Adolf Busch (1891-1952)
Divertimento for Thirteen Instruments
Theme and Variations for Two Pianos
Clarinet Sonata
Five Preludes and Fugues for String Quartet
Rudolf Serkin, Peter Serkin (pianos)
Harold Wright (clarinet)
rec. live, 1961-1982, Marlboro Music, Vermont, USA
PRISTINE AUDIO PACM115 [78]
With the title “Adolf Busch the Composer” Pristine and those who made this disc happen could hardly be more direct. Otherwise primarily known as an eminent and masterly violinist and conductor, Busch was a fluent composer of music in an idiom founded on late nineteenth century Romanticism. He was also tutor to Erica Morini, Stefi Geyer and Yehudi Menuhin. Rudolf Serkin, much associated with the Marlboro festival, married Adolf’s daughter. He was an adept advocate of the golden age of great violin concertos, as we can still hear (review review). There are quite a few other entry-point discs as well.
The present Pristine recordings, assembled from a period of some twenty years all at least a decade after Busch’s death, begin to do some justice to a composer who also wrote at least two violin sonatas (Pristine PACM114) - of which the second is stunning - a concerto for orchestra, a violin concerto and - wait for it - a quintet for saxophone and string quartet. The chamber music has already been paid some court so there is scope for further listener exploration after this Pristine entry. There is a CPO disc reviewed by PRB and no fewer than three CDs from Toccata reviewed by JW: two for some of the chamber music (vol 1 vol 2) and one for piano solo.
The half-hour-long Clarinet Sonata (1939-41) is at first in thrall to a mellifluous if somewhat glutinous cantabile. Its Scherzando struck me as Stanford-like; Stanford also revered Brahms. The finale, with foundations pile-driven deep into a desperately serious dignity, ultimately shows a predilection for a polar-opposite in floridly chuckling light-heartedness.
The relatively compact Theme and Variations for Two Pianos (1944) is variously centred and placid. It finally bids farewell with a slightly melancholy dignity. A treasured event, this work is played by the Serkins, father and son. Interestingly, both Peter Serkin and Rudolf Serkin championed the Reger Piano Concerto. Adolf Busch, too, was rather partial to Reger’s music. The brief, but to the point, casing note is written by Jürgen Schaarwächter of the Max-Reger Institut.
Like the Divertimento for Thirteen Instruments, the rich plum cake of the Five Preludes and Fugues for String Quartet belongs to the 1920s. Both are substantial works with six movements and five respectively. Of the two, the ‘patternism’ fugal aspect of the string quartet substantially trammels what we hear. The Prelude sections compensate with their densely curtained Zemlinsky-like lyricism. The easily-bruised, peachy tenderness of the prelude of the Lento (III) is remarkable. The Mendelssohnian Molto vivace sends the light-as-down faery host scurrying around the streets of Leipzig. This is nicely recorded, well balanced and engagingly played.
As for the twenty-minute Divertimento, the brevity of the six short movements suits the concept of a Divertimento well. Nothing is so long as to be earth-bound. The chuckling harmoniemusik of the Alla marcia recalls both Mozart and Richard Strauss. The Andante (II) makes a drastic 180 degrees change of course. It is calm and even sensuous - a lovely piece. The rowdy Scherzo resolves into a volcanic waltz. Then comes a scattily irrepressible Presto. One can see how this work, up-scaled, could easily have ended up as a concerto for orchestra; one of life’s paths not taken. The penultimate andante cantabile is a sweetly Mozartean serenade, laying the ground for a confiding and discreetly smiling Allegro con spirito. The recording has some slightly harsh edges but the impressive playing of this complex piece suggests a long investment in rehearsal.
I would be remiss if I did not add a mention of the cover artwork. This features an indelibly memorable and colourised photograph of Adolf Busch. He stares, challengingly yet modestly, straight at the camera and at the observer. He looks to be in his mid-late thirties.
This is music of the twentieth century but with its deep and melodious language in hock to the final quarter of the nineteenth.
Rob Barnett
Ensembles
Divertimento for Thirteen Instruments
Odile Renault (flute), Rudolf Vrbsky (oboe), Cheryl Hill (clarinet), Stefanie Przybylska (bassoon), Robin Graham, Stewart Rose (horn), Henry Nowak (trumpet), Neil Grover (timpani), Isidore Cohen, Irene Serkin (violin), Caroline Levine (viola), Robie Brown Dan (cello), Carolyn Davies (double bass); Marlboro College Persons Auditorium, 8 August 1982
Preludes and Fugues
Pina Carmirelli, Pasquale Pellegrino (violin), Fausto Anzelmo (viola), Francesco Strano (cello)
Marlboro College Persons Auditorium, 9 August 1974