Stephen Hough’s Dream Album
Stephen Hough (piano)
rec. 2016, Concert Hall, Wyastone Estate, Monmouth, UK
Reviewed as a 24/96 download from
Hyperion-records.co.uk
Pdf booklet included
HYPERION CDA68176
[79:52]
I do like collections such as this one, where pianists indulge themselves –
and their listeners – with a selection of musical sweetmeats. Of course,
the menu needs to be chosen carefully if it’s not to sate too soon, a happy
medium achieved in
Piers Lane Goes to Town, Philip Martin’s
A Maiden’s Prayer
and Hough’s
The French Album. All three are imaginatively presented – the order of courses is crucial,
too – and served up with all the skill and discernment one expects of these
fine artists. Stephen Hough: In the Night, with pieces by
Beethoven, Chopin and Schumann, is more serious stuff, designed to satisfy
in other ways (CDA67996).
However, what unites both that and the Dream Album is the presence
of works by Hough himself; the latter also includes a number of his
transcriptions, drawn from a variety of cuisines. I confess most of these
titbits are unfamiliar, although I did spy some substantial Liszt in among
the trifles. And then there’s mine host, the estimable Hyperion, known for
keeping a very good table. At nearly 80 minutes of music, there’s no
skimping on quantity, either.
Even a quick sampling confirms the affable mood. That said, Hough doesn’t
let standards slip, giving all due attention to even the smallest dishes.
Perhaps there are a few too many of those, and their flavours don’t vary
that much. Still, there’s some witty conversation at the board – the faux serious quote at the start of Solovyov-Sedov’s Moscow Nights will raise a knowing smile or two – although anyone in
search of the real thing will be mightily impressed by Hough’s account of
Liszt’s Harmonies du soir. As it happens, I’ve just been listening
to Kirill Gerstein and Daniil Trifonov in these taxing studies, and Hough
is every bit their equal in terms of shape, power and insight. Simon
Eadon’s full, fearless recording is excellent, too.
Elsewhere, he’s unfailingly adroit and elegant, modulating from floridity
to finer feelings and back again. Also, there’s nuance and a sure sense of
style, as in Albéniz’s rather lovely Capricho Catalan, the natural,
well balanced sound a treat for even the most jaded palate. Although some
of Hough’s own pieces, Niccolo’s Waltz for instance, have an
improvisatory, bitter-sweet quality, that’s countered by the good humour of
pieces such as Osmanthus Romp. And if you’re a little tipsy after so
much good food and good wine, the gentle lapping of Coates’s sleepy lagoon
might just, well, tip you over. If it doesn’t, Hough’s two lullabies surely
will.
At the end of this delightful evening, everyone would surely be in the
mellowest of moods, perhaps just a little reluctant to take the proffered
coats and the waiting cabs.
Something to tickle every taste-bud; bon appétit!
Dan Morgan
Contents
Stephen HOUGH (b.1961)
Radetzky Waltz
[5:20]
Henry LOVE (1895-1976) (transcr. Hough)
Das alte Lied
[2:26]
Julius ISSERLIS (1888-1968)
In the Steppes
(No. 2 of Memories of Childhood, Op. 11) [1:17]
Ludwig MINKUS (1826-1917) (transcr. Hough)
Kitri’s variation, from Don Quixote [1:18]
Dulcinea’s variation
[2:06]
Vasily SOLOVYOV-SEDOV (1907-1979) (arr. Hough)
Moscow Nights
[2:10]
Franz LISZT (1811-1886)
Harmonies du soir
(No. 11 of Douze Études d'exécution transcendante, S139) [9:01]
Étude in F minor (No. 10 of Douze Études d'exécution transcendante)
[5:01]
Isaac ALBÉNIZ (1860-1909)
Capricho Catalan
(No. 5 of 6 hojas de album, Op. 165) [3:40]
Manuel PONCE (1882-1948)
Intermezzo No. 1
[2:19]
Ernő DOHNÁNYI (1877-1960)
Four Rhapsodies
, Op. 11
No. 3 in C major: Vivace [4:47]
Jean SIBELIUS (1865-1957)
Kuusi
(The spruce, No. 5 of Five Pieces, Op. 75) [2:40]
William SEYMER (1890-1964)
Solöga
(Sun-eye), No. 3 of Summer sketches, Op. 11 [3:00]
Cécile CHAMINADE (1857-1944)
Pas des écharpes
(No. 3 of Suite de piano) [4:52]
Stephen HOUGH
Niccolo’s Waltz
[2:22]
Osmanthus Romp
[1:05]
Osmanthus Reverie
[2:22]
Eric COATES (1886-1957)
By the sleepy lagoon
[3:19]
Arthur F. TATE (1870-1950) (transcr. Hough)
Somewhere a voice is calling
[2:36]
Trad. arr. Hough
Matilda’s Rhumba
[2:13]
Stephen HOUGH
Iver-song
(Lullaby) [1:36]
Antonín DVOŘÁK (1841-1904)
Eight Humoresques
, Op. 101
No. 7 in G flat major: Poco lento e grazioso [3:07]
Songs my mother taught me
(No. 4 of Gypsy Songs, Op. 55) (transcr. Hough) [2:01]
Sir Edward ELGAR (1857-1934)
Salut d’amour
, Op. 12 [2:54]
Trad, arr. Hough
Blow the wind southerly
[2:17]
Stephen HOUGH
Lullaby
[1:21]
Federico MOMPOU (1893-1987)
Jeunes filles au jardin
(No. 5 of Scènes d'enfants) [2:42]
