The Piano Music Of Frank Bridge Vol 2 / Mark Bebbington

$20.99
Label
SOMM Recordings
Release Date
July 1, 2008
Format
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    Featuring ⌄
    • COMPOSER
      BRIDGE, FRANK
    • PERFORMER
      Mark Bebbington
    Product Details ⌄
    • RELEASE DATE
      July 01, 2008
    • UPC
      748871308220
    • CATALOG NUMBER
      SOMMCD 082
    • LABEL
      SOMM Recordings
    • NUMBER OF DISCS
      1
    • GENRE
      Instrumental
    Works ⌄

    1. I. The Princess

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    2. II. The Ogre

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    3. III. The Spell

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    4. IV. The Prince

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    5. I. Retrospect: Adagio ma non troppo

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    6. II. Through the Eaves: Allegro moderato e rubato

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    7. I. Allegretto con moto

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    8. II. Tempo de Valse

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    9. III. Allegretto ben moderato

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    10. Etude rhapsodique

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    11. Graziella

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    12. Dramatic Fantasia

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    13. No. 2. Columbine

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    14. No. 1. Minuet

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    15. No. 3. Romance

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    16. A Sea Idyll: I. —

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    17. I. Chorale

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    18. II. Impromptu

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    19. III. Caprice

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    20. IV. March

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    21. No. 1. Water Nymphs

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    22. No. 2. Fragrance

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    23. No. 3. Bittersweet

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington

    24. No. 4. Fireflies

      Composer: Frank Bridge

      Performer: Mark Bebbington




BRIDGE A Fairy Tale Suite. In Autumn. Miniature Pastorals, Set 1. Étude rhapsodique. Graziella. Dramatic Fantasia. 3 Pieces. A Sea Idyll. Miniature Suite. Characteristic Pieces • Mark Bebbington (pn) • SOMM 82 (77:26)


I wonder when Frank Bridge was first led astray by Scriabin, forsaking the Lisztian bravado of the Dramatic Fantasia for the dark, sensuous tendrils of Graziella and the lascivious impressionism of the Characteristic Pieces. Mark Bebbington’s second volume of Bridge piano works stresses the later achievements, from 1917 on, leading up to and away from the big Piano Sonata of 1924. Ravel is a strong presence in the Fairy Tale Suite and elsewhere, but the themes, early and late, are all Bridge, and mostly memorable.


Whatever its roots, whether outrage at the Great War or more personal passions, the best of these miniatures are very good indeed, and demand the very best players. The works, like the Sonata, are simply not well enough known yet, and they need a broader performing tradition. I hope Russian pianists start to pick up on In Autumn, Graziella , and the other late works. Bebbington, like Ashley Wass and Kathryn Stott, has gone far beyond the “mere” technical problems, which are not small, and the competing Bridge cycles complement each other. If you are going to get just one, then I’d go with Wass on Naxos, whose piano I also just prefer in the upper octaves. But Bebbington conveys most of Bridge’s range, and he’s especially good in the mini- Dante Sonata , which is the Fantasia, and in the 1921 Miniature Suite , with its Prokofievisms.


Ideally, I’d like to hear a hypersensitive Slavic Scriabin interpreter have a tilt at Graziella and “Water Nymphs” from the Characteristic Pieces. But all the pianists I’m thinking of are dead. Maybe Tharaud for “Fragrance” and “Bitter Sweet” from the same Ravelian late set. As you’ll gather, the serious competition for Bebbington and Wass is imaginary. The recommendation is real enough, though. Some of the music in this volume is more British and interesting than it is moving, but more than half of it is top-notch. Wass edges it for feel and expressive range, but Bebbington’s runs, trills, graded dynamics, and sweep are no disappointment.


FANFARE: Paul Ingram