The Czech-born pianist and writer August Stradal (1860–1930) – a Bruckner student and Liszt disciple– was one of the more prolific transcribers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He produced a vast quantity of phenomenally difficult piano music, including Liszt’s orchestral works, most of Bruckner’s symphonies, a good deal of the Baroque (a huge amount of Bach) and much more. This is the second in a series presenting his Wagner transcriptions, again featuring pianist Juan Guillermo Vizcarra. “Vizcarra makes a staggeringly powerful case for these transcriptions…” (Music Web Int’l)

Classical Music

Terrific stuff.

Shostakovich’s work for piano duet and duo may be of lower profile than his symphonies, string quartets and solo piano repertoire, but still contains some of his finest music. Recordings have emerged from the Northern Flowers label and elsewhere, but this Toccata Classics set seeks to go a considerable step further. Shostakovich’s routine habit for his orchestral works was to make a transcription for piano four hands, so that the music could be ‘tried out’, not only for his own use, but so that Communist Party officials could hear for themselves and decide if a new work was suited to the ideals of the party and therefore appropriate for public performance. This version of the Symphony No.9 was therefore almost certainly written alongside the orchestral score. The work was famously supposed to be a massive celebration of victory over the Nazis in 1945, but turned out to have an entirely different character. The piano duet version of this piece is a highlight of this disc as you might expect, and with an excellent performance and recording the work takes on an entirely new life in this setting. In short, it ‘works’ as a piano piece, with only a few passages during the slower movements and the extended build-up towards the end of the final movement where the sustaining quality and colourful impact of orchestral instruments are missed to a certain extent. Right from the moment where Vicky Yannoula and Jakob Fichert hammer out the accompaniment and bring out that witty theme at 0:48 into the first movement we know we’re in for a treat. Much of the music has been described as ‘Haydnesque’ or indeed light and bouncy in nature, at times bringing the nervy rhythms of Prokofiev to mind, and this is something which makes it sound as if written for the piano. The clarity of the bass lines, the variety of ‘oom-pah’ rhythms driving on terrifically and the exposed nature of the harmonies all work in excellent fashion, and the whole thing is a discovery and a feast for Shostakovich fans.
 
Lighter works and arrangements are of course part of the Shostakovich piano canon, and the waltz and polka numbers here are ‘pop’ pieces which entertain but needn’t delay us too long. Malcolm MacDonald’s booklet notes go into the origins of these pieces in some detail. That Polka from the Ballet Suite No. 2 is perhaps the most familiar, and as a litmus test shows how much fun the Yannoula and Fichert duo can make of these minor works. ‘The Chase’ from the film score to Korzikana’s Adventures is a magnificently daft romp.
 
For the works with two pianos we get a still very good but slightly different recorded perspective, and there are one or two minor tuning issues – a twangy effect in one of the upper notes with the piano already used for the duet pieces, and between the two instruments on occasion. Have a listen at 1:47 on the opening movement of the Suite and you’ll hopefully hear what I mean. These are actually quite minor issues, but can’t be left unmentioned. The Suite Op.6 is Shostakovich’s earliest surviving two-piano work, and pregnant with the emotions surrounding the sudden death of Dmitri’s father in February 1922. The chiming bells and romantic overtones are very nicely played here, placed effectively in Shostakovich’s early idiom, performed with warm sonority and without too much stretching of the phrases in the beautiful Nocturne, and conveying all of the rhythmic verve of the swifter movements.
 
The Concertino is a later work, written for Shostakovich’s son Maxim and having some of the character of his second Piano Concerto which was to come a few years later. This work has if anything the most orchestral character of all the pieces here, and the duo builds up huge volumes of sound in a highly effective performance.
 
With some fascinating piano duet versions of Shostakovich’s symphonies to look forward to this promises to be a series to collect. None of the performances here disappoint, the recording standard is high, and Vicky Yannoula and Jakob Fichert have the measure and spirit of all of this music very much at their fingertips.
 
-- Dominy Clements, MusicWeb International

Modern music for clarinet by composers with very different voices. Simply exceptional music performed by an exceptional musician.

A superbly recorded new version of this cycle. Tilney is internationally known for his harpsichord, clavichord and fortepiano playing, with many solo recordings on DG (Archive), EMI Electrola, Decca, Hyperion, Dorian, Doremi and CBC SM 5000. This is a superb recording of a new version of this cycle.

Carl Loewe (1796-1869) Is Remembered Today Chiefly As a Composer of Ballads. Yet There Is a Considerable Body of Piano Music That Is Strikingly Innovative in Content, Expression and Harmony. A Major Figure in Ushering in the Romantic Era His Works Contain the Germs of Ideas Later Taken Up By Composers Such As Wagner and Liszt. This Is the First of a Series of Recordings Done in Conjunction with Westdeutscher Rundfunk in Cologne. Linda Nicholson Is One of the Foremost Keyboard Players Specializing in the Performance of Baroque, Classical and Early Romantic Music on Instruments of the Period.

Scarlatti's 555 keyboard sonatas are single movements, mostly in binary form, and are almost all intended for the harpsichord. Some of them display harmonic audacity in their use of discords, and also unconventional modulations to remote keys. Only a small fraction of Scarlatti's compositions were published during his lifetime; Scarlatti himself seems to have overseen the publication in 1738 of the most famous collection, his 30 Essercizi ('Exercises'). These were rapturously received throughout Europe, and were championed by the foremost English writer on music of the eighteenth century, Dr. Charles Burney. The many sonatas which were unpublished during Scarlatti's lifetime have appeared in print irregularly in the two and a half centuries since. Scarlatti has, however, attracted notable admirers, including Frédéric Chopin, Johannes Brahms, Béla Bartók, Dmitri Shostakovich, Heinrich Schenker, Vladimir Horowitz and Marc-André Hamelin. The Russian school of pianism has particularly championed the sonatas. Frédéric Chopin, as a piano teacher, notably wrote: 'Those of my dear colleagues who teach the piano are unhappy that I make my own pupils work on Scarlatti. But I am surprised that they are so blinkered. His music contains finger-exercises aplenty and more than a touch of the most elevated spirituality... I maintain that the day will come when Scarlatti's music will often be played at concerts and that audiences will appreciate and enjoy it'. [Courtesy of Wikipedia]. There has never been a complete recording of all Scarlatti sonatas played on the piano, although Naxos currently has such a project underway, in which each CD is allocated to a different performer. The Music & Arts project will be the only complete edition played on the piano by a single performer.

Classical Music

There have been few pianists of Arrau's range and stature, and these invaluable live recordings can only reaffirm memories of another time, another place, where sheer musical calibre and quality counted above all. Audio restoration: Lani Spahr; Notes: Bryce Morrison. All previously unissued; released by permission of the Arrau Estate. TT: 3 hrs 39 min 14 sec. UPC # 0-17685 1263-1 (3CDs)

This series is the first to attempt documenting the highlights of Leo Ornstein's career. On this release Arsentiy Kharitonov plays all 17 waltzes, varying from the sexily languorous to the boldly tempestuous. Fanfare praised volume one saying, "This is a distinguished and fascinating start to what should prove to be an important series of recordings."

This 2010 collection presents a selection of the less frequently performed impromptus that span a period of nearly two centuries, starting with an 1821 work that was among the first ones to be published with this title and concluding with two that were written as recently as 2008. Among these pieces are four that have been recorded for the first time those by Godowsky, Bibalo, Volaj, and Mazhara. The impromptus by the two last-named composers were written in response to the artist's request so she could include the most recent such works for piano in this project.

Earle Brown's involvement with the fine arts led him to reject previously fixed ideas of musical form and supposedly sacrosanct rules of composition in the early 1950s. His graphic notations, which are primarily oriented toward Jackson Pollock's painting procedures, guarantee the opening of time and space which leads to the liberation of the sound and the expansion of the meaning of form. "[...] mobility of the sound elements within the work and the graphic provocation of an intense collaboration throughout the composer-notation-performance process - were for me the most fascinating new possibility for 'sound objects' as they had been for sculpture and painting." (Earle Brown) On this CD Sabine Liebner performs important works for piano by Earle Brown: "Home Burial" for piano, based on a poem by the American poet Robert Frost was written in 1949. The manuscript of the piece was only recently rediscovered. The performance here is therefore the work's first recording. Among the pieces gathered under the title "Folio", "December 1952" is surely the most famous. On a piece of paper without staves, the actions of the pianist are indicated through lines of varying length which indicate points in a sound-time-space continuum. "Twenty-Five Pages" consists of 25 single pages, each of which is an independent entity. The decision on the number of the instruments involved as well as on the order of the individual pages is left to the performers. "Four Systems" for any number of chosen instruments was written in connection with the birthday of the pianist David Tudor on 20 January 1954, who premiered the piece shortly thereafter. "Summer Suite '95", written after Brown's almost 30-year abstinence from the piano, is dedicated to the pianist David Arden. Brown sketched out his ideas about the structure of the work graphically, as had been his previous practice. However, after writing the piece down, he realized it on a keyboard and with the help of a computer.

Cage composed his Number Pieces during the last six years of his life. Their titles indicate the number of performers or parts. Their notation is based on fixed and flexible "time brackets." the fixed brackets show when a musician should begin and end a pitch or tonal event. With the flexible brackets, the interpreter decides, within a predetermined time frame, when an instrument enters and when it falls silent. This disc featuring pianist Sabine Liebner explores two of Cage's late masterworks.

Classical Music

Guitar Recital: Romero, Angel - Iradier, S. / Massenet, J. /

Chopin: Waltzes & Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 53

THE TRIUMPH OF THE PIANO is a release from National Public Radio that briefly covers the history of piano music through music from "Bach to Bartok." With so many performances to select from for such a collection, it's no doubt that the choices are outstanding. Beginning with two pieces for the harpsichord by Couperin and Bach respectively, the piano takes over through pieces of the classical and romantic eras, and twentieth century, with something by almost every piano composer of importance.
The performer list is equally impressive on this intelligent collection: Emmanuel Ax, André Watts, Glenn Gould, and more. Particular standouts include Brahms' Intermezzo Op. 119 played by Rudolf Serkin in a 1979 recording, the second movement of Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 21 from a 1961 recording by Robert Casadesus, and "Liebesbotschaft" by Schubert/Liszt played by Arcadi Volodos. In other words, this is not only a short history of the piano repertoire, but of pianists who have recorded as well. Aficionados of the piano will find this to be an invaluable recording in its unique collection of pieces, as well as its fantastic assembly of artistry on one disc.

Domenico Scarlatti wrote no less than 555 keyboard sonatas, all of them true gems thanks to their melodic and rhythmic inventiveness. They use many of the harpsichord's subtleties and appeal to the whole of the agility and imagination of those who endeavour to play it. Racha Arodaky simultaneously displays her great virtuosity, her artful eloquence and her intimate knowledge of baroque music throughout this disc.

BUZZ: There was a time--specifically, the middle years of the 20th century--when the music in this recital used commonly to be played in a somewhat prettified, Dresden-china fashion. Nothing could be more different than Claudio Arrau's approach to Mozart even in the relatively early stages of his career (and he was sixty-one when these live performances were given). Certainly, some other pianists in those days gave full value to the dramatic power of the minor-key sonatas, K. 310 and K. 457, though very few approached the sheer volcanic force he brought to those bass octaves in the A-minor's finale. But you encounter Arrau's no-holds-barred style even in seemingly less serious works: the finale of K. 283, for example, already sounds, under his hands, more unpredictably Beethovenish than in the interpretations of some of his contemporaries; and in the relatively relaxed finale of K. 570, he punches out the insistent staccato repeated notes of the contrasting central episode with positively demonic relish. This, then, is in an important sense "bigger" Mozart playing than was the norm 50 years ago. At the same time, the clarity of Arrau's texture and the often airy lightness of his pedaling keeps his view of the music from transgressing 18th-century stylistic norms. And while his reputation is based to a degree on his notably classical restraint, you will find in these performances any number of moments when the wit of his timing creates a delightfully mischievous effect. Baldwin piano. Restoration engineer: Gene Gaudette. Premiere CD release! Issued with the kind permission of the Arrau Estate. AAD stereo Total Time:100 min.

Transcription is the genre most generously represented in Godowsky's compositional output, and the one for which he is best known; he made piano transcriptions (and �tudes), of various kinds, from works by Bach, Schubert, Chopin, and others. But he also left another body of works whose originality and coherence continue to surprise: his piano paraphrases. This album features virtuosic re-compositions by several 19th and 20th century composers, some quite faithful to the originals, others deviating drastically from their sources. Carlo Grante's first six volumes of the Godowsky Edition have received world-wide acclaim.

Classical Music

Charles O’Brien (1882–1968) is the archetypical composer for a Toccata Classics release: this CD rescues a forgotten Scottish Romantic from oblivion. O’Brien was a mainstay of musical life in Edinburgh, but his attractive, lyrical muse has long since been lost from view there, let alone anywhere else. His lively music reflects his Scottish heritage, mixing grand gestures with Schumannesque intimacy. This is the first recording in a series to be devoted to the music of Charles O’Brien. Pianist Warren Mailley-Smith studied at the Royal College of Music. He has recorded eight CDs.

Bronfman's Islamey is a reading of sweep and majesty. A soul-satisfying record that you'll return to often.

If you've seen Yefim Bronfman perform, you know that he's an assertive, brilliant pianist who commands attention, even in a large hall. The soloist is remarkably successful in scaling back his playing for the 12 modest pieces Tchaikovsky produced for serial publication in a monthly music magazine. Bronfman resists the temptation, for instance, to dazzle with a faster tempo in "The Harvest" (August), which he certainly could have undertaken with one hand (or at least a couple of fingers) tied behind his back. Nor does he look for profundity that isn't there in these unassuming miniatures, or "Chopinize" the more lyrical movements. The well-known "Barcarolle" (June) is played with a straightforward sort of melancholy that's exactly right—touching without seeming overwrought. Still, the playing is eventful and involving, and carefully articulated: Listen to the crystalline clarity of February's "Carnival." Sony provides superb sound, utilizing 24-bit encoding and their "Super Bit Mapping" methodology. The performances were taped at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall, in New York State, a celebrated venue that has been exploited by a number of labels. The sonic presentation is warm yet immediate and clear, capturing fully the refinement of Bronfman's touch. I prefer Bronfman's Seasons to three others on hand: Antonin Kubalek (on Dorian, recorded 12 years earlier in the same Troy concert hall), Naum Starkman (on PopeMusic) and, by a smaller margin, Luba Edlina (on Chandos). As though to underscore that he was holding back in the Tchaikovsky, which is quite accessible to talented amateurs, the soloist proceeds on to an echt virtuoso vehicle. Islamev, of course, is for major-leaguers: Do not try this at home unless you are a trained professional. Bronfman gives us quite a ride. The work's considerable technical demands are fairly tossed aside as the pianist presents a coherent musical structure, not merely a succession of pianistic feats. This is a reading with sweep and even some majesty. In comparison, Alexander Paley, leading off his admirable six-CD set of Balakirev's complete piano music for ESS.A.Y with Islamey, sounds dutiful and a bit tentative.

One might grouse about the short timing of this disc. Bronfman could have given us more Tchaikovsky, more Balakirev, more something. But what's the better value: a humdrum 75 minutes or a soul-satisfying 50 that you'll return to often? Not a toughie.

-- Andrew Quint, FANFARE [3/1999]

BACH The Well-Tempered Clavier ? Evelyn Crochet (pn) ? MUSIC & ARTS CD-1180 (4 CDs: 259:36)


The last I?d heard of Evelyn Crochet was on my turntable last year, when I listened once again to her cycle of Fauré?s piano music on Vox LPs issued during the 1960s. In their own quiet, understated way, I think they remain among the pleasures of that audio period, both for their sensitivity and core of robust strength. Now, Music & Arts has released a 2002 recording of the complete Well-Tempered Clavier featuring Crochet. When our beloved Editor mentioned it, I immediately requested a copy for review?despite knowing that present day disappointments from respected artists of yore do occur, and more often than we care to admit.


My concerns were largely unjustified, however. Crochet is in excellent form. She offers gracious playing, unsentimental but not without warmth when required, as the serenely smiling E?-Major Prelude (Book 2) demonstrates. Another Prelude, that of B? Major (Book 1), demonstrates the state of her current technique with fleet, perfectly even passagework. The chords that break and resolve the linear movement aren?t milked in the Romantic manner, but allowed to fall naturally in place.


So an informed style is a factor in these performances, as it was in Crochet?s Fauré. The C-Major Prelude, the one that leads off the entire set, is again luminous while avoiding anachronisms: the bass line makes its vital presence known without drawing undo attention, and discreet changes in dynamics between each repetition of the arpeggiated cell facilitate the music?s flow without drawing attention to themselves. It is an example the pianist gives repeatedly throughout the album.


If I find the fugues overall just slightly less good, it?s because of the more incisive voicing offered by Angela Hewitt in her recording (Hyperion CDA 67301/2, CDA 67303/4). Crochet?s approach seems more generalized in the slower, calmer fugues, including the one in C Minor (Book 2). These are subtle performances where minute changes in tempo, volume, articulation, or dominance between the hands create the final effect, and the fugal textures are downplayed a bit too much for my taste. That noted, those fugues that offer what we would consider a more expressive character are highly enjoyable under her hands. To the A-Major Fugue (Book 1), for example, Crochet supplies a puckish, almost truculent humor that results from the sharp accent given to the first note, contrasted against the delicate filigree work in the left hand.


The miking is close, always a good thing where the piano is concerned, but with a slightly glassy sound in loud passages, and a slightly dull one in quieter moments. The liner notes provided by Crochet appear aimed at musical novices, but would they really form the natural audience for this release? In any case, these are quibbles that shouldn?t stand in the way of purchasing this attractive set. It offers no revelations but solid, inspired music-making, and that?s enough for me.


FANFARE: Barry Brenesal

The music of the Swiss pianist-composer Emil Frey (1889-1946) reflects the stages of his career: studies with Faur�, friendship with Enescu, teaching in pre-Revolutionary Russia and mature familiarity with developments back in western Europe. This first survey of his music also reveals a virtuoso's understanding of the piano and a sense both of drama and of fun.