MusicWeb International One of the most grown-up review sites around 2023
Approaching 60,000 reviews
and more.. and still writing ...

Search MusicWeb Here Acte Prealable Polish CDs
 

Presto Music CD retailer
 
Founder: Len Mullenger                                    Editor in Chief:John Quinn             

Some items
to consider

new MWI
Current reviews

old MWI
pre-2023 reviews

paid for
advertisements

 

Forgotten Recordings
Forgotten Recordings
All Forgotten Records Reviews

 


Songs to Harp from
the Old and New World


all Nimbus reviews

 


Follow us on Twitter


Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Editor in Chief
John Quinn
Contributing Editor
Ralph Moore
Webmaster
   David Barker
Postmaster
Jonathan Woolf
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger

REVIEW
Plain text for smartphones & printers


Gerard Hoffnung CDs

Advertising on
Musicweb



Donate and get a free CD

 

New Releases

Naxos Classical


Nimbus Podcast


Obtain 10% discount


Special offer 50% off

Musicweb sells the following labels
Acte Préalable
(THE Polish label)
Altus 10% off
Atoll 10% off
CRD 10% off
Hallé 10% off
Lyrita 10% off
Nimbus 10% off
Nimbus Alliance
Prima voce 10% off
Red Priest 10% off
Retrospective 10% off
Saydisc 10% off
Sterling 10% off


Follow us on Twitter

Subscribe to our free weekly review listing
sample

Sample: See what you will get

Editorial Board
MusicWeb International
Founding Editor
   
Rob Barnett
Senior Editor
John Quinn
Seen & Heard
Editor Emeritus
   Bill Kenny
Editor in Chief
   Vacant
MusicWeb Webmaster
   David Barker
MusicWeb Founder
   Len Mullenger


Support us financially by purchasing this disc from

Florent SCHMITT (1870-1958) Complete Original Works for Piano Duet and Duo - Volume 2
Sur Cinq Notes Op. 34 (for Piano 4-Hands)* (1906) [16:14]
Reflets d’Allemagne op. 28 (for Piano 4-Hands) (1905) [23:40]
8 Courtes Pièces Op. 41 (for Piano 4-Hands)* (1907-08) [19:13]
Invencia Piano Duo (Andrey Kasparov and Oksana Lutsyshyn)
rec. Wilson G. Chandler Recital Hall, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia, USA, 18 May 2011 (Op.34); 4 June 2010 (Op.28); 9 July 2011 (Op. 41) DDD
*World Premiere Recording
GRAND PIANO GP622 [59:07]

While Florent Schmitt was a major figure in French musical life prior to World War II, his music receded into semi-obscurity after his death in 1958. Interest only revived in the 1990s, thanks to the development of the CD. He subscribed to no particular school and his music evinces a variety of styles and influences (see an excellent article by my colleague Leslie De'Ath). Much of it is for the piano, either solo, four-hands or for two pianos, and much of the piano music was later orchestrated.
 
Prior to World War I Schmitt wrote three suites for piano four-hands, each based on a five-note motif that is never altered throughout the suite. Two of these are recorded on this disc, both world-premiere recordings. It is a tribute to Schmitt’s skill that he is able produce music of such variety while keeping to his self-imposed strictures. Sur Cinq Notes ranges through numerous styles, with homages to Fauré (Mélodie), Chopin (Barcarolle) and Schmitt’s friend Ravel (Pastorale) as well as a distinctly French mazurka. The concluding Farandole reaches a dervish-like intensity that is reminiscent of Schmitt’s better-known “exotic” style (cf. La Tragédie de Salomé or the Janiana symphony).
 
The 8 Courtes Pièces is the second of the two “five-note” suites on this disc. It has a more pedagogic intent than Op. 34 and features examples of various musical styles common in France in the first decade of the twentieth century. Neo-classicism is represented by two pieces, Menuet and Virelai, while the Sérénade prefigures Les Six. There is a distinctly un-Ravelian Boléro and the Complainte and Cortège combine older forms with new harmonies. Both of the “five-note” suites show great charm in addition to technical prowess.
 
Reflets d’Allemagne is on a larger scale than the other two suites, portraying eight different cities in Germany and Austria. Especially noteworthy are the pieces describing Lübeck and Dresden. While structurally the most impressive of the three, it lacks some of the verve and charm of the other suites. Unlike the other two, Reflets d’Allemagne has been recorded twice before, once excellently by Leslie De'Ath and Anya Alexeyev (see review).
 
Kasparov and Lutsyshyn play with great clarity and precision, carefully bringing out the intrinsic two-piano nature of the music’s construction. They benefit from bright, sharp recording at Old Dominion University’s recital hall. This is the second volume in their four-volume traversal of Schmitt’s duet and duo piano music (see review of first volume). The entire set will greatly expand our knowledge of this distinctive composer.

William Kreindler