Chopin: Nocturnes

Liszt Complete Piano Music, Vol. 12: Hungarian Rhapsodies, V

SCHUMANN, R.: Intermezzi, Op. 4 / Impromptus, Op. 5 / 3 Roma

Brahms: Piano Pieces, Op. 76 - Rhapsodies, Op. 79 - Fantasie

As I remarked last November when Vol. 1 of this cycle appeared, the multiplicity of notes in Mendelssohn’s piano music sometimes lays him open to the charge of ‘note-spinning’. So what higher praise for Frith than to say that thanks to his fluency, tact and fancy, not a single work in this second volume seems to outstay its welcome.

The unchallengeable masterpiece, of course, is the Variations serieuses, so enthusiastically taken up by Clara Schumann, and still a repertory work today. Frith characterizes each variation with telling contrasts of tempo and touch without sacrificing the continuity and unity of the whole. Equally importantly, never for a moment does he allow us to forget the serieuses of the title. I was no less impressed by his sensitively varied palette in the early E major Sonata (unmistakable homage to Beethoven’s Op. 101) so often helped by subtle pedalling. But surely the recitative of the Adagio at times needs just a little more intensity and underlying urgency.

Of the miniatures the six Kinderstucke (“Christmas Pieces” – written for the children of a friend) emerge with an unforced charm. As music they lack the romance of Schumann’s ventures into a child’s world, just as the Three Studies do of Chopin’s magical revelations in this sphere. However, Frith’s fingers never let him down. In the first B flat Study he even seems to acquire a third hand to sustain its middle melody. For sheer seductive grace, the independent Gondellied haunts my memory most of all, here with its melody so gracefully floated over a gently gliding bass. With pleasantly natural sound in its favour, too, this disc could surely sell at more than its modest price.'

-- Joan Chissell, Gramophone [5/1996]