Jonathan Plowright gives
the unwavering impression of a dedication
that reflects joy in discovery.
The strongly structured
and detailed notes are by Joseph A Herter.
Refreshingly, Herter touches on the
Stojowski discography as he moves from
work to work.
This is by no means
salon piano-stool stuff. Stojowski's
currency was counted out in talent-matched
ambition as well as commercial pragmatism.
Rob Barnett