Walter Braunfels Piano Music presents a different face

Capriccio continues its survey of Walter Braunfels' music. This installment features music for the piano -- mostly piano four-hand music. Braunfels was a concert pianist, so these works lay well on the keyboards. And they also demand a lot from the players.

Tatjana Blome and Holger Groschopp perform with distinction. Their interpretation of Braunfels Post-Romantic music leans into the drama and the emotion. And their technical skills ensure the complex counterpoints Braunfels weaves between the instruments is clearly articulated.

The Variations on an Old French Song for two pianos get the program off to a lively start. The tune is simple enough. Through 18 variations Braunfels transforms it, sometimes using the melody as the foundation for entirely new music. At times it seemed as if each performer was playing something different that still managed to blend together harmonically.

Also impressive were Little Pieces for Four-Hand Piano. Blome and Groschopp dial back the intensity, letting the simplicity of this suite come through.

Tatjana Blome takes center stage for the Bagatelles. Baker's defines a bagatelle as "a trifle; usually a short, fairly easy piece." Braunfels' bagatelles are certainly short. And the melodies are easy to follow. But the thick textures and independent lines make me think they are anything but easy. Nevertheless, Blome seems to just glide through these works.

Braunfels was a pianist who achieved recognition as a symphonic composer. I heard both aspects in these works. Braunfels uses the piano effectively, and the four-hands music seemed to have an expansive symphonic quality to it.
A nice edition to Capriccio's series.

Walter Braunfels: Piano Music
Variations on an Old French Song for 2 pianos, Op. 46; Little Pieces for Four-Hand Piano, Op. 24; Bagatellen, Op. 5
Tatjana Blome, Holger Groschopp, piano
Capriccio C5361

Dussek Complete Piano Sonatas - Authentic and Engaging

When I received this disc for review I was excited, then worried, then excited again. I was initially excited because this is the first volume in a complete series of Jan Ladislav Dussek's 35 piano sonatas. I was worried because these were performances at a fortepiano of the period. But after I heard this release, I was excited again, and look forward to the next installment.

Dussek is a pivotal figure in the history of solo piano music. Though a contemporary of Mozart and Haydn, Dussek seemed to have skipped ahead to the early Romantic period. Dussek's rock star celebrity as a performer predates Liszt. And his work with the Broadwood piano company helped develop the instrument.

As the fortepiano developed, so did Dussek's music. Each sonata takes full advantage of the capabilities of an instrument of the day. So playing these works on a contemporary instrument makes sense. Dussek's last sonatas (like Beethoven's) are beyond the capabilities a 1790s instrument.

I normally don't like the sound of the early fortepiano. Often the action is so loud it threatens to drown out the music. Not so with the 1799 Longman Clementi fortepiano heard here. This beautifully restored instrument has a decidedly different timbre than a modern instrument, but the action is almost silent.

Bart van Oort performs these sonatas with authority and panache. His nuanced shaping of melodic lines imbues the music with life.

The recording includes the three Op. 10 sonatas, published in 1789. These three works resemblance contemporary sonatas by Mozart and Haydn, but somehow seem more robust.

The 1795 "Pastorale" sonatas were published the same year as Beethoven's first sonata. And it seems to be cut from a similar cloth. Compared to the Opus 10 sonatas, the harmonies are richer, and the dramatic gestures are bigger.

I am very much looking forward to the next installment in this series.

Jan Ladislav Dussek: Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1
Sonatas Op. 10, Nos. 1-3; Sonata Op. 31, No. 2
Bart van Oort, fortepiano
Brilliant Classics, 95599

Three Snapshots From Clementi's Career

I love Naxos' passion for completeness. It matches my own compulsion. I have no doubt that they will eventually have every piano work by Muzio Clementi available. And probably all of his orchestral works, concertos, and other pieces besides.

This release features works from three points in Clementi's career. The Op. 23 sonatas were published in 1790. Clementi was in England, running a pianoforte company. These sonatas are similar in structure to those of Haydn. They're well-balanced, with a transparent texture.

The first movement of the Op. 34, No. 1 sonata was originally part of a piano concerto. this 1795 work has a bigger sound than the Opus 23 sonatas. The texture's a little thicker, and the musical construction a little more complex.

By 1821 styles had changed dramatically, and Clementi did his best to keep up. The Op. 48 variations on "Au clair de la lune" has a good deal of early Romantic expressiveness. The harmonies are a little more complex, with more technical challenges. Still, there's no mistaking this for a work of Schubert. There's still a lightness to it.

Pianist Juan Carlos Rodríguez wisely adjusts his playing to fit the work. He performs the Op. 23 sonatas with a light touch that gives these work an air of refined elegance. Rodríguez is more forceful with the Op. 34 sonata, bringing out the dynamic contrasts that's especially effective in the transcribed first movement.

For the Fantasia, Rodríguez's delivers a more nuanced performance. His phrasing is more subtle, separating the work stylistically from the Op. 23 sonatas written three decades before.

Well performed, and well-recorded. Even if you're not a completist, there's much to enjoy here.

Muzio Clementi: Keyboard Sonatas 
Op. 23, Nos. 1-3; Op. 34, No.1
Fantasia concertante
Juan Carlos Rodríguez, piano

Clementi Monferrinas offer a selection of galant confections

A monferrina is an uptempo Italian folk dance in 6/8 time. Two collections of them are featured in this collection of Clementi piano music.

Clementi's monferrinas are lively little diversions, each less than two minutes long. Nevertheless, within the confines of the form, Clementi manages a great deal of variety. That's good since this album has eighteen of them.

In addition to the monferrinas and several other short works, the album includes Clementi's unpublished 1765 keyboard sonata in A flat. The sonata owes much to the galant style of Johann Christian Bach, though it hints at the more substantial sonatas to come. There's a lot going on in this work -- pretty impressive output for a thirteen-year-old boy.

Domenic Cheli is a young pianist who performs these works with an easy assurance. These are not major works, but Cheli gives them the attention they deserve. His light touch at times seems light-hearted as well.

You don't have to be a Clementi completist to enjoy this release. It's simply a pleasant listening experience for anyone who enjoys piano music.

Muzio Clementi
Harpsichord Sonata in A flat major, WoO 13, Allegro and Finale in E flat major, WoO 22-23; Rondo in B flat major, WoO 8; Canon ad diapason in C major, WoO11; Tarantella in A minor, WoO 21; Six Monferrinas, WoO 15-20; Twelve Monferrinas, Op. 49; Fourteen Melodies of Different Nations, WoO 9: No. 5, Air russe
Dominic Cheli, piano
Naxos 8.573711

Martin Perry plays Hugo Weisgall and Paul Hindemith

Martin Perry couples two works that complement each other.  One's very well-known, the other deserves to be.

The well-known work is Paul Hindemith's Ludus Tonalis. This 1942 masterwork is a summation of Hindemith's mature style. Its frequent comparisons to Bach's "Art of the Fugue" are valid.

Counterpoint is at the heart of both works.  The Praeludium of the Ludus Tonalis returns as the Postludium at the end -- turned upside down and played backward.

The Ludus Tonalis a major work for piano, as well as being an important part of Hindemith's catalog.

The not-so-familiar work is Hugo Weisgall's piano sonata.

Hugo Weisgall is best known for his vocal music and operas. His piano sonata, completed in 1982 is also a summation of a composer's style. In this case, the 70-year old Weisgall faithfully followed the classical sonata form.

Weisgall's work is post-tonal, but not atonal. There are clear destinations to the lines, despite their highly chromatic inflections. Weisgall also keeps his rhythmic pulse fluid, mixing even and odd-metered bars. And yet, the end result is a work that doesn't really sound all that radical -- just like Hindemith's.

Martin Perry plays with a sure confident tone. His use of legato is especially effective in Weisgall's Sonata. It effectively brings out the structure of the work. His playing of Hindemith is also first-rate. Each line of counterpoint is clearly delineated, making it easy to follow.

Excellent performances.

Martin Perry: Weisgall/Hindemith
Hugo Weisgall: Piano Sonata
Paul Hindemith: Ludus Tonalis
Martin Perry, piano
Bridge Records 9487