The opening work on
this compilation from the Husum 2003
Festival is probably the most impressive
– it is certainly the longest. Les
Soirées de Nazelles consists
of twelve variations designed to give
an impression of some of the composer’s
musical friends who were visiting him
at his house, Grand Coteau, in Noizay.
The programme notes point out that the
‘variations’ have an enigmatic, almost
Satie-esque quality with titles to match
- for example ‘casualness and discretion’
and ‘being generous.’ There is no obvious
theme, this being replaced by a ‘Préambule’
at the start of the work. I suspect
that it might have been helpful to have
allocated separate tracks for these
variations, though the notes usefully
do give the timings. There is the usual
mix of styles that one comes to expect
from Poulenc. It amazes me that such
diversity manages to sound coherent.
There are impressions of Massenet, Chopin
and the Circus; music hall, the cabaret
and café society. Perhaps all
Paris is here – certainly there are
moments of charm and romance – lovers
walking in the moonlight. However these
are swept away by clowning and even
a hint of Yankee Jazz. The final ‘movement’
is not the expected romp but a quiet
exploration of the piano’s lower registers.
This work is beautifully played by the
British pianist Jonathan Plowright.
Marie-Catherine Girod
has chosen two works by composers who
barely have a place in the public eye.
Of course, everyone knows that Florent
Schmitt is a great composer; however
a brief look at the catalogues shows
only half a dozen CDs dedicated to his
works. There are another couple of dozen
pieces that appear on compilations.
He has written symphonic works that
nod to Wagner and Richard Strauss although
perhaps he is best remembered for his
great Piano Quintet. Schmitt
was also a competent pianist and this
is reflected in over 200 works for solo
piano or duet.
The present Valse-Nocturne
is described by the programme notes
as being comparable to the salon styles
of Moszkowski or Chabrier. Yet to me
there is more to this Nocturne;
here is a greater depth than most
of these ‘period pieces’ normally yield.
The piece is finely constructed and
has melting harmonies that raise the
hairs on the back of the neck. Perhaps
the time is ripe for Florent Schmitt’s
piano opus to be revisited?
The composer Pierre
de Bréville is hardly a household
name. He was born in 1861 and studied
under César Franck and Thomas
Dubois. He was not entirely dedicated
to composition as he spent time teaching
at the Scola Cantorum and wrote musical
reviews for the Mercure de France. His
magnum opus appears to have been the
opera Eros Vainqueur. The composer
died at in 1947. The present work, Portraits
de maîtres pays tribute to
a number of musical influences including
Franck, Chausson, D’Indy, Fauré
and Wagner. The very nature of the work
makes it a little derivative and perhaps
retro (the date of composition is not
known). However it is unified
and totally entertaining – a fine example
of forgotten romantic piano music revived.
The Brazilian pianist
Arturo Sudbrack Jamardo contributes
two delightful pieces from Latin America.
The first is by the Argentine composer
Carlos Guastavino and is entitled Bailecito
which means ‘little dance.’ This is
one of those near perfect works that
is impossible to fault or imagine being
composed in any other way. Influenced
by his country’s folk traditions – both
native and Spanish - this work is one
of his earliest mature pieces.
Of course Heitor Villa-Lobos
is the most important figure in 20th
century Latin American music. He wrote
a vast amount of music for all media
including twelve symphonies and five
piano concerti. He is perhaps best remembered
for his stunning Bachianas Brasileiras.
What many people do
not know, however is that he was entirely
self taught as a composer. His music
has such a technically competent feel
about it that it suggests a deep understanding
of all aspects of musical composition.
Yet there is never ever anything academic
about Villa-Lobos’s music. It pulsates
with Latin American rhythmic vitality
and always seems to fuse European art
music to the sounds of his native Brazil.
This fusion is particularly
obvious in this present work, Dansa
do Indio Branco from his piano suite
Ciclo Brasileiro which contains
four pieces of considerable technical
difficulty. It provides the pianist
with an excellent forum to display his
virtuosity.
Wilhelm Stenhammar,
the Swedish composer, is represented
by a lovely movement from his Late
Summer Nights Suite. This was published
in 1914 and is very much a period piece.
It can, perhaps, be criticised for being
in thrall to Chopin and Liszt but having
certain classical influences. Stenhammar
is one of those composers who ought
to be better known. He wrote a considerable
amount of music including two symphonies
and two piano concertos. Yet his name
remains comparatively unknown to most
non-Scandinavian listeners. Fredrik
Ullén, a compatriot of Stenhammar
takes this piece seriously and creates
an atmospheric mood that certainly brings
‘Late Summer Nights’ to mind.
Ullén also plays
the Four Preludes of Alexander
Scriabin’s Opus 22. These date from
1897 which was the year of his marriage.
Perhaps the most remarkable is the highly
chromatic No. 2 which also experiments
with rhythmic techniques that were later
to become a vital part of the composer’s
vocabulary. They are always a pleasure
to listen to and especially so in this
particular version.
A friend of mine always
used to have this thing about Kaikhosru
Sorabji; he would say to me that looking
for CDs by this composer was a bit like
asking for something behind the counter
in a less than savory ‘bookshop’. It
was so specialized that most record
stores are not up to speed with his
catalogue. And my friend was right.
There seems to be no ‘big’ CD record
label willing to take the risk with
this ‘notorious’ composer. Of course
there are reasons for this. Some of
his works are humungous to say the least
– lasting several hours (and these are
not operas but ‘sonatas’!). Some of
these works are regarded as being ‘impossible’
to play. And then there was the self-imposed
ban on public performances in the 1930s.
Yet the fact remains that he is probably
the greatest of the unknown composers
of the United Kingdom.
The Transcendental
Studies are amongst the composer’s
shorter pieces dating from the war years.
The present study, No.13, is a study
in trills and tremolos and it sounds
fiendish. There is no doubt that Scriabin
is somewhere in the background of this
highly seductive and extremely sensual
music. However few listeners will be
able to give their full attention to
the complete set of studies at one sitting
– there are one hundred of them lasting
for several hours!
For the record the
composer was born in Chingford in 1892;
he was the son of a Parsi father and
a Sicilian mother.
The Verdi piece is
a genuine rarity. In fact I do not think
I have ever heard a piece of original
piano music by this operatic genius.
Of course there are plenty of arrangements
of his potboilers. Apparently there
are only two works extant for piano
– the present Romance and a posthumous
waltz.
The present work is
what one might call ‘attractive’ and
it is certainly salon music. There is
no way that one could imagine the great
scores such as Macbeth and Aida
having come from the same pen. And it
is not a juvenile work – written in
1844 when the composer was 31. Just
the sort of thing to impress ‘dyed in
the wool’ operatic enthusiasts with:
simple accompaniment, pleasing tune
and some nods to contemporary ‘pop’
Italian music.
Who was Julian Scriabin?
Well as can be guessed he is related
to Alexander. In fact he was the second
child by his mistress, Tatyana de Schloezer,
who had subsequently become the second
Mrs. Scriabin.
Julian was born in
1908. He was precocious and learnt the
piano; he was an accomplished artist
and wrote poetry. All this was too good
to last. He drowned in mysterious circumstances
in the River Kneiper in 1919, aged only
11.
Assuming that the four
preludes given here are genuinely by
the young lad, they show a degree of
technical ability and compositional
skill that would have come to fruition
had he lived. There is definitely a
‘son like father’ sound to these short
pieces however Alkan also appears to
have been an influence. They are an
interesting addition to the canon of
romantic piano music and deserve more
than an occasional airing. I notice
that Andrea Bacchetti’s gorgeous performance
of these is not the only one in the
catalogue; Evgeny Zarafiants has recorded
them on Naxos 554145.
The last work on this
CD is a set of attractive if not overly
inspiring Brilliant Variations (on
a Donizetti theme "Anna Bolena")
by the father of Russian music,
Mikhail Glinka. Glinka had the pleasure
of meeting Donizetti in Italy in 1830;
in fact he was at the premiere of the
opera on which he was later to write
his variations. They are best described
as the sort of music that would have
been extremely popular in the Parisian
salons of the day. However, there is
no doubt about the virtuosity required
to play this music – especially in the
coda.
Once again Danacord
have given an interesting and entertaining
selection from this great music festival
dedicated to the lesser known romantic
piano repertoire. If this is a representative
sample of the week’s programme it must
have been a truly educational experience.
The CD sounds superb,
in spite of the caveat printed in the
programme notes about the difficulties
in producing an ideal Steinway sound
in a low-roofed castle drawing room.
John France
see also review
by Jonathan Woolf
other
recordings in the Husum series
DANACORD DACOCD 619 [74:53] 
