It's hard to think that this CD is already Volume 5 in a series of
recordings of music by Fritz Brun. After all, Brun is probably unknown to
the majority of listeners - whether academics or plain music-lovers. If you
realise that Brun was a Swiss composer, and that Guild is a Swiss
record-company, this might offer some kind of explanation. The first four
CDs in the series featured some of the composer's ten symphonies, while the
present one comprises three of Brun's works for piano and orchestra. All in
all they very much succeed in raising the profile of this
seriously-underrated composer, who certainly merits wider recognition beyond
his homeland.
Composer, conductor and pianist Fritz Brun was born in Lucerne in 1878.
His secondary-school-teacher father died when Fritz was just eight years
old. After initial piano lessons, which also provided him with the
much-needed facility to contribute to the family income by playing the
harmonium in the local Penitentiary Church, Brun was awarded a scholarship
to complete his musical studies in Cologne, Germany. He subsequently
travelled to London, where he earned a living as a piano teacher and
arranger of music-hall songs. Returning to Switzerland, he worked as an
orchestral conductor and choral director, before finally retiring to his
Lake Lugano villa, to concentrate on composing.
The first work on the CD, Brun's
Concerto for Piano and
Orchestra, was completed on 20 May 1946, and is strongly linked
with pianist Franz Josef Hirt (1899-1985), himself a native of Luzern, and
who was the work's sole champion until his death some twenty-six years after
the composer's. A contemporary review of Hirt's Zürich performance of the
concerto on 13 January 1948 praises Brun not only for composing an excellent
work amidst an apparently disappointing choice of other concertos at the
same time, but also for having succeeded in integrating its solo part with
the orchestra so as to satisfy both solo and symphonic demands. A Berne
review of the same performance praised the work's contrasting 'burlesque
ideas, gallant bows' and 'colourful, interesting twilight sections'. Of the
slow movement, it read: 'Someone, who is capable today of withdrawing into
such serenity to create such a beautiful sound world, should be really
admired'.
I am a great aficionado of the Romantic Piano Concerto
per se,
but one who would usually not find too much to write home about in a work
composed roughly half-way through the last century. I was rather intrigued,
following the Berne critic's appraisal of the
Andante sostenuto
slow movement, at least to see what Brun's concerto was all about. The
work's opening is a surprise already - the piano gives out the principal
theme unaccompanied, marked 'semplice' (simply) by the composer, and is in
no way full of virtuosic octaves, but somewhat more akin to the gentle start
of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto. Even in the opening twenty seconds or
so, before the orchestra joins in, Brun has something individual to say.
This he delivers in a unique manner, encapsulating, somewhat, the spirit of
what is ultimately to follow - save for the later technical difficulties of
the first and third movements, which apparently caused Hirt to have
'bleeding fingers'. The work has a stylistically-eclectic nature, but one
which is firmly homogenised and integrated. Here is no Neo-Romantic
anachronism or pastiche, as the rest of the opening
Allegro
moderato confirms.
The extremely attractive slow movement is a model of concise scoring, in
which pairs of (solo) violas, cellos and basses open with a longer,
chorale-like introduction, before the piano joins in. Here Brun later makes
a particularly effective use of solo clarinet. The ensuing Rondo finale is
traditionally cast, but very effectively rounds the work off. It seems that
there are no metronome markings at all, leaving it up to soloist and
conductor to interpret the composer's concise Italian tempo instructions and
arrive at the ideal speed throughout. This is something they achieve
absolutely unfalteringly.
The
Variations for String Orchestra and Piano on an Original
Theme consist of a set of eight variations that follow each
other without break, except in the case of short pauses occurring after
Variation 4 and 6 respectively. Brun has already shown masterly skills in
this particular genre, in the Chaconne of his Fifth Symphony, and the Finale
of his Sixth. He appears to favour sequences of contrasting variations,
rather than the slowly-progressing or cyclical variety. The most important
is Variation 7 (Largo - espressivo), which stands as a slow movement, and is
considerably longer than the preceding ones. It's only just a little
shorter than the final Variation 8 - itself a fairly intricate fugue.
At this juncture it is interesting to examine the titles used by the
composer for the three works recorded here. Normally, where German is being
used, the usual word for piano is 'Klavier' - hence 'Klavierkonzert' for
'Piano Concerto', rather than 'Konzert für Pianoforte .' - true,
'Pianoforte' exists in German, but is not usually the first word of choice.
Brun was from the German-speaking part of Switzerland, so this might account
for this slightly uncommon usage - however, it does not really affect the
symphonic balance or weighting between piano and orchestra.
On the other hand the word order is significant in this second work on the
CD - these are
Variationen für Streichorchestra und Klavier
('Variations for String Orchestra and Piano'), which suggests the work is
conceived as a concertante piece, where the piano is the principal
instrument, rather than the out-and-out
prima donna it can be in a
regular showpiece concerto. This is not to diminish the piano's role or
importance in the work, but to emphasize that both forces are seen more as
equal protagonists in the musical argument. The final variation is a good
example of this balance, especially with its unpretentious ending.
In the last piece, another similar concertante work for piano and
orchestra, Brun restores the solo instrument to pole position, with the
title of
Divertimento für Klavier und Streicher
('Divertimento for Piano and Strings'). The work, while continuous,
effectively divides into five sections, basically alternating quick with
slow. The penultimate
Lento (slow) section - an extended episode
which opens with a lengthy string introduction - is the most beautiful
section of the work as a whole. Certainly more enigmatic than the other two
works recorded, conductor Adriano's advice that 'It must be heard at least
twice before our ears can enjoy it with relaxation and even with a certain
sense of humour' is especially sound, and particularly as the ending simply
seems to creep up on the listener with such alacrity that you wonder whether
you've missed anything in the lead-up. Once more, the title gives a little
further insight into the work - it is for 'Streicher' ('Strings'), rather
than 'Streichorchester' ('String Orchestra') like the Variations - and
imparts it with a definite chamber-music quality. This is seen only in
Brun's other somewhat similarly-scored isolated Piano Quintet movement,
which dates from 1902, some fifty or so years earlier.
If you've never heard any music by Fritz Brun, I urge you to do so, and
there is surely no better vehicle than this superbly-presented CD of works
for piano and orchestra. Every aspect is first class - the playing, both
from the Bratislava Symphony Orchestra and fellow-Slovakian soloist Tomáš
Nemec, to the outstanding and faithfully-captured recording. Add in
Adriano's immense contribution, not only as conductor, but also in providing
the most extensive sleeve-notes - and which have further been carefully
anglicised by
Ian Lace -
and you have a CD that should not only introduce Brun's distinctive style,
but in a total package than surely cannot fail to delight.
Philip R Buttall
Reviews of other releases in this series
Symphony No. 9 & Aus dem Buch Hiob
GMCD 7306
Symphony Nos. 5 & 10
GMCD 7320
Symphony Nos. 6 & 7
GMCD 7372
Symphony No. 1 & Overture to a Jubilee Celebration
GMCD 7395
Symphony No. 8 - Fritz Brun dirigiert Fritz Brun
GHCD 2351
There is also a
Sterling CD of Symphony No. 3.
