The Aufbruch
und Tradition
title
of this disc, which translates to 'Departure
and Tradition' (or, according to the
CD booklet, 'New awakening and tradition'),
seems most apt for its interesting and
unusual programme, as most of the piano
pieces it contains are arrangements
of one form or another. In some cases,
though, these are sufficiently unusual
that they could not really have been
anticipated, least of all by their original
composers.
The disc opens with
a piano version of Bach's Chaconne from
his second Violin Partita, written by
that most ambitious editor of Bach works,
Ferruccio Busoni, who was himself also
a composer and keyboard virtuoso, even
if he is best remembered today for his
Bach transcriptions. There are various
other keyboard versions of music that
Bach originally wrote for a solo melodic
instrument, not only by Busoni, and
it always seems surprising just how
much implied music, both harmonic and
motivic, can be extrapolated into a
virtuosic arrangement for two constantly-occupied
hands. Busoni asserted, according to
the CD booklet, that "Bach went far
beyond the violin's capabilities [in
this Chaconne], so that the instrument
he chose is not adequate." Regardless
of the degree of presumption in this
statement (Bach knew his own musical
intentions, after all), the basic assertion
is borne out by the sheer complexity
of Busoni's arrangement.
However,
the virtuosic nature of the arrangement
makes it seem almost excessively ambitious,
and at times nearly overloads the music
with vulgar and arguably misplaced Romanticism.
No doubt, at the time this was written,
it was regarded as transforming a rather
understated violin piece into a spectacular
tour
de force
for the piano, and indeed it is a most
expertly created application of Romantic
sensibilities to Baroque music. More
than a century on, though, it sounds
dated in a way that Bach's own original
version never could be.
That isn't to say that
it's poor, however; it's just that some
listeners may consider it rather misguided.
On the contrary, for the non-purists
it is undoubtedly a spectacular concert
piece, and unquestionably enjoyable
for its sheer sonic splendour. There
are, though, certain passages that do
not come off quite as well as they might,
unfortunately: at times, grumbling low
notes sound rather muddy, and ambitiously
spread chords require the pianist to
play a series of chordal appoggiaturas
which greatly disrupt the flow of the
melodic line. This, in particular, is
one aspect in which this sounds excessively
Romantic and un-Bachian. Nevertheless,
Emma Schmidt produces a convincing and
sensitive performance; there is little
to fault in her playing, and she makes
the most of Busoni's interpretation
of Bach's music.
Another piece in which
Busoni had a particularly unexpected
hand is the second of Arnold Schönberg's
Three Piano Pieces, Op. 11. Schönberg
wrote these in 1909 and sent them to
Busoni, who at the time was considered
to be Liszt's natural successor, for
his comments. Although only eight years
Schönberg's senior, Busoni's Romantic
musical outlook was very different from
Schönberg's revolutionary approach,
and it is therefore not surprising that
Schönberg took a certain exception to
Busoni's impulsive attempt to arrange
the second of the three pieces. Evidently
acting with the best of intentions,
Busoni took it upon himself to make
the piece 'more pianistic' by adding
various embellishments. Schönberg reacted
by saying, according to the CD notes,
that "I cannot possibly publish my piece
together with an arrangement that shows
how I could have written it better."
Emma Schmidt plays
the three original Schönberg pieces
in order, and then follows them with
a recording of the Busoni version of
the second, thus providing a fascinating
opportunity to compare the two. The
Busoni is certainly a curiosity: although
the modifications are really quite small-scale,
and don't change the character of the
piece to any great extent, they do have
an odd effect on it. Busoni's additions
amount in the main to no more than occasional
embellishments to the existing music:
chords repeated softly up an octave,
arabesques and pianistic flourishes
superimposed here and there, and other
similarly Romantic affectations. The
bulk of the music remains identical,
but it is almost as though its language
has been comprehensively mired in the
previous generation's aesthetics, from
which Schönberg had consciously been
trying to escape. The Busoni therefore
comes across as a profoundly strange
creation, and some of his additions
seem quite amusingly inappropriate in
the context of Schönberg's intentionally
sparse language.
The least-known work
on the CD is a piano transcription of
Franz Schreker's Chamber Symphony by
Ignaz Strasfogel. The CD booklet waxes
lyrical about the quality of Schreker's
"magical musical world" and the unjustness
of his obscurity. On the evidence of
this one piece, I am inclined to agree,
though the language of the music is
far more Romantic than the booklet notes
led me to expect. Schreker, according
to the booklet, largely adhered to Schönberg's
aesthetic principles and eschewed conventional
musical motifs in favour of an environment
created of pure sound, which, wrote
Schreker, "is one of the most essential
expressive means in music drama, unequalled
for creating atmosphere." I am not familiar
with Schreker's work, and that description,
coupled with the fact that the piece
was written in 1916, led me to expect
a serial piece, perhaps with a colourfully
Bergian approach to tonality but without
much discernibly thematic identity.
Nothing could have
been further from the truth when I heard
it: in fact, this Chamber Symphony is
overtly Romantic in nature, and the
supposed abandonment of musical motifs
seems to mean no more than that Schreker
has taken a free, rhapsodic approach
to the composition. The motifs are certainly
there to be heard in all sections, anyway,
even if the music chooses to progress
through moods and colours rather than
repeating itself to any great extent;
though there is a degree of repetition,
particularly of the opening material.
Although the language of the music may
be slightly backward-looking, the piece
is thoroughly charming. At times (in
the Scherzo, for instance) it sounds
as 19th century as Grieg, whilst at
other times (such as the final Adagio)
its tonality becomes more dissonant,
and throughout it exhibits a penchant
for modulations that put one vaguely
in mind of Richard Strauss.
The solo-piano transcription
of a piece that was originally written
for an ensemble of such unusual instruments
as celesta, harmonium and harp (not
to mention piano, strings and brass)
is quite superb, and remarkably successful.
Schreker, it seems, was a master of
orchestral colour, and it would have
appeared unlikely that such an interestingly-scored
piece as this Chamber Symphony could
be reduced to a piano score and retain
more than a fraction of its colourful
character. Nevertheless, Strasfogel's
arrangement manages to succeed miraculously
well. This is helped, no doubt, by Emma
Schmidt's superb playing: perhaps more
than with any other piece on the disc,
she exhibits a great deal of musical
understanding of this piece and portrays
its kaleidoscope of characters with
great conviction, from the arrestingly
dreamlike and delicate opening section
to the exuberant and ecstatic scherzo.
The whole performance, and the piece
itself, is enchanting, and has certainly
had the effect of making me want to
hear the original orchestral version!
The
only piece on this CD which is not either
an arrangement itself, or coupled with
an arranged version, is Alban Berg's
Op. 1 Piano Sonata. This is a tightly-written
single-movement work which, again, is
played with understanding and conviction.
As a transitional piece between chromatic
late Romanticism and 20th century atonality,
the ten-minute work sits well alongside
the Schönberg pieces on the CD, though
its inclusion seems slightly unexpected
in that it's the only piece not to have
been tampered with by some other composer!
I can thoroughly recommend this CD,
therefore, not least for its generally
interesting and well-thought-out programme
and the excellent Schreker item. One
final point of interest should be made:
for your money you receive not one but
two CDs, both containing the same music!
The first CD is a standard stereo recording
whilst the second uses 5.1-channel DTS
Digital Surround sound. Unfortunately,
I do not own suitable equipment to allow
me to play the DTS CD, and attempting
to play it in my regular CD player,
or on my computer, resulted in unpleasant
white noise; hence the need for an ordinary
CD as well, presumably. However, the
second disc will be a worthwhile bonus
for anyone who does have suitable equipment.
Richard
Hallas
Emma
Schmidt (piano) 
