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Harold Samuel - The complete solo recordings
| Harold Samuel (1879–1937) was the first pianist to specialize in the performance of Bach’s original keyboard works in the concert hall and achieved worldwide acclaim in doing so. His pioneering HMV and Columbia recordings of the composer (all the Bach works included here, except for the first Prelude & Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier, were premiers on disc) sound as fresh and inspiring today as they did when new and reveal that great Bach playing is timeless. A unique live 5th Brandenburg Concerto from New York and a studio E major Violin Sonata with Isolde Menges round out his Bach and this landmark release also includes his remaining solo discs, notably some rare repertoire by Clementi and two of Bach’s sons which was recorded for the ambitious Columbia History of Music educational project. These new 2021 transfers by Seth Winner were made using the latest technology and present these historic documents in the best possible sound, revealing more detail of Samuel’s playing than has ever previously been captured. |
Bach & The Early Pianoforte / Luca Guglielmi
As a keyboardist, Johann Sebastian Bach clearly deserves the renown that he attained even during his lifetime, for his compositions and facile playing style. Although much has been recorded on both organ and harpsichord, Bach’s relationship with the newer or more unusual instruments, the fortepiano and clavichord (which, of course, was not so new in the early 18th century), has been the subject of some scholarly work. To be sure, the harpsichord came in a rather substantial variety of forms, and certainly the terms often used during the time, “cembalo” or “Klavier,” were mostly generic rather than instrument-specific, but Bach himself had some interest in the newer keyboards. For example, he sold a Silbermann fortepiano in 1749, a couple of years after he had performed on one at the court in Potsdam. His complaint to the maker about the quality of the fortepiano has often been quoted, but there is no doubt that he knew it well. Moreover, one of his students, Johann Friedrich Agricola, noted that he used to play the clavichord on occasion, mainly for improvising smaller chamber works.
Today, one finds that the various interpretations of Bach’s keyboard works on both older and more contemporary 20th-century instruments can be found in abundance. Luca Guglielmi’s disc adds a slight twist to this crowd by playing a number of small works on three instruments that would have been known by the composer; an Italian fortepiano modeled after a Cristofori original from 1726, a German Silbermann copy from the 1749 model; and a German clavichord after a 1784 Hubert instrument. All of these are tuned so that A=415 Hz, a tuning that would not have been unfamiliar to the composer. Given that these are familiar and oft-recorded works, the main purpose of this disc is to delineate how Bach’s works might have sounded on the three instruments with which he may have been familiar. The eldest is the Cristofori, which is used for the Toccata in C Minor. It has a somewhat stringy and transparent sound. Guglielmi doesn’t stress the action too much, preferring an easy-going tempo, particularly in the fugue. I find that the middle registers of the instrument sometimes are a bit thick, but this does not interfere appreciably with the delineation of the lines. The Silbermann, on the other hand, is a brighter, more resonant instrument. In the opening Praeludium, for example, the broken chords have each tone sustained, almost as if there was a resonating set of sympathetic strings. This may be in part due to Guglielmi’s stately playing, which allows for the resonance to coalesce into subtly dissolving waves of sound. In the C-Minor Partita, the texture is a bit darker, and perhaps a bit more harpsichord-like. The Gigue, for example, has a nice triplet figuration in the middle register, which sometimes outshines the bass line. The two pieces played on the clavichord are far more tinny and have a sort of plucked instrument quality of sound, almost as if they are being played on a mandolin. In the Fugue of the A-Minor Sonata, for instance, the soft sound is like being played through cotton, with little or no resonance at all, and yet the instrumental sounds have a nice attack that allows each line to come through.
As for the performance, Guglielmi is stately and cautious with his tempos, deliberately allowing for the tone qualities of his instruments to come forward. His phrasing is quite well done and conforms to the often subtle shifts in thematic structure of the works. Given the eclectic nature of the music, this may not be a disc for everyone, but certainly those interested in Bach and the fortepiano/clavichord will find this disc more than just an archival curiosity. It is a fine study in the timbre of Bach’s time.
FANFARE: Bertil van Boer
Schumann: Piano Music, Vol. 1
Bach: Toccatas BWV 910-916 / Rübsam
In contrast to the Well-Tempered Clavier, which remained omnipresent in general musical and cultural consciousness after J.S. Bach's death, and the Goldberg Variations, adorned in the 20th century with an almost mystical aura, Bach’s seven keyboard toccatas have been unjustly relegated to the shadows. Composed between about 1707 and 1713, the Toccatas contain "stylus phantasticus" (fantastical style) elements of the North German baroque and are a delightful mixture of virtuoso, recitative, arioso, concertante, imitative and fugal sections, entirely in the original musical sense of the word toccare, to explore by touch.
This recording also features Bach's Prelude and Fugue BWV 894, probably written during his Weimar phase. The title Prelude is perhaps a little misleading, since it is actually a concerto-like movement, and the fugue is also more like a gigue riding out on a ceaseless hunt. Bach ingeniously reshaped the work into his Triple Concerto BWV 1044 during his Leipzig period, interpolating a second movement taken from the Trio Sonata BWV 527. Wolfgang Rübsam came up with the original idea for this recording of transferring the middle movement of BWV 1044, lifted by Bach from BWV 527, to the equivalent position between the original Prelude and Fugue movements of BWV 894.
Bach demonstrably owned at least two lute-harpsichords, listed in his estate catalogue of 1750. Rübsam’s decision to record all these works on such an instrument has proved extremely fortuitous, especially with regard to the toccatas. The poetic tone of Keith Hill's instrument – sonorous and noble in the lower registers, brilliant in the higher registers – forms an almost perfect synthesis with Rübsam’s imaginative playing.
Echoes — Bach's Breath and Chopin / Cord Garben
Chopin is said to have played in time (the metronome was always on the instrument), his left hand relentlessly keeping the tempo. Students also reported that he never played a piece in the same way, and that each performance produced a different result. And yet the composer's rubato playing was by no means as free as it is today. There are no reports of Chopin's playing of Bach in particular, but his admiration for the composer is certain. We therefore put the legend that he himself—according to his own statement—played only Bach for fourteen days before a concert into perspective and simply imagine that he worked intensively on "Bach" before his already rare performances. We can assume that the preludes and fugues of the "Well-Tempered Clavier," some of which are also heard in this project, were the focus of his interest.
A closer look at Chopin’s works, especially those of a smaller dimension, repeatedly catches the eye of modules that we think we already know from Bach. Individual bars of the Préludes op. 28 (1836-1839) and Études (op. 10 no. 4) (1833/1837) could be retransformed into a nucleus in Bach’s character with just a few “hand movements.” Chopin’s veneration of Bach preserved these highly condensed musical tools of the Baroque composer well into the Romantic century. He still used them in his late works, such as his last Nocturne in E major, which in a sense takes stock of “Bach.”
This recording, which feels entirely experimental, aims to create a unique musical experience through the direct connection of tonal, for example key, variations. The sound of some structurally related works clearly shows how much Chopin was influenced by Bach's work, whose formal stability with its geometric structures often prevented him from sowing too much "tinsel, trinkets, and pearls," something Robert Schumann once had the courage to accuse his rival of. The aim of this project tempted us to play "Chopin like Bach" here and there and to achieve the greatest possible transparency with extremely economical use of the pedal. Above all, to breathe Chopin's breath into Bach's melodic beauties with a "romantic" touch. The approximately 40-year-old Steinway B grand piano was chosen because of its slim bass section.
Cantilena Anglica Fortunae
The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book II
![Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I / Schiff [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3760262-2524579.jpg?v=1786834668&width=800)
![Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I / Schiff [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/730099010467.pt01.jpg?v=1786834668&width=800)
Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I / Schiff [Blu-ray]
Also available on standard DVD
Johann Sebastian Bach was undoubtedly the greatest musical thinker of his age. Dubbed ‘the Old Testament of music’ by the conductor and pianist Hans von Bülow, the Well-Tempered Clavier is acknowledged to be one of the most significant works ever written for the keyboard. Each of these 24 preludes and fugues encapsulates its own mood, and Bach’s delight in mixing technical strictness with freedom of expression has made this work an indispensable element of Western culture for centuries. Sir András Schiff is heralded as one of the finest Bach interpreters today, and this first complete performance at the prestigious BBC Proms was summed up as ‘stupendous’ by The Independent.
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REVIEW:
That he played the one hundred and ten minutes of the First Book from The Well-Tempered Clavier from memory was a feat in itself; that he played it without a blemish was remarkable, and that he imbued it with such happiness was something to remember. Played without an interval, and with both feet firmly planted on the stage, we come as near to Bach’s harpsichord as you can get from a modern Steinway concert grand piano.
– David's Review Corner (David Denton)
![Bach: Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I / Schiff [Blu-ray]](http://arkivmusic.com/cdn/shop/files/3760262-2524579.jpg?v=1786834668&width=400)
Hetu: Two Orchestras, One Symphony
Bach: Clavier-Ubung III
Liszt: Complete Organ Works, Vol. 1 / Ferjencikova
A surprise comes right at the beginning when Ferjencíková presents the famous Prelude and Fugue on B-A-C-H in the very rarely performed original version premiered by the Liszt pupil Alexander Winterberger at the Merseburg Cathedral in 1856. Fifteen years later Liszt smoothed out the harsh juxtaposition between massive chords and brilliant virtuosity in favor of filigree detail – one more reason to listen with special attention to the rarity recorded here.
Another heavyweight concludes this first SACD: the Introduction, Fugue, and Magnificat from the Symphony on Dante’s Divina Commedia display Liszt’s great compositional mastery. The three realms of the otherworld, which also can be interpreted as an allegory of human striving in general, are closely interrelated motivically and culminate in dazzling magnificence of sound. Ferjencíková registers the funeral song of chorale character after the opening recitative with Mooser’s famous Voix humaine, for which this master of Early Romantic organ design had a special swell box constructed.
Ferjencíková’s program selections demonstrate just how broad Liszt’s interest was in the music of his contemporaries and earlier generations. Here we find transcriptions ranging from Bach to Otto Nicolai and – as a special treat and two-for-one bonus – a Regina coeli laetare by Orlando di Lasso. It is presented twice – and the second time around on the historic Manderscheidt organ from the seventeenth century.
Bach: Organ Works, Vol. 4 / Masaaki Suzuki
This album was released in the summer of 2023; it may not have been intended as a Christmas album, but it would make a wonderful purchase at that time.
The fourth volume of Masaaki Suzuki’s Bach works for organ series features one of the most important surviving instruments of Bach’s time, made by the German organ builder Christoph Treutmann the Elder. Widely known for its extraordinary tonal quality, the instrument was built between 1734 and 1737. A recent general restoration preserved all essential structural elements or renewed them, remaining faithful to the originals, making it an ideal instrument for Bach interpreters who wish to come close to the sound ideas of the Leipzig Thomaskantor.
Suzuki now takes up the Orgel-Büchlein (literally, ‘little organ book’), a collection of 45 short chorale preludes on melodies from the Lutheran hymn book, a project that came into being in connection with Bach’s appointment as organist and chamber musician at the Duke’s court in Weimar in 1708. Presenting chorales for different periods of the church year, this collection serves as a general guide to text-based composition focusing on specific word-sound relationships and content-specific musical expression. Two Preludes and Fugues complete the first volume dedicated to the Orgel-Büchlein, illustrating the principle of variety and structure historically practised by concert organists in order to demonstrate the tone colours and expressive possibilities of their instrument.
REVIEW:
The great Masaaki Suzuki’s traversal of Bach’s keyboard music is well underway, and several attractions have become clear. In general, he is a bit less concerned with a pearly surface and a bit more with direct expression. In works for organ, he has shown a willingness to delve into period instruments, and the one here is a real find. Suzuki is willing to take a bit of time to bring out its colors; there is nothing too radical, but there are subtle adjustments to the tempo throughout that define the profile of each little ornamented chorale, and all the performances are vivid. This album was released in the summer of 2023; it may not have been intended as a Christmas album, but it would make a wonderful purchase at that time.
-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)
Pachelbel: Complete Keyboard Music / Stella
During his lifetime, Johann Pachelbel (1653–1706) was best known as an organ composer. He wrote more than two hundred pieces for the instrument, both liturgical and secular, and explored most of the genres that existed at the time. He is considered to be the apex of the 17th century’s south German organ school and generally one of the most important composers of the middle Baroque. His sphere of activity included central and southern Germany (modern Bavaria, Thuringia and Stuttgart), as well as important formative years in Vienna in his early 20s, during which he absorbed the Habsburg Empire’s dominant Italian and south German influences. The southern organ-builders’ emphasis on manual divisions is also apparent in much of Pachelbel’s liturgical organ music, which is relatively simple and written for manuals only. With this 13-disc set covering Pachelbel’s pivotal contributions to the chorale prelude, fugue and variation forms, internationally acclaimed organist Simone Stella adds another milestone to his already prolific discography of baroque keyboard music surveys on Brilliant Classics.
REVIEW:
The organ used here has much greater possibilities in variety of tonal colors, and Stella uses it to fine effect in the many fugues and chorale variations – and, it must be said, the music is in need of it. Pachelbel’s technique for toccatas is also consistent; based on pedal notes, the keyboard figurations of parallel 3rds, 6ths and 10ths predominate. Although not difficult to improvise, Pachelbel is always surprising in his modulatory shifts and textural changes.
-- Choir & Organ
J.S. BACH: WELL-TEMPERED CLAVIER
Mendelssohn: String Quartets Vol 3 / New Zealand Quartet
Volume 1 Naxos 8570001
Volume 2 Naxos 8570002
MENDELSSOHN String Quartets, Vol. 3: No. 3 in D, Op, 44/1; in E?, op. “0.” Theme and Variations, op. 81/1. Scherzo, op. 81/2 • New Zealand Str Qrt • NAXOS 8.570003 (68:53)
In Fanfare 33:4, I was favorably impressed by the second installment in the New Zealand String Quartet’s Mendelssohn cycle for Naxos. This is the third and, I would guess, final volume in the series. The first volume was apparently not sent for review because it does not show up in the Archive. Because the numbering of Mendelssohn’s works is so out of sync with their chronology—the string quartets being no exception—some recapping of the prior review may be helpful in assessing this survey.
Quartet Number Date completed Vol. Naxos No. in chron. order
E?, op. “0” 1823 3 8.570003
2, op. 13 10/1827 2 8.570002
1, op. 12 9/1829 1 8.570001
4, op. 44/2 6/1837 1 8.570001
5, op. 44/3 2/1838 2 8.570002
3, op. 44/1 7/1838 3 8.570003
6, op. 80 9/1847 1 8.570001
In addition to the above, between 1827 and 1847, Mendelssohn wrote four completely independent, stand-alone movements for string quartet that were published posthumously in 1850 under the single opus number of 81. Playing these pieces together, however, as if they constituted a unified string quartet, is absurd, as noted in my prior review. No composer of this period, who had not taken complete leave of his senses, would have ended a work in the key of E?-Major that began a semitone higher in the key of E Major, and to top it off, written a scherzo in a key (A Minor) that is removed from the key of the concluding movement (E?-Major) by a diminished fifth (aka a tritone). I commended the New Zealand Quartet for at least having the good sense to split these movements up between volumes:
Theme and Variations in E, op. 81/1 3 8.570003
Scherzo in a, op. 81/2 3 8.570003
Capriccio in e, op. 81/3 2 8.570002
Fugue in E?, op. 81/4 2 8.570002
It remains to be seen whether the ensemble will follow up with a fourth volume containing the complete study fugues for string quartet the boy wonder wrote in 1821 at the age of 12. If so, it will be the most complete survey of Mendelssohn’s works for string quartet on disc that I know.
While there have been previous recordings of the early (1823) E?-Major Quartet, this is the first time I’ve seen an opus number of “0” assigned to it. Since it’s not the first work Mendelssohn ever wrote, it would have made more sense to assign the number “0” to the quartet (as in Bruckner’s Symphony No. 0) rather than to the opus number. But done is done. If I were building a library from scratch, I would be completely content with this Naxos survey of Mendelssohn’s string quartets.
Though some 13 years separate the D-Major Quartet that opens the disc from the composer’s famous Octet of 1825, the writing in this much later work recalls the earlier piece. From its initial catapulted launch of an upward arpeggio in the first violin, the first movement is a virtual nonstop volley that plays with the same figure, tossing it between voices and counterpointing it against itself in overlapping entrances. The Menuetto and the Andante espressivo movements sing of the connubial bliss Mendelssohn must have felt having just returned from his honeymoon, while the Presto con brio echoes the first movement of the “Italian” Symphony, completed five years earlier. This was a happy time in the composer’s life, and the D-Major Quartet—the first in a set of three quartets published collectively under the opus number 44 that Mendelssohn dedicated to the Crown Prince Gustav of Sweden—is veritably bursting at the seams with brilliant, scintillating passagework and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of lyrical melody.
That Mendelssohn’s own musical personality is already emerging in his early E?-Major Quartet, op. “0,” should come as no surprise. By 1823, the 14-year-old had already written his 12 string symphonies and had honed his skills at counterpoint and writing for strings. But neither should we imagine that at this young age he is not also relying on and imitating earlier models. The Adagio ma non troppo surely exhibits more than a passing familiarity with the Adagio affetuoso of Beethoven’s F-Major Quartet, op. 18/1, though the adolescent Mendelssohn can’t quite muster Beethoven’s sturm und drang outbursts. The Minuetto, on the other hand, is pure Haydn; its humorous hiccupping figure might easily be mistaken for a movement from one of Papa Joseph’s quartets.
According to note author Keith Anderson, the stand-alone Theme and Variations movement that ended up as op. 81/1 was actually written in 1847, the last year of Mendelssohn’s life, and was intended as a movement in a new quartet. As we know, of course, that didn’t happen; instead, what did happen is that it became the first movement in a posthumously patched together “quartet” composed of pieces written much earlier. Thus, the E-Minor Scherzo, op. 81/2, sounds very much like it could be an outtake from the Midsummer Night’s Dream Scherzo.
The New Zealand String Quartet plays with a great deal of panache. There’s buoyancy, sparkle, and wit in these performances, not to mention engagement on an emotional level without affectation. It goes without saying of course that technical matters of tempo, dynamics, intonation, bowing, breathing, and balance are totally tidy. Indicated repeats are observed, recorded sound is top-notch, and Naxos’s budget price makes this a steal. If you’ve already invested in one or more complete sets by recently reviewed ensembles, such as the Emerson, Gewandhaus, and Pacifica Quartets, you probably don’t need another one. But as I said above, if I were just starting to build a collection, or, even if I just wanted to fill in a gap or two in an existing one, the New Zealand Quartet’s Mendelssohn would be right near the top of my list. Strongly recommended.
FANFARE: Jerry Dubins
TRANSCRIPTIONS FOR ORGAN
DEDICATIONS
Vincent Ho: The Twelve Chinese Zodiac Animals, Books 1 & 2
Andrea Gabrieli: Keyboard Music / Glen Wilson
Some of the most important forms of keyboard music have their origin in the 16th century, in particular the prelude, the toccata and the fugue. In Italy, in the mid-16th century, crucial developments in keyboard composing took place. Among the composers who were responsible for the evolution of keyboard music was Andrea Gabrieli. For that reason a disc which is completely devoted to his keyboard oeuvre is of great importance. It also sheds light on a part of Gabrieli's oeuvre which is not that well-known.
Andrea Gabrieli was born in Venice and was educated as an organist. In 1557 he applied for the position of organist of San Marco, as the successor to Girolamo Parabosco. He failed, and Claudio Merulo was appointed, who would then develop into one of the main musical personalities in Venice in the next 25 years. In the early 1560s Gabrieli came into contact with Orlandus Lassus. In 1562 Lassus' employer, Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria, went to Frankfurt to attend the coronation of Emperor Maximilian II. In his retinue were both Lassus and Gabrieli. But his heart apparently was in Venice. In 1566 he was appointed as organist of San Marco - alongside Merulo - and he resisted an attempt by Lassus to make him return to Bavaria to enter the service of Duke Albrecht. Little is known about him as a person, but in his liner-notes Glen Wilson includes a quotation which suggests Gabrieli was a demanding teacher.
This disc presents a survey of the various genres in vogue at the time. It doesn't include all genres to which Gabrieli contributed. Wilson has omitted that part of his oeuvre intended for the organ. Therefore the Intonazioni which were to be played before a vocal piece, indicating the pitch to the singers, are missing. Instead we get two preludes here, which also can be played at the organ. This kind of piece was originally improvised, and it doesn't surprise me that they were mostly not printed. That’s certainly thre case with the two played here which have both come down to us in manuscript. The other free form with improvisational origins is the toccata. Venice was the main centre of toccata writing, and Gabrieli played an important role in the development of this form. The two toccatas on this disc are in three contrasting sections.
The toccata has roots in the ricercar, one of the main forms of keyboard music at the time. Two types of ricercar are known in music history, the imitative and the non-imitative. The former is the kind of ricercar used in Italy and developed by Gabrieli into a piece on a single theme. In addition he deployed various techniques which were to become a standard part of the fugue in the baroque era, like inversion and diminution. Gabrieli also wrote ricercars on vocal subjects. The Ricercar sopra Pour ung plaisir is an example; it is based on a chanson by Thomas Crecquillon. Here he only uses themes from this chanson, unlike in the canzonas on vocal models, like the Canzona Frais et gaillard, again on a chanson by Crecquillon. In this the upper voice of the vocal original is treated according to the diminution technique which was so popular in Italy. Part of it involves the breaking up of the longer notes in fast passages and the addition of ornaments. The madrigals Anchor che col partire by Cipriano de Rore and Io mi son giovinetta by Domenico Ferrabosco are treated the same way. Lastly Wilson plays two independent pieces, the Ricercar arioso and the Canzon ariosa which may have a vocal character but are not based on vocal models.
The interest of this programme lies in the range of forms on display here. Moreover Wilson has ordered the pieces in such a way that there is a maximum of variety. That is also due to the alternating use of two different instruments. Most pieces are performed on a harpsichord, but it is nice to hear a spinet as well, which was a common instrument but is not often used in recordings. Both instruments are built after Venetian models of the 16th century. "Their soft iron single-stringing produces a more vocal sound than that usually associated with later types of Italian harpsichords", Glen Wilson states.
And he is right: the sound of the instruments suits the music very well. He is also an excellent guide through Gabrieli's oeuvre, and brings out the idiosyncracies of his music convincingly. He plays brilliantly but never in an exhibitionist way. The tempi are well-chosen, and the counterpoint is allowed to blossom.
Nobody interested in early keyboard music should miss this disc.
-- Johan van Veen, MusicWeb International
Pachelbel: Organ Works, Vol. 5
Chopin Edition
This refreshed Chopin Edition from Brilliant Classics retains many of the definitive recordings from its predecessor of 2015, but boasting some exciting updates. The Concertos and piano concertante music are consolidated in a bright new cycle from Czechia, recorded last autumn by Siberian superstar Ekaterina Litvintseva and the KFPar under Mardirossian. Schmitt-Leonardy’s sonatas are joined by No. 1 – recorded late in 2015, and therefore just missing inclusion in the previous edition – bringing the complete cycle under his fingers. Alwin Bär’s own Scherzi performances are reunited with his iconic 1998 recording of the Barcarolle, Fantasy and Berceuse. The Études are featured in a stunning complete cycle recorded in 2014 by the phenomenal Chopinist and 2023 OPUS KLASSIK double-nominee Zlata Chochieva. Finally the complete Nocturnes are given over to another noted young Chopin interpreter: the 2018 Geza Anda winner Claire Huangci, who recorded the set two years earlier, in 2016.
REVIEW:
In 2015 Brilliant Classics issued a complete Chopin edition culled from both original productions and licensed recordings from other labels, and featuring a variety of musicians. The label’s revised 2023 Chopin edition retains roughly two-thirds of the contents, while substituting about six CDs worth of alternative performances. Is it “new and improved”? Mostly yes. Here is a rundown of the contents:
Discs 1 & 2: The 2015 Chopin box featured Eva Kupiec in the two concertos (amazingly conducted by Stanislaw Skrowaczewski), with Abbey Simon in the other concerted works. Here we have less individual yet elegantly transparent performances of the entire Chopin piano/orchestra oeuvre with Ekaterina Litvintseva, supported by Vahan Mardirossian leading the Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Pardubice.
Discs 3 & 4: The well-played chamber works with violinist Duccio Ceccanti, cellist Vittorio Ceccanti, and pianist Simone Gragnani are held over from 2015. So are Anna Haase’s slightly tremulous yet heartfelt Polish songs, superbly accompanied by Lucius Rühl.
Disc 5: Zlata Chochieva’s Etudes count among my top five recommendations in these works, wisely replacing Alessandro Deljavan’s mannered and overloaded readings.
Disc 6: As before, we have Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy’s intelligently paced and imaginatively detailed Ballades and Impromptus.
Disc 7: Folke Nauta’s broad and sonorous readings of the standard seven Polonaises are back, along with his rather underplayed Andante spianato e Grande polonaise.
Disc 8: The youthful Polonaises plus unimportant minor works like the Bourées, the Largo in E-flat, and the Fugue again turn up in Alessandra Ammaro’s splendid and mindfully virtuosic renditions.
Disc 9: The label replaces Fred Oldenburg’s good, workmanlike recording of the First sonata with a superior version from Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy, while retaining the latter’s wonderful Second and Third sonatas. Recently I compared his recording of the Second sonata’s strange Finale next to those of Horowitz and Rubinstein, and actually found Schmitt-Leonardy’s creative inflections more engaging (sound clip).
Disc 10: In place of Ivan Moravec’s Four Scherzos (originally issued by Dorian), we have Alwin Bär’s scintillating 1998 cycle, coupled with his equally compelling Fantasy in F minor and Barcarolle, along with a rather fussy Berceuse.
Disc 11: A hodgepodge of performances. I raved in detail about Schmitt-Leonardy’s reference-worthy Op. 28 Preludes when they first came out. Paolo Giacometti shines in the C-sharp minor Prelude Op. 45, Oldenburg serves up the Three Ecossaises quite well, while Marian Mika plays two versions each of the Waltz in F minor Op. 70 No. 2 and the Funeral March Op. 72 No. 2 using alternative texts.
Discs 12 & 13: Rem Urasin’s Mazurka cycle evokes the high rhetoric and subjectivity of pianists like Jean-Marc Luisada and Andrew Rangell, minus their eccentricity. Just don’t expect lightness, humor, or snappy embellishments.
Discs 14 & 15: Claire Huangci’s rippling and graceful pianism in the Nocturnes differs from the seasoned drama of the Earl Wild cycle that appeared in the 2015 box. The Duo Pianistico di Firenze’s Rondo Op. 73 and Variations in D fill out CD 15.
Disc 16: Alessandro Deljavan works overtime trying to emulate the great Romantic pianists, yet his lurching phrasings and contrived voicings throughout the Waltzes often belabor the obvious and fail to ring true. The piano itself sounds poorly regulated, and doesn’t always hold its tuning.
Disc 17: Frank van de Laar basically picks up the slack, playing the Rondos, the Variations brilliantes Op. 12, the Bolero Op. 19, the Allegro de concert Op. 46, and the Tarantella Op. 43 with plenty of finesse and good taste, if not quite matching Vladimir Ashkenazy’s ebullience.
For its attractive price tag and overall consistency (have Rubinstein’s Waltzes and Mazurkas handy, though!) Brilliant Classics’ 2023 Chopin Edition holds its own alongside similar multi-artist complete Chopin collections on other labels featuring bigger names. It should appeal to general music lovers just getting started with Chopin’s music who wish to take a deep dive into the composer’s oeuvre.
-- ClassicsToday.com (Jed Distler)
Reger: Orchestral Works / Segerstam, Norrkoping Symphony
REGER Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Mozart, op. 132. Symphonic Prolog to a Tragedy, op. 108. Piano Concerto 1. Suite in Olden Style, op. 93. Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Beethoven, op. 86. A Ballet Suite, op. 130. Four Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin, op. 128 • Leif Segerstam, cond; 1 Love Derwinger (pn); Norrköping SO • BIS 9047 (3 CDs: 203:54)
This new compilation of Leif Segerstam’s Reger recordings, originally issued on three separate CDs in the 1990s, makes an outstanding introduction to the work of a composer still largely known by many classical lovers for his organ music and one song, Maria Wiegenlied. When I reviewed the 2-CD Guild set of historic Reger recordings ( Fanfare 37:6), I said how much I liked the works presented there. I can say much the same thing of this set, despite Segerstam’s penchant for slower tempos, simply because as a composer himself he approaches each work from a structural standpoint and brings out many subtleties.
Surprisingly, only two works are duplicated in the two sets, the Mozart Variations and the Ballet Suite . The Guild collection also included the Lustpielouvertüre, Serenade in G, Romantic Suite, and Eine vaterländische Ouverture. Possibly one may also want to hear Reger’s Violin Concerto, Sinfonietta, and the Variations on a Theme of Hiller, but otherwise, between these two sets, you have the bulk of Reger’s orchestral oeuvre . Early on in life, Reger became infatuated with both Bach and Wagner, and from these twin fonts of Teutonic culture he created remarkably interesting structures in music. And, surprisingly, his music is not only interesting but also fun to listen to, a point I made in regards to the Guild set.
Of the music new to me via this release, I was particularly impressed with the Symphonic Prelude to a Tragedy (which one might describe as a more modern, and more tragic, incarnation of Brahms’s Tragic Overture ), the piano concerto, and the Beethoven Variations and Fugue. My sole complaint of the recordings, and this probably has more to do with the engineering than with Segerstam, is that in quiet passages the music sometimes fades out of earshot. Unless you are listening with your ears very close to the speakers or, on headphones, with the volume turned up high, you will miss some of those softer passages. Other than that, however, I was very pleased overall with Segerstam’s readings. As usual with this conductor, transparency of texture is paramount, often revealing details that go unnoticed in others’ readings, and his subtle plasticity of phrasing keeps the music fluid and moving forward. Thus in a work like the Mozart Variations, one may prefer the more straightforward conducting of Eduard van Beinum in the Guild set, but one will find much more to hear in the Segerstam performance.
I was not particularly impressed by the Suite in Olden Style, which just toodled along and sounded nice but not much else. The Variations on a Theme of Beethoven is based on the last of the op. 119 Bagatelles. He originally wrote it for two pianos, but when preparing the orchestral score he eliminated four of the 12 variations and, according to the notes, changed both the playing order and the arrangement of keys. When he finished this score in August 1915, he had less than a year to live. In this case, I felt that Segerstam’s performance was a bit too airy for my taste, making the music sound less energetic that it might have, but the Ballet Suite came off pretty well. Segerstam’s problem, like the famous criticism of Bruno Walter, is that “when he comes to something beautiful, he melts.”
The liner notes suggest that the reason Reger’s Piano Concerto has failed to gain a place in the standard repertoire is that it is technically demanding but does not allow the soloist to “show off.” I would also suggest that the dark, brooding quality of the music is another reason. Most people like their piano concertos to sound cheerful or dramatic or, if somewhat brooding, then brooding in a Romantic Russian (read: Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff) sort of way, neither of which Reger gives us. This is a very complex piece, too, continually evolving yet knitting together its various sections within each movement with consummate mastery. (I would particularly commend this concerto to many modern American composers who write “clever” music that does not develop properly.) Derwinger is a committed interpreter, throwing himself into this complex score with emotional fervor, and Segerstam, too, is particularly dramatic here.
What makes this packaging even more attractive is that BIS is selling the 3-CD box at a special price. I found it listed for $32.75 at Presto Classical and $38.49 at ArkivMusic, an excellent bargain considering BIS’s normal price tag for single discs, which run around $21.
FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley
