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Demersseman, Moscheles, Reicha & Schreck: Romantic Music for
Brilliant Classics · Apr 2025CD$14.99 -
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Schumann: Beethoven Studies, Ghost Variations & Schubert Variations / Chauzu
Naxos · Apr 2016CD$19.99 -
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4 Hands at Home - Domestic Music-Making in the Mid-19th Century / McCallum, Helyard
Toccata · Jan 2024CD$20.99 -
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Salieri & Beethoven In Dialogue / Herrmann, Heidelberg Symphony
Haenssler Classic · Jan 2021CD$20.99 -
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Norman: Symphony No. 3 & Overtures / Gustavsson, Oulu Symphony Orchestra
Ondine · Aug 2022CD$18.99 -
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Del Adalid, Arriola & Duran: String Quartets / Cuarteto Novecento
Brilliant Classics · Jan 2023CD$16.99 -
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Cramer: Etudes For Piano; Busoni: Eight Etudes After Cramer / Luisi, Deljavan, Stuani
Grand Piano · Jun 2012CD$29.99 -
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Four Hands On Stage, Opera and Symphony Conceived for the Ke
Ignaz Moscheles: Music For Flute And Piano
Moscheles: Etudes, Op. 70 / Bolla
As stringent a critic of his fellow composers as he was of himself, Mendelssohn wrote in unusually effusive terms about the Etudes Op. 70 when Moscheles sent them to him in 1829. ‘Your splendid Etudes are the best pieces of music that I have heard for a long time, as instructive and useful for the musician as they are gratifying for the listener. Might you be prepared to publish a third volume? You would be rendering a service to all music lovers.’ The Op. 70 Etudes have attracted previous recordings, complete and in part, but they are presented here for the first time on instruments of the composer’s time – an 1844 Erard and a modern copy of an 1819 Graf model – thus releasing and intensifying the color and playfulness of works which transcend their didactic origins. Some of technical and tonal innovations in these studies represented a creative stimulus for composers including Schumann, Liszt and Chopin. Schumann dedicated his ambitious Sonata Op. 14 to Moscheles, and believed that the Op. 70 Etudes made his friend one of the greatest composers of piano music of the age. Surely the greatest piano teacher of his age – perhaps the greatest ever – Chopin religiously used the Op. 70 Etudes for instruction as a kind of New Testament to set alongside Bach and Beethoven. Moreover, they clearly made a considerable impact on his own Etudes, Op. 10 and Op. 25. No. 23 of Moscheles’s set is the only explicitly programmatic one, cast as ‘a battle among demons’, but there is no shortage of immediate drama and theatre throughout the set, especially in the hands of Michele Bolla.
Demersseman, Moscheles, Reicha & Schreck: Romantic Music for
Perfect Happiness?
Schubert: Divertissement sur des motifs originaux francais,
Schumann: Beethoven Studies, Ghost Variations & Schubert Variations / Chauzu
Some of Robert Schumann’s rarest piano music can be heard in this disc, which ranges from his precocious Titania Overture arrangement to the Ghost Variations, the theme of which, he told his wife Clara, had been sung to him by angels. His Beethoven Studies survive in three sources, whilst his admiration for his contemporaries Schubert and Chopin is shown by two works containing a series of variations. The 1836 Third Sonata is included in the pre-1853 revision and also included is the original version of what became his very popular Toccata, Op. 7.
Rossiniana - Themes, Variations & Fantasias / Antongirolami, Galosi
Beethoven: Works for Flute, Vol. 1
200 Years Diabelli Variations
4 Hands at Home - Domestic Music-Making in the Mid-19th Century / McCallum, Helyard
Playing piano four-hands was both vital in the dissemination of music in the nineteenth century and also a popular domestic activity. The original 1853 Parisian Erard piano on which this recording was made demonstrates the clarity, warmth and differentiated timbres characteristic of the ‘straight stringing’ that was later replaced by the ‘cross-stringing’ of the modern concert grand. The repertoire from the period covers the many genres of four-hand piano works in their varied roles as domestic ‘info-entertainment’: orchestral works large and small, serious sonatas and variations, showpieces for emerging virtuosi and even a string quartet are all equally engaging in this once-familiar medium.
Hommage à Weber
With some unusual takes on the standard repertoire already in their catalogue, the Duo D'Accord (pianists Lucia Huang and Sebastian Euler) set out to do something very special: an "Hommage à Weber" - as the title says. It not only contains the complete works for piano duet but also arrangements of some opera overtures and a special adaptation of the 2nd piano concerto for piano four hands by Weber’s friend and biographer Friedrich Wilhelm Jähns: a first recording and a masterstroke of artistic curiosity. Two Weber tribute encores by Ignaz Moscheles and Leopold Godowsky also appear.
REVIEW:
Remarkable as it may seem, this is the only available at present CD of Weber’s complete music for piano 4-hands. Now I’m sure, having said this, that a dozen others will show up in short order. There were two rather poor discs kicking around for a bit at the dawn of the CD era, but they are long gone. The complete works consist of three collections: the Six Pieces Op. 3, Six Pieces Op. 10, and Eight Pieces Op. 60. Not only are they interesting and enjoyable in their own right, for modern listeners they are fascinating as the sources of three of the four movements in Hindemith’s Symphonic Metamorphosis. The amazing thing about Hindemith’s arrangements is just how little he had to do to make the music sound modern (sound clips). The concluding march (in the orchestral work) is particularly interesting, stern and strong in Hindemith’s realization, but slinky and rather creepy in Weber’s original. Two of Hindemith’s movements come from Op. 60, and one from Op. 10.
These performances by Duo d’Accord, are far better than any previously released, being fresh, rhythmically supple, and lyrical expressive by turns. They also provide a whole range of interesting couplings, from transcriptions by various parties–including themselves– of three overtures (Abu Hassan; Silvana; Der Freischütz), to a four-hand version of the Second Piano Concerto. Then there are two original compositions based on Weber that are just splendid: Godowsky’s characteristically insane Contrapuntal Paraphrase on Invitation to the Dance for two pianos, and Ignaz Moscheles’ Hommage à Weber, based on music from the operas and subtitled a “Grand Duo”–and so it is. The sonics are a little bit lacking in openness on top, but otherwise capture the players well. This is a great set, and a splendid opportunity to fill out your collection.
— ClassicsToday.com (David Hurwitz
Beethoven Piano Trios No. 1
Salieri & Beethoven In Dialogue / Herrmann, Heidelberg Symphony
“The pupil Beethoven was here!” – the young piano virtuoso Ignaz Moscheles caught sight of this sentence in block letters on a note in the house of his teacher Antonio Salieri, Kapellmeister to the Viennese court. “A man like Beethoven still has something to learn from somebody like Salieri? How much more do I!” thought the fourteen-year-old acolyte of the arts and ardent admirer of Beethoven. It is indeed noteworthy that Beethoven, who by 1808 was already widely acknowledged as a genius, was still ready to take advice from Salieri. The two musicians must first have met in the mid-1790s; Beethoven made his first appearance as a soloist in Vienna in March 1795 with a piano concerto of his own that Salieri conducted. He was already known as a virtuoso and instrumental composer, but had yet to make his mark in the prestigious genre of opera. Beethoven began at that time to pursue his goal of employment in the operatic sphere and was evidently aware of his relative lack of experience in the field of vocal music. Salieri for his part was Vienna’s unchallenged authority on the subject and had been so for decades. The sociable and well connected maestro never charged his students, and Beethoven made good use of the offer of free lessons over the years. He thanked Salieri for his generosity by dedicating his op. 12 Violin Sonatas to him and by composing a set of variations on a Duettino from Salieri’s opera Falstaff ossia Le tre burle.
V4: THE COMPLETE PIANO TRIOS
Norman: Symphony No. 3 & Overtures / Gustavsson, Oulu Symphony Orchestra
This album includes a large portion of the orchestral works written by Ludvig Norman (1831–1885), ‘The Swedish Brahms’, including his masterpiece work, Symphony No. 3, performed by the Oulu Symphony Orchestra under Johannes Gustavsson. Ludvig Norman was a highly fascinating artist who inspired a generation of Swedish composers and was widely respected, although his 3rdSymphony was premièred only after the composer’s death.
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Ludvig Norman (1831–1885) went at the age of to study at the famous Leipzig Conservatory, where his teachers included Ignaz Moscheles (piano) and Julius Rietz (composition). Having returned to Stockholm as a professional musician and composer deeply inspired by his impressions of musical life in Leipzig. Norman is often considered to be among Sweden’s premier symphonists after A. F. Lindblad and Franz Berwald (1796–1868). His contribution to the Swedish orchestral repertoire comprises three symphonies, three overtures and a Funeral March. Stenhammar described the composer’s 3rd Symphony as “full of beauty” and even claimed that he valued it more than “any of Brahms’s symphonies”.
REVIEW:
The orchestra plays beyond its regional reputation and does this vigorous music justice. Norman was Brahms’ near contemporary, and fascinated by German musical culture. The comparison with Brahms is apt enough. The Symphony No. 3 is indeed a work of Brahmsian rigor, even if Norman’s canvases are not as large as Brahms’. Consider the slow movement, where an opening hymn-like melody is carefully and quite variously developed. The three shorter works on the program are all compact and attractive and could be added to any orchestral program featuring Scandinavian music. An attractive release that should expand the orchestral repertory a bit.
-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)
Del Adalid, Arriola & Duran: String Quartets / Cuarteto Novecento
This recording showcases 3 string quartets by 3 Galician composers from 3 consecutive centuries. Each composer represents the experiences of their respective lifetimes in Galicia, a place with a true vocation for universality. Marcial del Adalid (1826–1881) was born into a family with a great musical tradition. After studying in London with Ignaz Moscheles, one of Beethoven’s disciples, Adalid became one of the main representatives of the ‘Rexurdimento’, a Romantic nationalist movement in Galicia. The String Quartet in G Op.16 was the author's only foray into this genre. The four movements follow the pathway set by Beethoven, and echoes of his Sonata Pathétique can be heard; later, the final section recalls the transparent classicism of the Haydnian rondos.
José Arriola (1895–1954), was a famous pianist and composer. A child prodigy, he was sponsored by the Queen Regent María Cristina who gave him a scholarship to study in Germany with Richard Strauss. Arriola's String Quartet in C, dedicated to the memory of his mother, presents writing imbued with Germanic post-romanticism, the legacy of Strauss’s teachings. A work of great depth, Arriola creates a dense polyphonic framework while eliminating ornaments, giving the piece great lyrical intensity.
Juan Durán (b.1960) is one of the most representative composers of the current generation of Galician artists. He has written many pieces for chamber, symphonic, vocal and stage genres, as well as orchestrations of Galician music. The most striking aspect of his String Quartet is, without a doubt, the choice of the three movements that make it up: a pasodoble, a blues and a samba. Durán wanted to heighten the classical form through maintaining its sonata structure. Therefore, the pasodoble acts as the exposition section, the blues is the development, and the energetic final samba is structured around the recurring rondo.
Cramer: Etudes For Piano; Busoni: Eight Etudes After Cramer / Luisi, Deljavan, Stuani
Johann Baptist Cramer was born in Mannheim in 1771 but was brought to London the following year. After lessons in violin and piano from his father, he had more formal studies with, amongst others C.F. Abel and Muzio Clementi. However, as a composer he was largely self-taught. In 1788 he began to tour extensively as a concert pianist, playing in many European capitals. In 1828, he set up a music-publishing house in partnership with Robert Addison. Although Cramer is best known for his piano solo music, he contributed seven piano concertos, hundreds of sonatas, a piano quartet and quintet.
Studio per il pianoforte were published, as noted above, in four books, two in 1804 as Op.30 and the other two in 1810 as Op.40. They formed the fifth section of the composer’s massive Grosse praktische Pianoforte Schule (1815). Keith Anderson points out that they ‘anticipated [Muzio] Clementi’s Gradus ad Parnassum by nearly seven years.
Cramer’s ‘studio’ cross the boundary between ‘teaching pieces’ and works of art. Beethoven and Schumann famously admired them: Busoni issued an edition of these Études and wrote a number of additional examples in the same style -which are generously included on the present CD.
Nicolas Temperley has suggested that Cramer’s studies were by far his most ‘influential’ work. They are historically, as well as musically important. He writes that they ‘were the first of their kind: in fact, the word ‘study’ (étude) appears to have acquired its modern meaning through them…’ it was the first major collection of (high grade) teaching pieces for the pianoforte.
Cramer’s studies are not simply methodological exercises which would have had a tendency to be as dry as dust. They are imbued with well-considered formal characteristics and subject matter which are to be approached as part and parcel of the technical problems encountered. It has been suggested that only by a detailed examination of their internal structures will the qualities of beauty and interest be laid bare. It is unlikely that most listeners of these pieces will be able to devote this amount of time and effort to their exploration. However, I guess that the rule of thumb must be to regard them in a similar manner as those by Chopin. Alas, it is unlikely that a recital will include Cramer’s studies as a part of the programme, whereas Chopin Études are a staple of the concert pianist. However, at his best Cramer comes close to the Polish master in synthesising musical material and technical challenge to produce a consistent and satisfying artistic form.
The great nineteenth century pianist Edward Dannreuther has described this collection of studies well: ‘this is of classical value for its intimate combination of significant musical ideas with the most instructive mechanical passages.’
Stylistically, it is fair to suggest that Cramer’s Études inhabit the sound-world of Mozart and Scarlatti with frequent nods to Bach. However, his great achievement is that he has managed to fuse a conservative playing style with the latest developments in piano performance made possible by the mechanical advance in instrument design.
It is good to have Busoni’s Eight Études after Cramer included in this present CD collection. Unfortunately there is little information about them in the liner notes. However, they were dedicated to Carl Lütschg, who was a former pupil of Ignaz Moscheles. Keith Anderson notes that four of these studies deal with ‘legato’ playing whilst the remaining four address the problems of ‘staccato’ touch. Without a lot of work, I am not sure to what extent Busoni has adapted, rewritten or amended the original Cramer studies. It would have been helpful if the liner notes had proved a brief ‘cross reference chart’.
I thoroughly enjoyed being introduced to the entire run of Cramer’s 84 studies. In fact, it is the first time that they have been available in their entirety. They are played by three pianists who bring a huge talent to the performance of these important works. However, the main impression I get from listening to these Études is the inordinate enthusiasm and understanding that comes across in the performance. It would be easy, I guess, for the technical brilliance of many these studies to overshadow the poetical element that inhabits much of this music.
The liner notes are reasonable, although a little more detail may have been helpful. However, I accept that any analysis of each of these pieces would have made the booklet unwieldy.
The sound quality is impressive and allows the listener the maximum opportunity to enjoy every moment of this music.
With the above caveat about taking these pieces steadily rather than through-listening, I am sure that this double-CD will appeal strongly to all piano music enthusiasts. Whatever their usual fare, these Études represent a major stage in the development of piano technique as we have come to understand it in the music of Chopin, Liszt and other romantic pianists.
The full piano score of Johnann Baptist Cramer’s Studio per il pianoforte in four volumes can be found at IMSLP.
-- John France, MusicWeb International
The Romantic Piano Concerto Vol 2 / Michael Ponti
Moscheles' Concerto, Op. 58 is said to be one of his finest works, showing the classical influences of Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin. From the opening of the Allegro moderato one can be forgiven for thinking you are listening to an orchestral score composed by Mendelssohn. However the piano lines have more of a Saint-Saëns ring about them. Bold statements punctuate gently-flowing passages with lightweight orchestral involvement. The Adagio contains recitative-like figures with background tremolos that eventually lead into an Allegro agitato. This movement skips along with a bright theme that is extemporised and builds to a suitable coda and rousing close.
Hiller's compositions are largely forgotten now but in his day his works reached the concert hall. His piano impromptu Zur Gitarre was played by Clara Schumann. His Concerto, Op. 69 contains some lovely melodies and has for too long been neglected, a point the CD notes confirm. Hiller premiered the work as soloist in Amsterdam (1856). It was performed in the presence of royalty nine years later, so we must assume that the work enjoyed a certain degree of popularity. This was one of the first piano concertos to utilise the key of F-sharp Minor and is full of ideas also original for the time. A Moderato movement opens the piece with an energetic main theme (without introduction) and use of alternating octaves - a device copied by d'Albert 28 years later. The emotional Andante espressivo is filled with ravishingly romantic melodies. It has a feeling of Liszt about it. A purposeful Allegro con fuoco closes the concerto.
Henry Litolff was taken as a pupil for the composer Moscheles. The older man declared Litolff so good that a public performance was arranged which he gave at the age of fourteen. Later as a proficient pianist, Litolff undertook concert tours on the continent and wrote his Concerto Sinfonique about 1846. Berlioz monitored his progress and referred to Litolff "as one of our best composers", praising his knowledge, inspiration, mobility of melodic style, and excellence of orchestration. At 39 minutes it is a long concerto and with a four movement structure broke new ground. There is freshness to this composition that gives me the impression of sprightly youthful eagerness. Why this amazing work is not better known I can't guess, but it would be ideal for part of a Proms programme.
An Allegro provides a majestic opening, with accelerating energy and an introduction of two principal ideas. In the Scherzo a Beethovenian hunting scene comes to mind, with echoes of the Ninth. The piano part complements the orchestra-dominated main theme. A peaceful Andante conveys a lyrical mood of relaxing charm, the piano syncopating a flowing horn melody. A bold Furioso moves with urgency before it breaks into a trumpet-led rendering of the Dutch National song "Wein Neerlands". The song weaves in and out of the movement before virtuosity brings the piece to an energetic close.
Carl Reinecke is usually remembered for the cadenzas he wrote to other composers' classic concertos rather than for his own compositions. This is despite the fact that he was a prolific writer of around 300 works. His writing is not as demonstrative as the other composers in this set: there is more of a relaxed feel to this concerto. Reinecke made his debut as a violinist at 11 but toured Europe as a pianist, before turning to the education of others. Reinecke settled in Leipzig where he became professor of piano and composition at the Conservatorium.
In Reinecke's Concerto the Allegro is a good vehicle for virtuosity, but there is practically no partnership with the orchestra. In the Adagio, sincerity of purpose is given with its meandering theme. A bold statement from the strings opens the Finale Allegro and rippling measures maintain momentum throughout the movement.
Mendelssohn's Capriccio brilliant is well known and needs little introduction. Written as a fantasia for piano and orchestra it is constructed on four themes - introductory theme, fortissimo theme, pianissimo theme, and piano theme. It is here played with sensitivity and purpose.
Rheinberger is better known for his organ compositions rather than the writing of orchestral works. He studied under Lachner and became an intimate friend of Schubert, yet his music is often linked with Brahms.
His Concerto deviates in its opening Moderato from the Beethoven pattern by dispensing with the orchestral exposition and replacing it with a short preludial statement; the piano entering with the main idea and acting as a dominant force. An Adagio follows with lyrical delicacy and appealing musical ideas. The orchestra contributes with important thematic and colouristic contributions throughout. A piano solo opens the Allegro energico with a flourishing statement and running into a fast-flowing theme before returning to the heroic idea of the first movement.
This set contains rarely recorded works of the lesser-known composers who provided a valuable contribution to the development of music through the 19th Century. The notes make interesting reading and give useful historical information. Descriptions of the works could have been fuller and more detailed.
Michael Ponti plays with considerable dexterity, and handles both powerful and sensitive passages with considerable skill. The orchestras play competently under knowledgeable conductors.
The analogue recordings of the '70s are clear without the extraneous noise that can show up in CD transfers of this period. They are pleasantly balanced for concerto recording with the piano placed nicely forward on the sound-stage. In the Reinecke concerto, a slight metallic timbre is noticed with the piano. A slight lack of dynamic range causes some detail of the orchestra to be hidden but this is not an obtrusive problem. There is no obvious mismatching in the acoustics or microphone placements between the different venues (not given).
-- Raymond Walker, MusicWeb International
