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Piano Music

Anton Bruckner
(1824-1896)

Lancer-Quadrille (c. 1850)
Steiermärker (c. 1850)
Quadrille for Piano Four Hands (c. 1854)
Three Little Pieces for Piano Four Hands
Klavierstück in E Flat Major (c. 1856)
Sonata Movement in G Minor (1862)
Silent Meditation on an Autumn Evening (1863)
Fantasie (1868)
Reminiscence (c.1868)

Wolfgang Brunner, Michael Schopper, pianos
CPO 999256 47:21

o put this music into context, all but the last two pieces were written before the F Minor (Study) Symphony, his first completed work in that form. It's interesting to hear the composer's early efforts. There is very little in the piano music to hint at what was to come. Much of it sounds like very early Schubert or one of the Viennese composers of lighter music such as Lanner. This CD makes an excellent source of music for fooling your friends!

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Edward Elgar
(1857-1934)

Sonatina in G Major (1887, rev. 1930)
Dream Children, Op. 43 (1902)
Une Idylle, Op. 4 #1 (1884)
Carissima (1913)
May Song (1901)
Rosemary (1883)
Sérénade Mauresque, Op. 10 #2 (1899)
Enigma Variations, Op. 36 (1899)
The Sanguine Fan: Echo's Dance, Op. 81 #7 (1917)

Ashley Wass, piano
Naxos 8.570166 66:58

This CD mostly represents some of Elgar's lighter music, either written originally for the piano or arranged from orchestral or chamber works. Apart from the shorter pieces, it's useful to have a piano version of the Enigma Variations which highlights details the listener may not have noticed from the more familiar orchestral version. Ashley Wass has also recorded for Naxos quite a lot of music by such English composers as Alwyn, Bridge and Bax.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

York Bowen
(1884-1961)

13 Preludes from 24 Preludes, Op. 102 (1950)
Ballade #2, Op. 87 (1931)
Piano Sonata #5 in F minor, Op. 72 (1931)
Berceuse in D Major, Op. 83
Moto perpetuo from Op. 39
Toccata in A minor, Op. 155 (1957)

Stephen Hough, piano
Hyperion CDA66838 77:20

Recordings of Bowen's music have become more frequent and include the second symphony, at least two piano concertos, and concertos for horn, viola & violin. The piano music, while having some affinity with such English composers as Bax and Ireland, more often shows the influences of Scriabin and Rachmaninoff.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Richard Strauss
(1864-1949)

Five Piano Pieces, Op. 3 (1880-81)
Piano Sonata in B Minor, Op. 5 (1880-81)
Moods and Fancies, Op. 9 (1882-4)

Stefan Veselka, piano
Naxos 8.557713 67:33

These early piano works of Strauss show the influence of composers such as Schumann, Mendelssohn and especially Liszt. If those composers appeal to you, then this CD will too.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Ernesto Nazareth
(1863-1934)

Espalhafatoso, Brejeiro, Confidências, Escovado, Nenê, Ameno Resedá, Turbilhão De Beijos, Gaúcho, Plangente, Topázio Líquido, Ouro Sobre Azul, Sarambeque, Epônina, Escorregando, Tenebroso, Odeon & Apanhei-Te Cavaquinho

Iara Behs, piano
Naxos 8.557687 63:24

The Brazilian Nazareth was originally influenced by Chopin, wrote in the styles of the dances of his era, and in turn influenced a later generation of composers. The seventeen tracks have a variety of moods and more than once you'll find yourself half-expecting a tune you think you know but it turns out you don't. Those who respond to the music of Gottschalk will find much to enjoy.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Wilhelm Kempff
(1895-1991)

Rhapsodic Prelude, Op. 44 (1941)
Italian Suite, Op. 68 (1950)
Lyric Suite in E Major, Op. 17 #1 (early 1920s)
Six Little Piano Pieces (1933-1958)
Fantasia on the Opera "The Gozzi Family" (1932)

Rüdiger Steinfatt, piano
VMS 623 66:37

The great German pianist wrote a potentially interesting set of music including four operas and two symphonies. As Kempff is known mostly for his records of Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin and Brahms, you might expect some elements of those composers in his own music. In a blindfold test, you might guess that the composer was French or Italian. The music offers charm, elegance and restrained drama, and is immediately accessible.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Charles-Valentin Alkan
(1813-1888)

Concerto for Solo Piano, Op. 39 #8-10 (1857)
Troisième recueil de chants, Op. 65 (c. 1870)

Marc-André Hamelin, piano
Hyperion CDA67569 67:39

It's only in fairly recent times that Alkan has emerged from the obscurity in which he spent most of his life. This is due in no small part to the fact that a technique of a very high order is required to play his music. His Op. 39 consists of twelve studies in the minor keys. Four of them comprise his Symphony for Solo Piano, and three the Concerto. Marc-André Hamelin, who has made a career from playing technically difficult music, plays this concerto superbly.

The six little pieces in the collection of songs use Mendelssohn's Songs without Words as their model. I must emphasise that Alkan's music is not an exercise in empty technique: this is music with substantial rewards. Hamelin has also recorded for Hyperion, among other Alkan, the Symphony, and the Grande Sonate.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Hector Berlioz
(1803-1869)

Symphonie Fantastique (1830)
Transcription by Franz Liszt

Idil Biret, piano
Naxos 8.550725 55:54

Franz Liszt was a frequent transcriber and arranger of his own and other composers' music, and apart from Berlioz's best-known work, also did piano versions of several of the overtures and of Harold in Italy. Some see the recording of such arrangements as superfluous as there are any number of versions of the orchestral original available, but listening to a transcription can be useful in directing attention to a number of details that may be glossed over in an orchestral recording, and thus has considerable value. The Turkish pianist Idil Biret's Brahms series for Naxos is well-regarded, and her work on this CD is every bit as impressive.

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Alberto Ginastera (1916-1983)
   Tres Piezas, Op. 6
   Suite de Danzas Criollas, Op. 15
Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000)
   El Ceibo
   Gato
Constantino Gaito (1878-1945)
   Gato Correntino
Juan Jose Castro (1895-1968)
   Tangos
Juan Jose Ramos (1930-1995)
   Gato, La mayor
   Milonga Sureña
Julian Aguirre (1868-1924)
   Gato
Luis Gianneo (1867-1968)
   Sonatina
Mario Broeders (b.1931)
   Tangos a Los Maestros #23

Mirian Conti, piano
Albany TROY837 60min

This disc is a lovely collection of exciting and melodic short pieces, very easy on the ears. They are arranged in a good listening order and played with enchanting style. All are tonal, although Gianneo flirts a little with gentle polytonality. The two pieces by Ramos, the sprightly and catchy "Gato, La Major" and the slow and sensuous "Milonga Sureña" are especially seductive, and the pieces by Juan Jose Castro are edgy and pleasantly modern-sounding. The most famous composer on this disc, Alberto Ginastera, is represented with several selections: Three Pieces, Op. 6 composed in 1940, and the slightly more modern-sounding Suite de Danzas Criollas, Op. 15 from 1946.

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Antonín Dvořák
(1841-1904)

Carnival Overture, Op. 92
Humoresques, Op. 101 #1 & 7
Piano Trio "Dumka", Op. 90: Allegro
Slavonic Dances, Op. 72 #2 & 7
Romance in F Minor
   for Violin & Orchestra, Op. 11
Gypsy Melodies
   for Voice and Piano, Op. 55 #4 & 5
From the Bohemian Forest "Klid" (Silent
   Woods) for Cello & Orchestra, Op. 68 #5
Rusalka: "Mesicku na nebi hlubokem"
   (O Moon High up in the Deep Sky)
Psalm 149 "Sing unto the Lord a New Song"
   for Chorus & Orchestra, Op. 79

Rudolf Firkušný, piano
Yo Yo Ma, cello
Itzhak Perlman, violin
Frederica von Stade, soprano
Prague Philharmonic Chorus/Pavel Kühn
Boston Symphony Orchestra/Seiji Ozawa
Sony Classical SK46687 64:50

This compact disc is a companion to the television special broadcast from Prague (available on DVD) from December 1993. The performances are simply wonderful, but special mention should be made of Perlman's outstanding performance of the Romance in F minor for violin and orchestra, and Yo Yo Ma's moving rendition of Klid (Silent Woods) for cello and orchestra. Frederica von Stade's "O Moon High Up in the Deep Sky" aria from Rusalka and "Songs My Mother Taught Me" are glorious. This is a very fine collection of works, and will tempt the listener to find even more of Dvořák's beautiful music.

[ Available on CD: Amazon - UK - Germany - Canada - France - Japan - ArkivMusic - CD Universe ]

[ Also available on DVD Kultur Video 4211 (96 minutes): Amazon - UK - Germany - Canada - France - Japan - ArkivMusic - CD Universe ]