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Halffter: Complete Music For Piano Solo / Adam Kent
Bridge Records

Halffter: Complete Music For Piano Solo / Adam Kent

$18.99 Only 3 left

Details

Composer
HALFFTER, ERNESTO
Artist
Adam Kent
Format
CD
Label
Bridge Records
Released
Mar 13, 2001
Catalog #
BCD9106
UPC
090404910623

About

The only reservation that attaches to this excellent complete survey of Ernesto Halffter's piano music lies in a certain sameness that naturally colors a disc containing nearly 80 minutes of mostly short piano works. Halffter's musical influences are clear: Falla, Ravel, and in the two single-movement sonatas, Scarlatti. You can hear Falla's influence most clearly in the two delightful dances from the ballet Sonatina (the complete work has been recorded by ASV). Ravel (of Miroirs fame) makes an appearance in the haunting triptych entitled Crepúsculos, particularly the first ("The Castle's Old Clock"). Like Falla, Halffter also composed a set of Hommages, in this case paying gentle tribute to the memories of Turina, Mompou, and his own brother Rodolfo. Elsewhere, as in the spiky Marche joyeuse, or the poignant Lament for Ricardo Viñes, a more personal idiom emerges, demonstrating that the derivative quality of much of the music stems quite reasonably from its intentional references to the music and musicians that the composer loved most.


Adam Kent has made a careful study of these works, and he plays them with the confidence that comes with familiarity. He's especially good at creating a solid rhythmic foundation with his left hand while allowing the right the necessary freedom to gracefully phrase Halffter's winsome melodies. This quality pays handsome dividends not just in the numerous dance-inspired pieces such as Preludio y danza, Dos piezas cubanas, and L'espagnolade, but in the thicker-textured sonatas as well. Bridge gives Kent warm and clear recorded sound, perhaps a shade lacking in sparkle in the piano's upper octaves, though this seems to be more a quality of the instrument itself. Like so many Spanish composers, Halffter composed comparatively little, but always with a high standard of craftsmanship. You may not want to play this entire disc at a sitting, but wherever and whenever you dip into it, you're likely to find a gem, and happily Kent's performances are as consistently polished as the music itself.
--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

Tracklist 20 tracks

  1. 1 I. Danza de la pastora 03:49
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Danza de la pastora
    Duration
    03:49
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  2. 2 II. Danza de la gitana 04:05
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Danza de la gitana
    Duration
    04:05
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  3. 3 Serenade a Dulcinee 05:40
    Track
    3
    Title
    Serenade a Dulcinee
    Duration
    05:40
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  4. 4 I. Habanera 03:47
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. Habanera
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  5. 5 II. Pregon 03:15
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. Pregon
    Duration
    03:15
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  6. 6 Parc d'attractions: L'espagnolade 04:47
    Track
    6
    Title
    Parc d'attractions: L'espagnolade
    Duration
    04:47
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  7. 7 I. El viejo reloj del castillo 05:07
    Track
    7
    Title
    I. El viejo reloj del castillo
    Duration
    05:07
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  8. 8 II. Lullaby 01:57
    Track
    8
    Title
    II. Lullaby
    Duration
    01:57
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  9. 9 III. Una ermita en el bosque 02:44
    Track
    9
    Title
    III. Una ermita en el bosque
    Duration
    02:44
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  10. 10 Marche joyeuse 02:56
    Track
    10
    Title
    Marche joyeuse
    Duration
    02:56
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  11. 11 Llanto por Ricardo Vines 05:09
    Track
    11
    Title
    Llanto por Ricardo Vines
    Duration
    05:09
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  12. 12 Gruss 02:10
    Track
    12
    Title
    Gruss
    Duration
    02:10
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  13. 13 Nocturno otonal, "Recordando a Chopin" 03:47
    Track
    13
    Title
    Nocturno otonal, "Recordando a Chopin"
    Duration
    03:47
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  14. 14 I. Homenaje a Joaquin Turina 02:11
    Track
    14
    Title
    I. Homenaje a Joaquin Turina
    Duration
    02:11
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  15. 15 II. Homenaje a Federico Mompou 02:37
    Track
    15
    Title
    II. Homenaje a Federico Mompou
    Duration
    02:37
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  16. 16 III. Homenaje a Rodolfo Halffter 03:33
    Track
    16
    Title
    III. Homenaje a Rodolfo Halffter
    Duration
    03:33
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  17. 17 Preludio y danza 05:51
    Track
    17
    Title
    Preludio y danza
    Duration
    05:51
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  18. 18 Piano Sonata, "Homenaje a Domenico Scarlatti" 07:21
    Track
    18
    Title
    Piano Sonata, "Homenaje a Domenico Scarlatti"
    Duration
    07:21
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
  19. 19 Piano Sonata 06:51
    Track
    19
    Title
    Piano Sonata
    Duration
    06:51
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter
    Performer
    Adam Kent
  20. 20 El Cuco 01:13
    Track
    20
    Title
    El Cuco
    Duration
    01:13
    Composer
    Ernesto Halffter