Naxos
Mendelssohn: Piano Works Vol 2 / Benjamin Frith
$13.99
Details
- Composer
- MENDELSSOHN
- Artist
- Benjamin, Frith
- Format
- CD
- Label
- Naxos
- Released
- Nov 21, 1995
- Catalog #
- 8550940
- UPC
- 730099594028
About
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]
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]
Tracklist 19 tracks
-
1 Prelude in B-Flat Major 03:26
- Track
- 1
- Title
- Prelude in B-Flat Major
- Duration
- 03:26
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
2 Prelude in B Minor 01:43
- Track
- 2
- Title
- Prelude in B Minor
- Duration
- 01:43
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
3 Prelude in D Major 02:27
- Track
- 3
- Title
- Prelude in D Major
- Duration
- 02:27
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
4 Etude in B-Flat Minor 02:15
- Track
- 4
- Title
- Etude in B-Flat Minor
- Duration
- 02:15
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
5 Etude in F Major 03:41
- Track
- 5
- Title
- Etude in F Major
- Duration
- 03:41
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
6 Etude in A Minor 01:37
- Track
- 6
- Title
- Etude in A Minor
- Duration
- 01:37
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
7 Variations serieuses in D Minor, Op. 54 12:31
- Track
- 7
- Title
- Variations serieuses in D Minor, Op. 54
- Duration
- 12:31
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
8 Allegro non troppo 01:04
- Track
- 8
- Title
- Allegro non troppo
- Duration
- 01:04
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
9 Andante sostenuto 01:47
- Track
- 9
- Title
- Andante sostenuto
- Duration
- 01:47
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
10 Allegretto 01:00
- Track
- 10
- Title
- Allegretto
- Duration
- 01:00
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
11 Andante con moto 01:23
- Track
- 11
- Title
- Andante con moto
- Duration
- 01:23
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
12 Allegro assai 01:40
- Track
- 12
- Title
- Allegro assai
- Duration
- 01:40
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
13 Vivace 01:35
- Track
- 13
- Title
- Vivace
- Duration
- 01:35
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
14 Gondellied in A Major 02:08
- Track
- 14
- Title
- Gondellied in A Major
- Duration
- 02:08
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
15 Scherzo in B Minor 01:09
- Track
- 15
- Title
- Scherzo in B Minor
- Duration
- 01:09
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
16 Allegretto con espressione 06:16
- Track
- 16
- Title
- Allegretto con espressione
- Duration
- 06:16
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
17 Tempo di Menuetto 06:01
- Track
- 17
- Title
- Tempo di Menuetto
- Duration
- 06:01
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
18 Recitativo: Adagio e senza tempo 07:07
- Track
- 18
- Title
- Recitativo: Adagio e senza tempo
- Duration
- 07:07
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith
-
19 Molto allegro e vivace 06:40
- Track
- 19
- Title
- Molto allegro e vivace
- Duration
- 06:40
- Composer
- Felix Mendelssohn
- Performer
- Benjamin Frith