Charles Tomlinson GRIFFES (1884-1920)
Three Tone Pictures, Op.5 (1. The Lake at Evening [2:48]; 2. The Vale of Dreams
[3:09]; 3. The Night Winds [1:56])
Fantasy pieces, Op.6 (4. Bacarolle [6:38]; 5. Notturno [5:56]; 6. Scherzo
[4:21])
A Winter Landscape [5:23]
Piano Sonata [15:17]
Samuel BARBER (1910-1981)
Nocturne, Op.33 [3:37];
Ballade, Op.46 [5:15]
Piano Sonata, Op.26 [18:19]
Lodewijk Crommelin (Piano)
rec. 29-31 March, 31 July 2010, Koepelkerk in Renswoude, Netherlands.
FUTURE CLASSICS 112 [72:40] 
Up until I received this disc the only work of Griffes that I knew was his
Two Sketches based on Indian Themes of 1917 for string quartet. This
was from a two CD set entitled Unknown String Quartets Vol.1 (VoxBox
1157742) a little treasure trove of undiscovered delights: see also Vol.2,
(VoxBox 1157752) and Chamber Works by Women Composers (VoxBox 1157452)
for a thrilling and surprising experience. Therefore I was intrigued by
the prospect of hearing more by this American composer whose death at just
35 from influenza robbed us all of a real talent if this disc and the Sketches
are anything to go by. These pieces are just so beautiful you want to replay
them over and over again. Romantic? Certainly but so lush they are irresistible.
Before turning to composition Griffes had studied the piano and performed
regularly as soloist, accompanist and chamber musician and it certainly shows
in his writing. The composer who came most readily to mind on listening to
these works was Szymanowski with even a whiff of Scriabin thrown in. There
are piano works by Bax that have elements similar to those I found in these
pieces. This is the case with all the works other than the Piano Sonata.
They are so very evocative, coming as they do from the pen of a composer who
also had a love of literature and poetry. The titles are poetic in nature,
which led to their publisher encouraging Griffes to attach snatches of poems
as if to help explain their origin. There is in fact no specific connection
and certainly no need whatsoever to have their content explained. They are
so totally expressive; their title is sufficient.
The Three Tone Pictures are truly delightful, short but so perfectly
formed they need not a single extra note. The three Fantasy Pieces
are slightly longer but just as brilliant in their economy, as is A Winter
Landscape. The Piano Sonata dating from 1917-1918 is much more
powerful. It is considered Griffes’ most original composition, regarded by
some critics at the time as being a little too experimental for their liking;
of course it doesn’t sound that way today. The Swiss pianist Rudolph Ganz,
who had introduced both Debussy and Ravel to American audiences, said of the
Sonata in 1918 that it was “... free from all foreign influences. He is going
his own way ...” There had been a concerted attempt in the early years of
the century, and even before, to establish an “American” sound. This was certainly
achieved by the likes of Copland, Ives, William Schuman, and later by Bernstein.
It continues with the minimalist school of Reich and Adams, but I’m not sure
this sonata can be said to be a contribution to that. I can’t discern anything
in it that is “American”. However, I appreciate it for what it is: a wonderful
piano work which I’m sure will find favour with any lover of piano music.
Samuel Barber, by comparison with Griffes, is just about the most well known
of all American composers, certainly of the last century. He continues to
be so today. His first orchestral work was the Overture to the School for
Scandal, completed at the age of 23. He was firm in his beliefs that the
phase of atonality was one he did not want to pursue. In 1971 he wrote, “I
think that what’s been holding composers back a great deal is that they feel
they must have a new style every year. This, in my case would be hopeless
... I just go on doing, as they say, my thing. I believe this takes a certain
courage.” How very true! It is probably the orchestration for string orchestra
of the slow movement from his string quartet that has become one of the best
known pieces of music for strings of all time. It regularly tops the charts
of people’s favourite works. It is one of those pieces that people know though
very often are unaware of who composed it. Barber’s music is generally very
approachable and this certainly goes for his piano works. Those on this disc
are a good example of them. Like Griffes’ works they are delicately beautiful
and extremely atmospheric. Maybe the fact that he began as a singer helps
explain this. Indeed, he wrote a lot of songs and choral music and the Nocturne
and Ballade are full of ‘singing’ lines. This is so even though
he was suffering from depression when he spent nine months composing the barely
six minute long Ballade, though it does bear evidence of restlessness.
The Sonata for Piano of 1948 is by contrast very ‘modern’ in sound.
Like Griffes’ earlier sonata this is a powerful work that puts considerable
demands on the pianist. Not that this would have presented any problem to
Horowitz who premièred it in Havana in 1949. He said that despite its having
been written “... in the modern idiom ... Barber has put warmth and a heart
into the work that the ultra-modern compositions, with their mechanical pyrotechnics,
lack”. It will, no doubt, come as a surprise to most people, as it did to
me, that it was commissioned by none other than Irving Berlin and Richard
Rodgers. It took him two years to complete. It has its dissonant moments.
Barber used twelve tone rows as a tool in the work though not to the same
extent as those composers who wrote their works using that scale alone, like
Schoenberg and Webern. It has found favour amongst pianists who enjoy the
challenge of playing it. As the booklet explains, it fills a gap between the
purely romantic and the avant-garde. It is a work that rewards repeated listening
and one is left in an excited mood when the immensely powerful final Fuga:
allegro con spirito comes to a thunderous conclusion. Anyone who, like
me, knows too little of Barber’s piano music (48 opus numbers in total), is
left wanting to hear more of this exciting and expressive music.
All the music on the disc is played with considerable power, panache and obvious
reverence by Lodewijk Crommelin. It is to be hoped he will record more American
piano works as there is much left to discover.
Steve Arloff
Considerable power, panache and obvious reverence.