The easy-going charm of Emil Hartmann’s piano music is brought
to life very warmly by Cathrine Penderup in this Danacord twofer.
We can’t quite follow him chronologically since he was not much
given to dating his pieces but the influences and heritage is pretty
plain. One would expect the influence of Hardanger fiddle music and
we find it, though it’s by no means omni-present. In fact it’s
really only in From the Highlands that it makes itself audible,
the folkloric infusions adding materially to the delight of this playful
suite, full of dance, drollery and nostalgia. There are certainly
hints of Chopin in the Arabesque, Op.16 No.1 but it does
delve into other more discursive romantic waters too – Hartmann
is certainly a product of his time but he is not a slavish inheritor
of romantic declamation. The virtuosic pretensions of the Caprice
are very much a public and extrovert side of his nature, once again
revealing the Chopinesque colour of his writing.
The four sonatas are not quite what one may have been expected. Thoughts
of Grieg’s sonata should be put to one side. Two are in F major
and one of them is directly patterned after Mozart, the other a genial
light-hearted, simple work with a winsome but rewardingly lyrical
slow movement. The unfinished sonata in G minor has variations of
tempo and texture and is quite strongly characterised and enshrines
hints of Schumann in heroic mode in the finale. This is certainly
potentially the most valuable of the sonatas, despite its incomplete
state, though the Pastorale finale of the Sonata in D has
some delicious bell peals and swaying rhythms.
The inspiration for the extended Scenes from a Ball, Op.
23 was clearly Schumann’s Carnaval and the individual
movements have enough of a sense of characterisation to ensure that
the very grand final scene feels earned, rather than stuck-on triumphantly.
Of the other pieces I’d particularly point to the Four Piano
Pieces, Op. 31 which are both deft and delightful, not least
the Canzonetta, which could be an encore piece if pianists
only but knew it. Perhaps Penderup’s splendid playing will encourage
some of them to take it up.
Jonathan Woolf
Previous reviews: John
France & Rob Barnett
Full Contents List
Emil Hartmann: Solo Piano Works
CD 1
From the Highlands, Op. 11 [14:55]
‘From the Highlands’ [3:27] Old Memories [2:19] In a Play
[2:28] At the Fjord [3:59] Folk-dance [2:42]
Arabesque (Theme varié), Op. 16, No. 1 [5:16]
Caprice, Op. 16, No. 2 [6:19]
‘Jean de France’ (Sarabande) [4:10]
Sonata, F major [9:57]
Scherzetto [2:08]
Sonata F major, Op. 17 (easy & instructive without octaves in
F) [7:55]
Album leaf [1:31]
Capriccio 1 (Rondo) [3:38]
Capriccio 2 [3:34]
‘Unfinished’ Sonata in G minor [14:46]
CD 2
Sonata, D major [13:46]
Scenes from a Ball, Op. 23, Introduction [1:25] Valse gracieuse
[2:51] Polka [4:31] Minuet [5:57] Intermezzo I - ‘La Coquette’
[4:02] Contredanse [2:42] Valse [3:19] Galop furioso [2:39] Intermezzo
II - Scène d'amour [4:07] Tyrolienne [2:17] Valse-finale
[5:55]
Three Mazurkas, Op. 28, Moderato [2:18] Vivo [2:20] Allegretto [2:21]
Four Piano Pieces, Op. 31, Elegy [3:58] Impromptu [2:51] Canzonetta
[3:44] Etude [3:14]
