International Piano No80 March 2022

No.
80 • March 2022
www.international-piano.com
INSIDE
13 PAGES OF
EXPERT ADVICE FOR EVERY PIANO ENTHUSIAST

FREE
SHEET MUSIC
MITSUKO
UCHIDA
Into the cosmos with
Beethoven’s Diabelli
Variations
TOWARD
THE FLAME
Celebrating 150
years of Scriabin
KEYBOARD
WHIRLWIND
Zoltán Kocsis
on disc
£6.50
PLUS Tracing the historical connections between pianists and their teachers
Do published fingerings tend to favour men’s large hands?
CONTENTS
5 EDITORIAL
Absolute music
6 LETTERS
Your thoughts and comments
7 NEWS & NOTES

Composer George Crumb dies aged 92
••• Bechstein donates 16 pianos to Beirut
Conservatory ••• Applications open for 2023
Cliburn Junior Competition
TULLY POTTER COLLECTION

10 ONE TO WATCH
Busoni Competition winner Jae Hong Park
12 IN BLACK AND WHITE

Do published fingerings tend to favour
21
men’s large hands?
14 ILL-TEMPERED CLAVIER
Ignorance of classical music is a national
25
disgrace, argues Charivari
28 SEEKING SILENCE
Introducing Rebecca Saunders’
uncompromising new concerto
38 TECHNOLOGY
Sheet music recommendations from OKTAV
DECCA CLASSICS
38 RETURNING TO THE PIANO
Part I – Posture and co-ordination
SHEET MUSIC
41-49 REPERTOIRE FOCUS
Rossini’s ‘Une caresse à ma femme’
from Péchés de vieillesse
41 Masterclass with
Alessandro Marangoni
43 Know the score
51 PIANO RARITIES
18
Paderewski’s Légende No 1
ASTRID ACKERMANN
28
JUSTIN PUMFREY
58 ON THE RECORD
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of
recording label Grand Piano
60 A FRESH LOOK AT BEETHOVEN

Artur Pereira pairs Beethoven with
Portuguese composer Costa
SPECIAL FEATURES
62-70 NEW RELEASES 16 INTO THE COSMOS 25 KEYBOARD WHIRLWIND
CDs, DVDs, books and sheet music Mitsuko Uchida explores the We survey the recorded legacy of the
technical and metaphysical challenges brilliantly savage performer and critic
72 IN CONCERT of Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations Zoltán Kocsis
Alexandre Kantorow makes his audacious
London recital debut
21 TOWARD THE FLAME 30 ROOTED IN TRADITION
74 MUSIC OF MY LIFE A new book seeks to demystify the life Tracing the historical connections
Italian pianist Maurizio Baglini and work of Alexander Scriabin between pianists and their teachers
www.international-piano.com International Piano March 2022 3

C. Bechstein Centre Manchester
Now Open!
Please contact us for special opening offers on all uprights and grands
7–9 Tib Street

Manchester M4 1AD – info@bechstein.co.uk
0161 527 7677
EDITOR’S NOTE
Absolute music
T
o what extent should we consider the personal While such concerns may have little direct bearing on Zoltán
beliefs of artists when assessing their legacy? This is a Kocsis’ masterful readings of Bartók or Gieseking’s iridescent
question I often consider when commissioning articles performances of Debussy, they are surely not irrelevant to our
for International Piano. understanding of the personalities behind these recordings.
I always try to put musical matters first since this is the main More broadly, it is essential that artists should not be seen as
reason why all of us love playing and listening to the piano. At immune to criticism simply because their gifts give them
this level, any pianist who displays technical proficiency an elevated platform to speak from. Music does not
and musical insight is worthy of our attention. To be a truly exist in a vacuum but plays an important role in the
great pianist, however, also involves bringing personality politics and identity of every society.
and character to the scores they perform. This means
Owen Mortimer, Editor
we cannot divorce the artist’s wider qualities from their
interpretations.
For this issue of International Piano I had the pleasure International Piano o�ers a rich mix of inspiration and
of interviewing Mitsuko Uchida (see page 16). I was guidance to pianists and piano fans around the world, from
fascinated to discover how closely the qualities in dedicated amateurs and students to professional pianists,
teachers and a�cionados.
her playing are matched by her ideas and personality.
Celebrating the piano in all its forms, including the fortepiano
She struck me as a highly individuated person whose
and digital keyboards, each edition of our magazine is packed
attitudes and beliefs are manifest in her interpretations with interviews, features, news and reviews showcasing the top
without any hint of self-consciousness. While you may artists of today and yesteryear. Practical advice for players runs
or may not like these interpretations, you cannot deny the gamut from articles on technique and repertoire to learning
resources and study courses, plus the latest developments in
their inner coherence.
piano technology.
Elsewhere in this issue we explore the life and work of two
Our goal is to draw together the fascinating strands that make
pianists whose artistry is at least the equal of Uchida’s, but the piano such a popular instrument, enhancing every reader’s
whose legacies include unsavoury aspects. Zoltán Kocsis (page knowledge and supporting those who strive to master its challenges.
25) may have been a formidable pianist but appalled some
admirers when he signalled his support for Hungary’s far-right INTERNATIONAL PIANO PARTNERSHIPS
nationalist government. Similarly, Walter Gieseking (page 69)
was a giant of the keyboard whose musical gifts are indisputable
Yet his willingness to perform for Nazi organisations during the
Second World War was at best shamelessly opportunistic and
must be regarded with suspicion.
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TEMPERAMENT The Géza Anda Foundation an unprejudiced, intensive
I recently listened to Nicolas would like to correct a serious, discussion of the problematic
Namoradze’s recital at the misleading error in Benjamin relationship between art and
Gstaad Festival 2021, which was Ivry’s review of the book Géza politics in the 20th century;
reviewed by Colin Clarke in Issue Anda: A Panorama on his 100th but we submit that the
Géza Anda
Wolfgang Rathert
77 (page 61). Namoradze has Birthday (Issue 79, page 69). present book on Géza Anda
Pianist
a strangely ‘distancing’ rather Contrary to Mr Ivry’s belief, offers ample proof that we are
than ‘involving’ way of playing. I the author of the book The already engaged in just such a
didn’t feel drawn in to his world, Foundations of Music in Human discussion.
rather as if he’s presenting it as Consciousness was not Géza Prof Dr Wolfgang Rathert
Rathert,
something personal but private Anda but the conductor Ernest on behalf of the Géza Anda
and closed-off. By contrast, I’ve Ansermet. The conclusions Ein Panorama zum 100. Geburtstag
| A panorama on his 100 th birthday
Foundation
also been listening to Chopin drawn by Mr Ivry about Géza herausgegeben von der | published
by Géza Anda Foundation wolke
Competiton winner Bruce Anda’s supposedly ‘hypocritical’ The editor replies:

Liu in all four rounds of last relationship with his Jewish Thank you for bringing this
year’s contest – what a joyful teacher Leó Weiner and his matter to my attention. I
performer! He makes every note Jewish piano partner Clara Haskil provides no evidence for Mr Ivry’s apologise for our error and will
sound like a ray of sunshine. A are thus founded on a false criticism that Anda was guilty of ensure that the review in question
really big talent, I think. attribution. Moreover, our current a concealed form of antisemitism. is removed from International
Joseph Laredo, via email knowledge of historical sources We are naturally of the firm Piano’s digital edition.
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6 March 2022 International Piano www.international-piano.com

NEWS NOTES
American composer George Crumb remembered

T he music of George Crumb
(1929-2022) is rightly
described as profoundly
School. His scores are beautifully
and meticulously notated.
The musical and artistic world
George Crumb
combined
humanistic. I encountered tends to divide on the question avantgardism with
it first at the Huddersfield of signature, with some artists accessibility
Contemporary Music Festival, rejecting a signature style entirely.
where his work was often In Crumb’s case, from his mature
performed. Crumb attended the work onwards, overt signature
festival at least twice, first as the features are clearly intentional.
headline artist of the opening Among his piano compositions,
festival in 1978. He was a shy Makrokosmos Books 1 and 2
man, kindly and warm on closer (1972-73) was the breakthrough
acquaintance, and a committed achievement, with its unusual use
teacher at the University of of amplification and exploration
Pennsylvania for 30 years. of new techniques, especially
Crumb’s artistry involved a in the instrument’s interior.
ROB STAROBIN
strong signature style: theatrical, After 2000, in his six American
mysterious, essentially monodic Songbooks (2002–7), he created
– dominantly reflective and 52 settings of vernacular songs.
static. He loved quotation. Hymns, spirituals, Civil War
Many of his intensely luminous and folk songs appear in close been called Crumb’s Pictures at an Records’ Complete Crumb
compositions were inspired by to their original form, but with Exhibition. Book 2 was inspired Edition. This composer-
the volatile surrealism of Spanish accompaniments for amplified by pianist Marcantonio Barone. It supervised edition is a fitting
poet Federico García Lorca. piano and four percussionists in features two tributes to Paul Klee: memorial to a great artist, who
Programmatic and theatrical the Crumb signature style. the stentorian ‘Ancient Sound, combined avantgardism with
elements embraced extended The composer continued his Abstract on Black’, with its violent accessibility and popularity.
techniques – as for instance in explorations in Metamorphoses sweeps of the soundboard’s Over a long career, he has been
Ancient Voices of Children (1970), Book 1 (2015-17), dedicated to lower strings; and the gentler a wholly benign presence in
where a chisel is slid along a piano Margaret Leng Tan, a leading ‘Landscape with Yellow Birds’, contemporary composition.
string to bend its pitch, and a harp exponent of toy piano and featuring fragments of Messiaen- ANDY HAMILTON
is ‘paper-threaded’. Stravinsky, dramatic vocalising. The work like birdsong.
Ravel and Debussy are obvious was inspired by the composer’s Barone’s first complete George Crumb, composer, born
influences; others include Mahler, favourite paintings by Picasso, van recording of Metamorphoses 24 October 1929; died 6 February
Ives and the Second Viennese Gogh, Chagall and others, and has recently appeared on Bridge 2022. georgecrumb.net
Reader competition
Congratulations to Joseph praised his ‘thoroughly engaging
Laredo, whose recording of and sensitive performance’.
Margaret Bonds’ ‘The Valley of Laredo’s prize includes an online
the Bones’ has been selected masterclass with Dr Ege.
as the winner of our recent To view his video performance,
reader competition. Laredo’s wittily illustrated with photos of
recording was selected from skeletons from London’s Natural
a competitive field by Dr History Museum, visit
LA BENJAMIN
Samantha Ege (pictured), who y2u.be/8tS6bXx01v4

NEWS & NOTES
Bechstein donates 16 pianos to Beirut Conservatory

T he Carl Bechstein Foundation
has donated six grand
pianos and 10 uprights to the
El Bacha said: ‘The culture of a
country is proof of its civilization,
so when the culture is wounded
great hope for the reconstruction
of cultural institutions in
Lebanon and am touched by
For artists to give their best you
need good instruments, so this is
initiative is priceless.’
Beirut National Conservatory in it destroys our humanity. I have a Bechstein’s gesture of support. carl-bechstein-stiftung.de
Lebanon. The instruments will
help the school to resume lessons
and performances after it was
severely damaged in the chemical
explosion that rocked the city in
August 2020.
Beirut National Conservatory
provides free music lessons to
6,000 children and young people
across the country. It is also home
to the Lebanon Philharmonic
Orchestra, which employs 90
professional musicians.
In celebration of the donation,
Lebanese pianist Abdul Rahman
El Bacha will give a benefit concert
for the Carl Bechstein Foundation
at Vienna’s Ehrbar Saal on 22
March. Proceeds from ticket sales
and other donations will benefit
the Friends of the Lebanese
Philharmonic Orchestra.
SEBASTIAN SCHMID
Bechstein’s pianos begin their
journey to Beirut
Applications open for 2023 Cliburn Junior Competition

Applications are now open for from 8 to 17 June 2023. A total of 24 shortlisted a concerto with the Dallas
the 3rd Cliburn International Talented pianists aged 13 to applicants will be invited to Symphony Orchestra.
Junior Piano Competition, which 17 are invited to apply online by compete in Dallas, of whom Next year’s jury chair is the
will take place in Dallas, Texas 10 January 2023. three finalists will get to perform Canadian virtuoso pianist,
teacher and artistic director
Janina Fialkowska.
The Cliburn Junior
Competition and Festival was
established in 2015 and takes
place every four years. The 2019
event drew 230 applications
from 32 countries. Live and
on-demand webcast views
have topped 620,000 for over
3.8 million minutes watched by
viewers in 120 countries.
Applicants for 2023 must have
been born on or after 17 June
2005, and before 8 June 2010.
Complete details and application
form can be found at
CAROLYN CRUZ
cliburn.org/2023-junior-
competition/application
8 March 2022 International Pianowww.international-piano.com

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ONE TO WATCH
TIBERIO SORVILLO/LUCA GUADAGNINI

Into
Professor Daejin Kim, holder of a Juilliard doctorate and
a respected piano authority. Kim has a unique record
of training students to succeed internationally. In the
past decade, he has seen his young artists bring home
prizes from a dozen major competitions, including Leeds,
Europe
Oberlin, Ettlingen, Clara Haskil and the 2006 edition of
the Busoni.
How does Park explain the extraordinary impact on the
music world of the current generation, many of them from
Asia? ‘Maybe it’s in our DNA,’ he says. ‘We work hard, and
we have good teachers.’
A confident, personable performer who fears nothing
from the most challenging repertoire, he ripped through
Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 in Bolzano to win
the ‘Premio Busoni’ first prize. Within days, he was back
on the road, performing Schumann’s Kreisleriana and the
Beethoven Hammerklavier Sonata in Luxembourg.
Park manages these challenges with the depth of a
much more mature artist. He plays with total abandon,
reflected in his energetic body language and mobile facial
expressions. How has he learned these extra-musical
flamboyant touches that audiences seem to love? ‘I have
never intended to perform physically,’ he insists. ‘It’s
just automatic.’
He was recognised as an exceptional piano student
from the age of about eight. He recalls that he was a ‘fast
learner’ and a precocious music-lover. As he has matured,
‘music is still growing in me’, he says.
Park is an only child and the sole musician in the family.
His father often played recordings of Bach’s Brandenburg
Concertos, a selection of Chopin pieces, and other
standards of the literature. ‘From the beginning, I was kind
of accustomed to the vibes of classical music,’ he recalls.
Under the tutelage of Prof Sungwon Lee in his
hometown of Daigu, in his first three years he produced
Busoni Competition winner Jae Hong Park is the competent readings of Bach’s Inventions and Sinfonias,
product of South Korea’s impressive music education the Sonatinas of Clementi and Friedrich Kuhlau, and
system, but now he wants to spread his wings.

some of the ‘easy’ sonatas of Mozart and Beethoven. It was
in 2012 at the Ettlingen Competition for young pianists in
Michael Johnson reports Germany that he was noticed by a Korean juror, Prof Kim.
They have worked together since that point, and Park says
T
he feels ‘so blessed to be his student and learn from him’.
he young Korean pianist Jae Hong Park has so far He has been careful to broaden his education from
bypassed European and American conservatoires concentrated music studies to general reading, art
by opting to train in his homeland – a successful appreciation and classic cinema. He is currently learning
approach that led him to triumph at the 63rd chess and excels as an avid ping pong player. One activity
International Ferruccio Busoni Piano Competition in he avoids, however, is baseball, a major attraction to
Bolzano, Italy. Now aged 22 and buoyed by his recent win, Koreans young and old. One of the star professional
Park wants more. ‘It is essential for me to study in Europe,’ Korean players has the same name as his. ‘I know him, but
he says via a phone call from Vienna. ‘I need to seek the I don’t follow baseball,’ he says.
essence of where this music came from.’ Considering his strong roots in Korea, Park might have
Park has not yet settled on the best location to continue expected to be limited in his interpretation of European
his personal development. When we spoke, he had been music, but he is keenly aware of this potential pitfall.
walking in the footsteps of Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms At home, he listened to recorded classics but never felt
and others, even visiting some of their graves. Vibes from the inhibited from ‘making music in my own way’. He is on
past of these great men ‘give me lots of inspiration,’ he says. guard against unconsciously picking up details from
Park is currently studying at the Korean National recordings when working on the same material. Instead of
University of the Arts in Seoul under the guidance of imitating tempos, dynamics or pedalling, he shifts to the

ONE TO WATCH
same composers’ work in other genres such as ensembles, duty to ‘search for hidden pearls’. He is now working on
symphonies or choral music to gain a wider perspective contemporary compositions, another way of avoiding ‘safe
on their musicality. choices’. He also sees conducting as an attractive route
Could his repertoire, heavy on the Germans of forward, perhaps at first conducting from the keyboard.
the 19th century, be criticised as ‘too safe’? At this Meanwhile, a busy concert schedule looks set to
suggestion, he launches into a spirited defence of transform Park’s life over the coming seasons. The Busoni
Beethoven’s Hammerklavier, one of his signature pieces. Competition expects to book at least 30 engagements for
He characterises it as ‘the opposite of safe’. Originally him, and as many as 50 if takers can be found. His debut
considered unplayable when published in 1819, it is now a album for Universal Music has just been released too.
must for the modern performer. Park is unfazed by these How does Jae Hong sum up what music means to him?
warnings. Parts of Hammerklavier are really difficult, he ‘It means everything to me,’ he says without hesitation,
says, ranging from the sacred to the very delicate and ‘and I hope that in these difficult times, music can be the
grand virtuoso turns. Playing it in a competition is a big best remedy for anyone who has suffered the effects of the
gamble, ‘but I really don’t care. I just want to stay involved pandemic.’ IP
in this music’.
He has played it several times in public and still
finds it a ‘wonderful, magnificent challenge, one of the
greatest sonatas ever written.’ He cites the Adagio, the
third movement, as delivering the full range of human Jae Hong Park’s debut album of works by
emotions, providing a source of great inspiration in his Bach, Beethoven and Busoni is available from
repertoire. It is the fundamental base of his pianism and Universal Music (DU42238)
yet he is not bound by established interpretations. ‘I try to
be free every time I play it onstage.’ Applications are now open for the 64th Busoni
Safe repertoire is another matter. Choosing pieces Competition in 2022-23. Deadline:
by underrated composers can be adventurous, he 5 May 2022. busoni-mahler.eu
acknowledges, but as a performer he feels he has a
www.saffronhall.com or 0845 548 7650

(7p per minute + access charge)
Sun 10 Apr,
7pm
Sun 20 Mar,
3pm
London
Sun 3 Apr, Philharmonic
Pierre-
Alim
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Orchestra with
Laurent Mitsuko
Aimard Beisembayev Uchida
IN BLACK AND WHITE
Stretched to the limit

Do piano fingerings tend to favour men’s large hands? Margaret Fingerhut highlights
gender bias in leading editions of core keyboard repertoire
C
ovid, climate change, the imminent me quickly say that of course there are always So, you might well ask, what’s the big
demise of democracy – the subject of going to be a number of female pianists who deal? Surely anyone can simply change the
‘sexist’ fingerings might not rank high have large spans or gorgeously long tapered fingering to one that suits them? Everyone
up on people’s lists of things to worry about, fingers, just as there are a few male pianists knows that one size cannot fit all. Every hand
but I am going to have a little rant about with small hands. Famous among them was is individual, not just in size but also in shape
it anyway! However, unlike that notorious Josef Hofmann, who even had a Steinway built and dimension, in the relative lengths of the
contrarian Charivari, who hides safely behind for him with narrower keys. However, with fingers and the differing reaches between
the cloak of anonymity, I am firmly taking apologies to the reported 24 per cent of men them. Indeed, it begs the question as to what
ownership of my views. who have small hands, this article addresses point there is in including any fingerings at
I was recently playing through Bach’s the 87 per cent of us women for whom all. Why do editors feel the need to put them
Fugue in G minor from Book 1 of the editorial fingerings are all too often a source in, especially in so-called Urtext editions
Well-Tempered Clavier when I had cause to of frustration. It is time to call these sexist where they can cause unnecessary confusion
laugh out loud. No, it wasn’t the music itself fingerings to account! for many players?
that caused such hilarity; it was one of the Another howler appears in the Henle Meanwhile, if we accept the fact that
fingerings suggested by Harold Samuel in edition of Brahms’ Intermezzo Op 116/2 all these fingered editions exist – literally
the old Associated Board edition. In the (Example 2, above right). I wouldn’t be able to hundreds of volumes of them – it is essential
immortal words of John McEnroe, ‘You stretch the chord cleanly on the sixth quaver that we consider who they were/are aimed
cannot be serious!’ I could sooner fly to in the right hand with this fingering even if at. It certainly won’t be for the relatively
the moon than put my RH fourth finger on my life depended on it. The same goes for the small number of professionals or experienced
C and my second finger on E-flat a major octaves in Grieg’s Norwegian Dance Op 35/2 in pianists who do their own fingerings anyway.
sixth as he suggested – and this was in what the Peters edition (Example 3, opposite). Thus, we have to assume that editorial
might be deemed an educational publication I have drawn attention to these few fingerings are geared towards the vast
undoubtedly used by younger players. examples where the fingering is an outright majority of piano players and students who
Indeed, it was the edition I used when I was a physical impossibility for a small hand such might appreciate this sort of guidance. So
child (see Example 1, below). as mine. However, of far greater concern why is it that the small-handed (ie mostly
It then dawned on me how the vast majority are the countless times where the editorial female) ones have always been given such
of piano publications have always been, and fingering will be ‘doable’ but probably not that short shrift when they constitute well over
to a large extent still are, edited by blokes with comfortable for over 50 per cent of pianists. half the intended market?
big hands. Before I go any further, I don’t want And, as everyone knows, when it comes to From the late 18th century onwards many
to be accused of gender stereotyping, so let piano playing, tension is Public Enemy No 1. more girls than boys learnt to play the piano.
It was expected that young women of a
4 certain class should be able to play with a
b4 ‰
3 5
4 5 4 1 2 1 3
high degree of proficiency even though it was
& b 4 f f ff nff f f f ff bff ff™ f ff ff

3 2 2 4 1 4
2
frowned upon for them to perform in public.
{
f f But unlike stringed instruments that come in
every conceivable size, right down to a 1/64
≈ f f f f violin, pianos on the contrary went the other
? b 44 Ff R f
f f nf
1
F f
L way from about 1850 onwards. The size of an
b octave increased significantly and the action

became much heavier. At the same time,
1
3 5
male editors ruled the roost, the honourable
exception being Clara Schumann, although
Example 1 ••• Bach Fugue in G minor BWV 861, bar 16 interestingly she included very little by way

IN BLACK AND WHITE
ff nff
3
2
5
4
3
2
4
2
we need to employ various cunning tactics.
ff #ff ff
3 These include finger redistribution, finger
& 4 #ff FF ff
f substitution, releasing notes early, dividing
3
{
F f f or rolling chords, plus some fancy footwork
for when you cannot avoid spreading chords
(especially when you are trying to sustain a
? 43 f F f f f f
f f
melody in the right hand at the same time).
f f F f f The thing is always to sound convincing,
f as if you are deliberately choosing to spread

the chord because you believe it is better that
way. Never sound apologetic about it. Make it
Example 2 ••• Brahms Intermezzo in A minor Op 116/2, bar 14 beautiful! Admittedly this can occasionally be
hard to do. I cannot tell you how much I have
of fingering in her edition of her husband’s to the expense of revisiting past or current agonised over the chordal passage leading to
piano music. editions. Please do not think for a minute that the coda of Chopin’s Fourth Ballade. Likewise,
I should hasten to add this is not a I am proposing these venerable editions be the very last chord of Finzi’s Eclogue.
blanket condemnation of every male editor. ‘cancelled’ simply on account of male bias. If all else fails, there is another possibility
Many of them took great pains to find an Perhaps all I am suggesting is that if we must which is to omit or revise awkward notes.
‘average’ fingering. One of the most prolific have editorial fingerings at all, publishers So, for example, in bar 191 of Liszt’s Vallée
of all editors, Hans-Martin Theopold, who could and should be more aware of the needs d’Obermann, instead of laboriously spreading
produced no fewer than 226 editions for of the majority of their consumers. There every chord, I rearrange them so that the
Henle, was initially very reluctant to do any are encouraging signs that this is already momentum and onward sweep of the phrase
fingerings at all, citing the need for them happening. Dare I also suggest it might help if can be maintained. If you make this bar
to remain something individual. And then there were a few more female editors, please? sound truly sonorous and you play with the
there is Alfred Cortot, who in his footnote to requisite sense of drama and passion, I defy
Chopin’s Etude Op 10/1 provides alternative ‘When it comes to anyone to notice – or care!
fingerings that are eminently practical for In the old Associated Board edition of the
small hands. But then he goes and ruins it piano playing, tension Beethoven Sonatas, Donald Tovey wrote the
by stating that the use of these fingerings ‘is
not admissible when performing’. Ouch! Even
is Public Enemy No 1’ following in his notes for the last movement
of Op 2/1: ‘This sonata will probably be
Artur Schnabel’s wonderfully idiosyncratic Meanwhile though, sisters, do not despair! attempted by players whose hands are so
editions, fascinating though they are, are I am forever telling my small-handed small that the second chord in the RH is
filled with uncomfortable fingerings from the students, ‘Size doesn’t matter, it’s what you troublesome (some of our greatest players
point of view of someone with a small span. do with it!’ Just listen to Alicia de Larrocha have found it so) … If a note must be left out,
What is to be done? How can the situation playing Granados and Albéniz. In other leave out the G; the octaves are central to
be redressed to ensure a more level playing words, although our small hands might put the colour.’ Thank you, Sir Donald! Maybe
field (sorry about the pun) for small-handed us at certain disadvantages compared with this sort of advice could offer another way
pianists? After all, we are the not-so-silent our big-handed friends, the key factor is, in forward in the future, and that every edition
majority here! Needless to say, there has been the famous words of Chopin: ‘Souplesse avant includes guidance for small-handed pianists
no rush whatsoever by piano manufacturers tout!’ – flexibility above all. as standard. A few helpful notes from a
to start mass-producing pianos with It is harder to keep supple and flexible if sympathetic pianist/editor for we women
narrower keys. I also doubt very much that our fingers or hands are stretched awkwardly surely wouldn’t go amiss. IP
many publishers would be willing to run by an impractical fingering, so this is where margaretfingerhut.co.uk
> U
ff-. f f f- fffff f
4
f f
4 4 4
fff ff f fff f
5 5 5 4
f f
4 5 4
### ff f f f f f ff f f fff ff
∏∏∏∏∏
f f f ff f
&
{ U
att ac ca
f-
po c o ri t ard . e morendo pp
f f ff f ff f ff f ff
# #
? ## f ff ff ff f ff f ff f ff f
f ff ff ff ff ff ff ff ff
f
∏∏∏∏∏
∏∏∏∏∏
∏∏∏∏∏
∏∏∏∏∏
∏∏∏∏∏
∏∏∏∏∏
∏∏∏∏∏
∏∏∏∏∏
f f f f f f f f f
u na c orda
Example 3 ••• Grieg Norwegian Dance in A major Op 35/2, bars 9-12

The
Ill-Tempered
Clavier
Know anything about classical music?
Ignorance is not bliss, says Charivari
U
Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire (1944-2021) nless you are Elon Musk, who added
$121 billion to his vast fortune last
year, few of us were not glad to see the
end of 2021. Yet one thing struck forcibly as
we looked back over the past 12 months: how
very few classical musicians were mentioned
in any roundups of famous names lost during
that period.
This column is no friend of the BBC. Its
lack of commitment to classical music on
television is longstanding and a national
disgrace. So when it came to the corporation’s
end-of-year listing of those that left us in 2021,
it was hardly a surprise to see that only six
names from the world of classical music were
granted the accolade of recognition: Anthony
Payne, Christa Ludwig, Graham Vick, James
Levine (defined as ‘dismissed conductor’),
Bernard Haitink – and Stephen Sondheim,
who would be included on any list of both
classical and musical composers. Here are just
some of the better-known names that the BBC
decided to omit: Edita Gruberová, Frederic
Rzewski, Hugh Wood, Igor Oistrakh, Jane
Manning, Joan Carlisle, Nelson Freire, Norman
Bailey, Ossian Ellis and Steuart Bedford.
By contrast, whoever it was on work
experience at the BBC that compiled the list
thought the following musicians were worthy
of a mention: Greg Gilbert, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry,
DJ Paul Johnson, Dusty Hill and Young Dolph.
No. Nor me. There are no fewer than 45 others
like them of whom you have never heard.
‘Of course you’ve never heard of them,’ I hear
you say. ‘You’re not interested in yoof music
cultcha. By the same token, none of them
MAT HENNEK
would have heard of Oistrakh, Rzewski or

anyone else on your list.’ Fair point. But to have

THE ILL-TEMPERED CLAVIER
more than 50 – FIFTY – names from the rock/

pop music world plus the composer of the
‘Generally, in the UK, any other subject. The opportunity to play an
instrument, sing in a choir, write a musical or
theme for Countdown (a popular teatime game music lessons are an whatever, should not be viewed as anything
show in the UK) – compared to just six from special. Bach, Beethoven and Wagner should
the classical world shows an abysmal depth of add-on, a luxury’ be in the same classroom as Shakespeare,
ignorance and a dispiriting lack of inclusivity Dickens and the Brontë sisters.
(a favourite BBC buzzword). in the last 30 years. It’s as though there was And just when one is hoping for an
Osian Ellis, for goodness’ sake, one of the no music of any kind worth considering improvement from the BBC or a change in
greatest harp players in history; soprano Jane before 1990. Any classical music questions are government policy, along comes a man called
Manning, the voice of contemporary classical received with a collective groan – as though Ian Bauckham CBE who heads a government-
music; Nelson Freire, unquestionably one of you were being asked to solve a quadrilateral funded outfit called Ofqual (The Office of
the greatest pianists of the past half century. equation or the Latin names of garden herbs. Qualifications and Examinations Regulation).
BBC? Nothing. What can be done to address this malaise? It regulates ‘qualifications, examinations
One watches with a bemused shake of the Education. These end-of-year lists are and assessments in England’. ‘We maintain
head the contestants on University Challenge drawn up by people who have never had an standards and confidence’ its website proudly
(a long-running TV quiz show for students) introduction to classical music but instead boasts. As evidence of this, Mr Bauckham
as they fail to tell the difference between have acquired a huge knowledge of every other recently posited in an online message to
Chopin and Shostakovich, or can’t tell you genre of music (and – it seems to go with the headteachers that music teaching in schools
who wrote the Pathétique Sonata. On any territory for some reason – a great enthusiasm could be ‘suspended’ and music teachers
other quiz show, the preponderance of pop for football). Generally, in the UK, music redeployed to other subjects amid teaching
music questions as opposed to classical music lessons are an add-on. Instead of being an staff shortages due to Covid. With this kind of
questions is a given. And in any pub quiz I integral part of the curriculum it is sidelined, mindset at the pinnacle of the UK’s educational
have ever attended when it says ‘Music Round’ a luxury. Parents have to pay extra. Lessons establishment, within a decade I doubt if even
I know never to play my joker because all the are outside school hours. Music – in all its six names from the world of classical music will
questions will be about pop music recorded forms – should be treated no differently from make it into the BBC’s end-of-year obituaries. IP

COVER FEATURE
Into the cosmos

Mitsuko Uchida waited until late in her career before conquering the Diabelli Variations,
Beethoven’s Everest for piano. Owen Mortimer explores the work’s many technical and
metaphysical challenges with a pianist who has a profound understanding of its complex
RICHARD AVEDON
structures and its spiritual depth

COVER FEATURE
A
‘ cobbler’s patch’ is how Beethoven is said to hangups but did play the Diabelli Variations,’ she recalls.
have described the waltz by Anton Diabelli ‘Interestingly he forced me to learn the Hammerklavier
that inspired his late piano masterwork, 33 Sonata at the age of 18, even though I would have
Veränderungen über einen Walzer von Anton preferred to learn Op 110. He said, “You will learn the
Diabelli Op 120. Published in 1823, this hour-long set of Hammerklavier now so you will know it for the rest of your
variations stands alongside Bach’s Goldbergs as one of the life. If you wait until you are 30 you will forget the fugue
greatest keyboard pieces of its genre. Stylistically varied, within a month.” He was right, but why did he not suggest
intellectually challenging and fiendishly difficult, it is a the Diabelli Variations instead?’
veritable Everest for any pianist. In 1969, aged 20, Uchida won the Beethoven
For Mitsuko Uchida, who has built her 50-year career Competition in Vienna. This first milestone on her journey
around German music from the First and Second to public acclaim was followed by near wins at the 1970
Viennese Schools, the Diabelli Variations is a relatively Chopin Competition and 1975 Leeds Competition, both
recent addition to her repertoire. ‘I have probably of which placed her second. Then came her Mozart years.
been performing the piece from around 2009,’ she tells ‘There was a phase when I was playing a lot of Mozart,’ she
me, speaking from her home in London. ‘You know, I says. ‘I could not play any other music because it sounded
remember talking to my friend Radu Lupu and telling him, horrible! Eventually I came back to Beethoven via
“I’m working like a fiend on the Diabelli Variations”. There Schoenberg and Bartók because I needed a different way
was a pause and he said, “Did you not notice that you’re of approaching it. When I was playing Mozart, I wanted
over 60?” I replied, that’s why I’m doing it! I knew that if I people to believe that I couldn’t produce any other sound.
didn’t do it now, I would regret it on my deathbed.’ Similarly, when I am playing Beethoven, I want people to
I originally hoped our interview would take place think that is my world!’
in person but the latest virus strain has shifted our For a long time Uchida says she didn’t think the Diabelli
appointment online. Thankfully, the video technology we’re Variations would suit her, ‘but eventually thought I’d give
using is a pretty good substitute and poses no barrier to it a go – so it happened’. Live performances she has given
communication. Uchida seems in high spirits, frequently in the UK and US have been met with rave reviews, with
punctuating her flow of ideas with playful laughter. I’m critics praising her interpretation for its ‘sheer beauty’,
also struck by the wide-ranging modulation of her speech. ‘magic’ and ‘transformative’ qualities.
Her words ebb and flow as each new thought takes hold, ‘I think it is one of the greatest pieces of music I’ve ever
one moment cutting through sharply then dropping to a played,’ says Uchida. ‘And it is so special that it is difficult
whisper for added emphasis. I’m reminded of an anecdote to describe until you start getting involved in it. It has got
about a conductor who would make his beat smaller in a bad name because of the theme but that is unfair on
order to force the orchestra to concentrate. Diabelli. OK, so he was a mediocre composer, but he was
A few days later, I hear Uchida in concert at London’s probably a decent piano player and had a bit of money so
Royal Festival Hall, directing two Mozart concertos from he published. Many people in that period who had a bit of
the keyboard with the Gustav Mahler Orchestra. Her talent did the same.’
personal style I observed during our conversation is writ Uchida is not convinced that Beethoven actually used Directing a Mozart
large when she gets behind the piano. The fluctuations the term ‘Schusterfleck’ (‘cobbler’s patch’) because he concerto
in volume, tempo and tone that are central to her
conception of Mozart’s music perfectly match its drama.
Indeed, she moved between her roles of conductor, soloist,
accompanist and concertante player with quicksilver
aplomb, leading performances that roundly deserved the
standing ovation she received.
Mozart is perhaps the composer with whom Uchida
was most closely associated during her early career, but
Beethoven is also a firm fixture in her discography. She
has recorded all five Beethoven concertos (twice) as
well as his five late piano sonatas and the 32 Variations
in C minor. I wonder why she has waited until now to
commit the Diabelli Variations to disc. ‘Initially I was
scared of this piece because I’d been hearing it since I was
13,’ she explains. ‘When I was studying in Vienna people
often played it in classes, plus there was this Beethoven
Competition where we heard so many performances –
each one more boring than the other! I thought, “What
the heck is this piece?” It was so talked up.’
HYOU VIELZ
Uchida’s teacher at the Vienna Music Academy was

Richard Hauser. ‘He had many technical problems and

COVER FEATURE
soon realised how usable Diabelli’s theme could be – ‘and harmonic, rhythmic and motivic transformations. I am
how abnormal it was from many points of view. So he curious to know how important Uchida finds this kind of
dissected the whole thing.’ academic analysis. ‘That is what it is about!’ she exclaims.
‘The interval of the fourth and the rhythm heard in the
T he final version of the Diabelli Variations we know

today had an unusually long genesis. Beethoven began
work on the score in 1819 and had written around two-
left hand at the opening of Diabelli’s theme. Then there is
the group of eight crochets beginning in bar 2, concluding
with the turn in the bass. Also the sequences that begin
thirds before setting it aside to write his last three piano with the upbeat to bar 9. These are all usable things, as is
sonatas and the Missa solemnis. When he finally resumed Diabelli’s very unmusical crescendo. Every element takes
work on the variations in 1822, Uchida says he added 11 on importance.’
new pieces ‘in strategic places to make the entire picture. She continues: ‘The hemiolas are so important. Many
There were some stunning variations from the earlier publishers and musicologists have thought Beethoven
attempt, but it is the ones he added at the end that make made a mistake, but actually Variation 20 has the wrong
the Diabelli Variations what we know today.’ metre. It is not 6/4 – he wrote 3/2. It has nothing to
It is clear from her new recording that Uchida has do with 6/4! Another important example is Variation
an incredibly detailed understanding of the work’s 26, which is rhythmically the most impossible of all
musical structure. Indeed, when I mention that I have the “shaky” pieces. The time signature is 3/8. Nobody
been reading a monograph on Beethoven’s score by the questions it, but I am one of the few people who play it
musicologist William Kinderman, published as part of the in 3/8. Here, Beethoven writes piacavole – enjoyable! The
OUP series ‘Studies in Musical Genesis and Structure’, she next one is completely impossible.’
responds enthusiastically: ‘Ah, yes – of course I have read At this point, Uchida makes one of her characteristic
that too.’ gear changes. Her previous comments came tumbling
Kinderman delves deep to show how Beethoven out breathlessly, but now she starts speaking very quietly
developed Diabelli’s material through a range of complex and slowly: ‘Without Variation 31 – the Largo – and the
‘The Diabelli Variations is

Beethoven’s vision of the Universe’
GEOFFREY SCHIED

COVER FEATURE
final Minuet, it would be a different piece. The Minuet is
MARK ALLAN
a tribute to Mozart, quite unlike the earlier parody of Don
Giovanni (Variation 22), which is a joke. There are also
three tributes to Bach including the fughetta (Variation
24) and Largo (Variation 31), while the fugue (Variation
32) is a tribute to Handel.’
The challenge for any performer of the Diabelli
Variations is to capture the character of each variation
within the work’s overall narrative flow. Several
performers – notably Czerny, Hans von Bulöw and Alfred
Brendel – have penned descriptive titles for the variations
in a light-hearted attempt to guide interpreters and
listeners. However, this is not an approach Uchida favours.
‘I prefer to work purely from the score. I don’t give a damn
if other people think something is funny: I may not find
it a joke. I want to appreciate each piece of music at face
value, the way I see it and not the way someone else
has seen it. I probably play many things more seriously
than other colleagues. While some things are obviously
intended as a joke – such as Beethoven’s Don Giovanni
parody – everybody sees and expresses them differently.
As a player what I want to be doing is listening.’
Comparing Uchida’s new recording with Brendel’s it would focus solely on music. I venture to remind her of Receiving a well-
readings of this piece is a fascinating exercise. Both something she’s previously said: ‘I’m a European. That’s deserved ovation
are highly characterised while displaying a keen how I think of myself. Until I play in Tokyo and then I at London’s Royal
understanding of the score’s architectural sweep, but feel Japanese.’ Is there any sense in which her approach Festival Hall
whereas Brendel places emphasis on drama and conflict, to music has been shaped by Japan’s rich aesthetic
Uchida’s approach foregrounds tonal beauty and the traditions?
metaphysical dimension of Beethoven’s musical vision. ‘I am very happy to have been born Japanese because
‘The Diabelli Variations, above all, is his vision of the I know that strange culture,’ she says. ‘Really it was a
Universe – as if he saw it. There is something of Newton blessing, because I’m not just European.’ While she
and Einstein in Beethoven.’ believes it is ‘for others to judge’ whether her playing
This is in stark contrast with the view of another great embodies the ideals of Japanese aesthetics, she is candid
Beethoven interpreter, Charles Rosen, who wrote in The about her early memories of her birthplace: ‘When I first
Classical Style: ‘I should like to emphasise the modesty of went back to Japan after four years of Austria – I had
the concluding minuet … its exquisite urbanity, its elegance moved there three weeks after my 12th birthday – there
and its ultimate refusal of the sublime.’ But for Uchida, ‘The were things that were so ugly. By comparison, I thought
final minuet is hand-in-hand with the coda of the Arietta Vienna very beautiful and structured. That visit was
[of Op 111].’ Rosen continues: ‘The coda … does not end also the first time I heard ghastly electronic sounds. My
pianissimo but concludes with a sudden startling forte on parents’ house was quite close to a school for the blind
an offbeat, a reminder of the comic spirit that informed so the traffic lights were accompanied by music. The
the whole work.’ Again, Uchida sees it differently: ‘For me electronic sound of this music did not fluctuate at all – its
the last chord of the Diabelli Variations is not a joke – it is a sound was ‘NAAAAAAAAAAAAA’. That was a shock.
total affirmation. Beethoven is at the lowest level of heaven ‘Another memory is of visiting the Moss Garden in Kyoto:
but he can still look up and see a flicker of light. That is the the resonance of the sound there was totally different from
absolute optimism of Beethoven. It is unbelievable that a what I was used to in Vienna. It was a revelation. But do I
man can write such music.’ use that sound when I play? I doubt it.’ IP
We come back down to earth with a bump, Uchida
again switching tone and tempo with an impish chuckle:
‘I don’t want to go any further with these philosophical
definitions of what Beethoven is expressing because Mitsuko Uchida’s
I don’t want to be misquoted. I also don’t think it’s recording of
necessary to share my personal opinion about everything. Beethoven’s Diabelli
As Hans Christian Andersen put it, “Where words fail, Variations will be
music speaks”.’ released on 8 April
Our time is nearly up, but I’m burning to ask Uchida at (Decca 4852731).
least one question about something more personal. This is mitsukouchida.com
a risk as our interview was granted on the understanding

SCRIABIN 150
Toward
the flame
A new book celebrates the 150th
anniversary of the birth of Scriabin,
a self-proclaimed deity whose piano
music ranges from extreme delicacy
to almost hysterical outbursts.
Benjamin Ivry reports
J
ust in time to celebrate the 150th birthday of the
Russian composer and pianist Alexander Scriabin, a
new book, Demystifying Scriabin (Boydell & Brewer),
edited by Kenneth Smith and Vasilis Kallis, notes the
relative lack of collections of academic articles in English
on the Symbolist musician. To be sure, Scriabin deserves
any and all such homages. As a virtuoso, he was acclaimed
for subtle pedal effects and a light-fingered touch that
sometimes bordered on inaudibility. This delicacy and
refinement translated to his compositions, which have the
equilibrium of classical compositions, but at times also
feature unrestrained expression of quasi-hysterical emotion.
For this reason, perhaps, Scriabin’s outsized ardour

contained within comfortingly traditional formats
appealed to noted pianists who suffered from neuroses.
Vladimir Horowitz, John Ogdon and Glenn Gould all
made splendidly coherent recordings that are evidence of
close emotional identification with Scriabin.
Of course, one need not be unbalanced to be a fine Scriabin’s early output features a host of compositions Alexander Scriabin
performer of Scriabin’s works. Other pianists with less of inspired by Chopin, Liszt, Schumann and other (1872-1915)
a constant identification with Scriabin also triumphed in predecessors. By the middle of his career, however, he
his music. An example would be Sviatoslav Richter, who had arrived at a stage where his piano works no longer
considered Scriabin unsuitable for daily consumption, sounded like anyone else’s. The individuality of that voice
but played his music majestically. Nor do admirably continues to be powerfully alluring.
lucid renditions of Scriabin by Vladimir Ashkenazy ever Because Scriabin was a one-off, comparing him to
transgress the limits of sanity. other Russian composers offers limited satisfaction. His
Generations of Russian pedagogues have likewise uniqueness may have alienated some contemporaries, as
performed Scriabin with rationality and aristocratic when the venerable César Cui reportedly slated Scriabin’s
delicacy; they include Samuil Feinberg, Alexander 24 Preludes Op 11 as ‘bits filched from Chopin’s trousseau’.
Goldenweiser and Heinrich Neuhaus. These didactic- Outside Russia, leading musicians were troubled by no
spirited performances are notably chaster than the such presumptions of filching. Eugen d’Albert, Wilhelm
splashier, more glamorous renditions by Vladimir Backhaus, Walter Gieseking, Ignaz Friedman, Josef
Sofronitsky, another much-acclaimed Scriabin Hofmann, Victor Schiøler, Arthur Rubinstein, Frederic
interpreter. Josef Lhévinne and Sergei Rachmaninov, Lamond and Fanny Davies were all drawn to Scriabin’s
Scriabin’s classmates at the Moscow Conservatory, piano music. And Claudio Arrau recorded a snippet of his
were also prominent advocates of his music despite gallant Etude Op 8/12 for a 1954 film soundtrack.
considering themselves temperamentally ill-suited to its Less remembered American vestals like Gitta Gradova
explosive spasms. and Katherine Ruth Heyman were essential for keeping

SCRIABIN 150
the flame alive in the New World after the composer’s ‘with counterfeit softness’ (avec une fausse douceur).
untimely death in early middle age. Heyman performed Just as certain performance-related puzzles abide,
Scriabin’s works at her Manhattan flat for audiences which Scriabin’s music cannot be demystified through being
included the composers Charles Ives and Elliott Carter. She divorced from its mystical inspiration. Yet paradoxically,
claimed that she had ‘met Scriabin on the moon and had an Scriabin can be appreciated without delving into his
affair with him,’ and he had posthumously sent her coded religious beliefs. General listeners do not require a deep
messages which only she could decipher. understanding of the six-note ‘mystic chord,’ as it was termed
Although such extreme devotees have occasionally by the English music critic Arthur Eaglefield Hull, which
complained that Scriabin was becoming unfashionable serves as a basis for many of the composer’s later works.
with the public, interest from fellow musicians has never For those so inclined, a 2018 publication, The Notebooks
seriously faltered. of Alexander Skryabin (Oxford), translated by Simon
Nicholls and Michael Pushkin, expertly details the
T he title of the new Boydell volume highlights a

celebrated aspect of Scriabin, in addition to his
interest in matching colours with sounds: his full-out
composer’s spiritual and literary concerns. By contrast, the
modernist art critic Paul Rosenfeld, a near-contemporary,
delighted in Scriabin’s keyboard music for wholly non-
involvement in mysticism. In 1885, the Cambridge-based mystic reasons. Rosenfeld wrote in Musical Portraits
Society for Psychical Research had described the Russian (1920) that Scriabin ‘appears to have wakened in the piano
medium Madame Helena Blavatsky as ‘one of the most all its latent animality. Under his touch it loses its old
accomplished, ingenious, and interesting imposters in mechanical being, cries and chants like a bird, becomes at
history’. Apparently Scriabin never received the memo, instants cat, serpent, flower, woman’.
since increasingly after 1904, he devoured French Rosenfeld saw virtue in the anguish expressed in the
translations of her works, to the point where Blavatsky’s composer’s piano pieces: ‘What was beautiful and sick
prose may have influenced the ambiguous French- in [Scriabin’s] age entered into his art. The man must
language performance instructions he added to scores of have been indeed a nerve exposed.’ Dissenting from this
his piano compositions. point of view was the novelist Aldous Huxley, who as
Scriabin (second from His dramatic Ninth Sonata Op 68, known as the music critic for the Westminster Gazette, asked in 1922:
left) and Rachmaninov Black Mass Sonata, a name Scriabin did not invent but ‘Will posterity wonder why we are not disgusted with the
(fourth from right) with endorsed, demands that a theme be played ‘with nascent emotionalism of Scriabin?’ Huxley rejected the essentially
their classmates and longing’ (avec une langueur naissante). With similar un-British notion of writing music that was the ‘record of
teacher Nikola Zverev inscrutability, Scriabin indicated that his ‘Étrangeté’ the sensations of an exposed nerve. Scriabin expresses the
in Moscow (Strangeness) from his Poèmes Op 63 should be performed exquisite torments and delights of a sensibility suffering
from hyperaesthesia with an appalling fidelity… One
should not try, like Scriabin, to make art out of an exposed
nerve. It cannot be done. It is better to go to the dentist’.
Despite Huxley’s admonition, listeners who prefer
Scriabin to odontology will find that the rewards are many.
Scriabin’s Sonata No 8 Op 66, one of two which he refused
to perform in public, contains lavishly expressive trills,
confirming Rosenfeld’s observation that no other composer
‘has made of the piano-trill … more luminous and quivering
a thing.’ According to Scriabin’s biographer Faubion Bowers,
he saw trills as signifying ‘palpitation … trembling … the
vibration in the atmosphere,’ and a source of light.
Preoccupied by such visionary notions, Scriabin was
notoriously uninterested in any musical compositions
but his own. Stravinsky claimed that Scriabin slated
Schubert’s Fantasia in F minor D940 as ‘music for young
damsels’ (la musique pour les jeunes demoiselles). Beyond
mere creative egomania, this attitude was due to his
belief that art should express a higher spiritual truth.
He considered himself a demiurge, or subordinate god
who arranges the physical world to make it conform to a
rational and eternal ideal. In a notebook entry from 1904,
he observed: ‘The world is the result of my activity, my

creation, my free will.’
Ironically, Scriabin claimed to aspire to self-restraint.
Rosa Newmarch, a specialist in Russian music, revealed
that Scriabin’s last words when dying of a painful blood

SCRIABIN 150
celestial or ‘supermundane.’ Yet, Sabaneyev observed, the ‘The world is the result
surname Scriabin suggested that his ancestors were petty of my activity, my
officials: in Russian, scriba means scribe or clerk. creation, my free will’
Few critics have claimed that Scriabin wimped out on
his vehement spirituality and grandiosity. One exception
was the English pianist and composer Kaikhosru Shapurji
Sorabji, who complained in the Musical Times in March
1957 that the ‘Black Mass Sonata is unhappily not a bit
sinister; in fact it is, most inappropriately for its sub-title,
delicate and charming. [Scriabin] failed, poor dear, just
as much at the other end of the scale, and the blinding
blaze of cosmic light suggested by the stage directions at
the end of Vers la flamme turn out to be, unhappily, rather
a Catherine wheel manqué, with no remote hint of what
Dante saw and felt at the sublime end of the Paradiso.
[Scriabin] often peters out lamentably, right at the end
of what ought to be a first-class orgiastic climax; he does
this at the end of the Fourth Sonata, the last page of which
promises quite nicely but ends, oh so lamely.’
Sorabji was reacting in typically eccentric, if entertaining,
fashion to an article by Rollo Myers in the same journal
two months earlier, which claimed that ‘on purely aesthetic
grounds Scriabin’s hysterical, almost maniacal outpourings
offend our 20th-century canons of taste.’
More recently, Scriabin’s exaltation has come to mirror
our increasingly overwrought times. A strident predicter
of Armageddon, which he identified with the Great War
that began shortly before his death, Scriabin should be
pardoned his occasional ‘bombastic rhetoric,’ as the
musicologist Martin Cooper proposed in Music & Letters
in April 1935. After all, Cooper explained, Scriabin ‘felt
himself the appointed mystagogue’ or propounder of
infection were, ‘I must be self-possessed, like Englishmen mystical doctrines.
are’. Yet inevitably, unruly Russianness broke through, Preeminent performers of his works today include
as described in Anatole Leikin’s The Performing Style of Vladimir Ashkenazy, Håkon Austbø, Marc-André
Alexander Scriabin (Ashgate). Scriabin’s own renditions, Hamelin, Christopher O’Riley, Piers Lane, Arcadi Volodos,
based on the evidence of several piano rolls he recorded, Wojciech Kocyan, Anna Malikova, Stephen Beus, Daniel
varied from his published scores. Leikin observes that Pereira and Joseph Moog. They all demonstrate that
his tempos fluctuated ‘continuously and widely’. And, regardless of the occasional sensory overload and happily
Leikin adds, modern performances of Scriabin might ongoing mystifications, Scriabin’s pianistic posterity as a
be overpedalled insofar as piano rolls suggest that he supermundane mystagogue is assured. IP
eschewed the sustaining pedal.
Generally, as his disciple Alexander Borovsky recalled,
Scriabin touched the keys so delicately that performances,
‘so intimate and so fantastic and poetic,’ could be difficult
to hear. So we might beware of attempts at historically
accurate performances of Scriabin, especially as the Demystifying Scriabin
composer’s preferred interpreter of his music was Edited by Vasilis Kallis and Kenneth Smith
Vsevolod Buyukli. Before starting to play a recital, this Boydell & Brewer, 358 pages
friend would place a basket with a cat in it under the
piano; the cat would purr loudly onstage throughout A conference marking the 150th anniversary of
the evening’s entertainment, which officially began after Scriabin’s birth will be held in Reading, UK on
Buyukli fired a toy pistol three times. 22-23 September 2022. Programme highlights
Scriabin’s zany predilections, like his exaltedness, may include a keynote address from Cambridge
have partly derived from an urgent need to escape the University professor Marina Frolova-Walker
commonplace. In the Musical Times of September 1931, and a recital by pianist Anita D’Attellis.
Scriabin’s friend Leonid Sabaneyev noted that the former scriabin150.org
required music to contain spiritual exaltation, to be

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IN RETROSPECT
Keyboard whirlwind
Hungarian pianist Zoltán Kocsis was a savagely brilliant performer who left an extensive
discography as a pianist and conductor. Away from the stage, he was a vocal critic who
heaped extravagant praise and merciless criticism on his fellow artists.
Benjamin Ivry considers Kocsis’ provocative legacy
A
new box set from His adherence to Bartók’s performance indications had
Decca, honouring the the uncompromising faith of an Orthodox clergyman.
Hungarian pianist A supreme interpretive imagination was at work,
Zoltán Kocsis (1952- especially in his renditions of pieces by Bartók inspired by
2016) on his 70th birthday, folk music; he created a convincing rural atmosphere, as
reminds us that rage, as well if clods of mud had just been removed from the pianist’s
as love, can be ingredients shoes before he entered the recording studio.
for passionate keyboard His muscular, peremptory Mozart was Beethovenian
accomplishment. In Russian in spirit, replacing rococo wit with seething earnestness.
music, especially by Paradoxically, in Beethoven, Kocsis could sound
Rachmaninov, somewhat intellectualised, as if he were thinking aloud
Kocsis’ steely rather than offering an emotional statement, akin to his
determination standoffish, purist approach to Bach.
and force His Liszt was an apogee of sensuous decadence, his
allowed for Debussy lordly yet vulnerable. Grieg’s sonata, part of a
not an iota of brief programme of the Norwegian composer’s works that
sentimentality is receiving its first CD transfer here, is heartbreakingly
or schmaltz. poignant. Kocsis also delved indefatigably into modern
music, championing the composers John Cage and
György Kurtág.
Despite his transcendent technique, Kocsis’ musical
imagination stretched far beyond the piano. After some
years, he claimed to be ‘bored sitting alone in the middle of
the stage’ in the role of a virtuoso soloist. He confided in a
May 2015 essay for Fidelio, a Hungarian arts periodical, that
having already played Schumann’s Kreisleriana 41 times ‘well
or very well’ to audiences, he felt no pressing need to perform
it a 42nd time. Instead, he increasingly sought pastures new
by conducting neglected symphonic and vocal works by
Schumann; Brahms’ Serenades, which he preferred to that
composer’s symphonies; and Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder.
Always temperamental, Kocsis tormented orchestral
musicians to get the musical results he sought, and
his mission was complicated by a lack of conventional
podium training. Although he coveted a career as a
touring international conductor, only his own Hungarian
ensemble would put up with the abuse he regularly
meted out in rehearsals. He kept a diary of a 1989 London
tour as a soloist, later published in Holmi, a Hungarian
literary review. He scorned ‘indescribable’ behaviour by
the BBC Symphony Orchestra, which he describes as a
‘weak band,’ and wondered why the guest conductor Péter
Eötvös didn’t just walk out. Kocsis added that his ‘aversion
DECCA CLASSICS
was invincible’ to the ‘ugly city of London, inevitably

ugly … Even the interior of Buckingham Palace can be
uncomfortable and depressing’.

IN RETROSPECT
After some years working with the Budapest Festival ‘everything is too slow, too artistic, too excessive’. He asks
Orchestra, a group he had co-founded with Iván Fischer, rhetorically, ‘If the composer’s metronome notations are
Kocsis broke away and refashioned his own ensemble, the not considered scripture, what are we to be faithful to?’
already extant Hungarian National Philharmonic, by firing By contrast, deliberate tempos did not mar his
half of its players. appreciation of a recording of Beethoven’s Diabelli
When not ferociously playing the piano, composing, Variations by Márta Kurtág, the wife and duo partner
transcribing and conducting, Kocsis was also an ardent of his close colleague György Kurtág. In an August 2010
writer on music. His extended, footnoted CD reviews article in Holmi, Kocsis acknowledged that Márta Kurtág’s
were vehement edicts. His uniquely evocative, merciless CD has ‘its flaws and shortcomings,’ but its epic approach
and sometimes injuriously frank assessments are overdue required a ‘lack of virtuosity, in other words the relatively
for translation in a collected volume. He considered that slow tempos’. The result is a ‘bold performance worthy of
writing about music helped him formulate ideas and Beethoven … both pianistically and stylistically’.
‘kept the brain fresh’. Assembled, his lucubrations add up Less fortunate was the Austrian pianist Ingolf Wunder,
to a Savonarola-flavoured goulash that veers wildly from whose Chopin recital CD Kocsis demolished in the July 2012
praise to blame. issue of Holmi. After decrying the ‘astonishing tastelessness’
Kocsis wrote about pianists he worshipped, like of the CD’s marketing and presentation, he slates a CD
Sviatoslav Richter and Annie Fischer. Those he castigated booklet interview with Wunder as ‘full of contradictions,
included the Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman, whose narcissistic manifestations, and at first seemingly surprising,
Transcendent recording of Debussy’s Préludes he reviewed in the July but ultimately disappointing, statements.’
technique: Kocsis 1995 issue of Holmi. Headlined ‘Out of Control’, the article He reserves particular irony for a Daily Telegraph critic’s
in 1972 notes that from the first piece, ‘Dancers of Delphi’, onward, praise of the same CD, which features a Chopin Sonata
No 2 in B-flat minor Op 35 (‘Funeral March’) marred,
according to Kocsis, by the soloist’s ‘indecision, possibly
indifference’. The sonata’s fourth movement begins half-
heartedly, ‘most reminiscent of a schoolchild’s reluctant,
early-morning waking up’.
Kocsis badmouthed colleagues from the early
years of his international career. In February 1988, he
mischievously asked the New York Times, ‘When have you
ever heard anything interesting from [Austrian pianist]
Paul Badura-Skoda? And still, he is the great Mozart
expert!’ And at a French festival, when the distinguished
UK collaborative pianist Paul Hamburger accompanied
soprano Elisabeth Söderström at a recital, Kocsis
concluded that Hamburger ‘would be better off selling
sausages or burgers in the street’.
Fortunately, Kocsis also expressed himself insightfully
about pianists he idolised. In the November 2014 issue of
Holmi, he lauded his compatriot Annie Fischer for having
achieved ‘authentic simplicity combined with regal dignity’.
Sviatoslav Richter’s grandeur is well described by Kocsis
in an extended 2015 reminiscence for Fidelio of their brief
tour as duo pianists in the 1980s. Richter’s eccentricities
baffled Kocsis, including his passion for rollercoasters
and refusal to wear car seatbelts. For both icons, Kocsis’
voluble self-assurance may have been tiresome, as
he describes both Richter and Fischer independently
responding to his music-related entreaties with silent,
airily dismissive waves of the hand.
At times, Richter would add a friendly insult after
waving away concerns, such as when he and Kocsis
disagreed about the ideal tempo for the second movement
of Beethoven’s Sonata in A-flat major Op 110. When
Kocsis alluded to the movement’s Allegro molto marking,
Richter, who favoured an exceedingly measured tempo,
simply waved and exclaimed tauntingly: ‘Schoolgirl!’
URBÁN TAMÁS
Mostly, Kocsis delighted in Richter’s penchant for

urchinlike anarchy, a Bolshie tendency to explode

IN RETROSPECT
Kocsis’ musical
imagination
stretched far
beyond the piano
DECCA CLASSICS
violently. At a Swiss airport, exasperated by Kocsis’ endless Hungarian government of Viktor Orbán, which used anti-
searching for a rubbish bin to discard an apple core, Semitism and homophobia to consolidate its power base
Richter snatched it from his hand and hurled it into the while destroying democratic institutions.
street, hitting the windshield of a passing car. The driver Four years earlier, the journalist Zsolt Bayer, a close
screeched to a halt and was not amused, although Richter friend of Orbán and co-founder of his political party,
certainly was. had described Schiff as ‘stinking excrement’. By praising
Similarly, Kocsis found it side-splitting when Richter and opting to serve as the well-funded lapdog for Orbán
trashed the Paris apartment of reverential documentarian and his henchmen, Kocsis appalled some admirers.
Bruno Monsaingeon, like a petulant rock star in a hotel The typically unapologetic Kocsis may have sensed that
room. The provocation? A neighbour complained about something was amiss, for he gave another interview not
Richter’s practising the piano. Richter’s forcefully expressed long afterward, adding some platitudes about respecting
prejudices may have validated Kocsis’ own hypercritical minority rights.
nature, as without explanation, the Russian expressed Ultimately, Kocsis’s identity as a savagely brilliant
loathing for Steinway pianos, Maurizio Pollini (dismissed by keyboard whirlwind was best summed up by the
Richter as ‘always the same’), Schoenberg’s music, et al. Hungarian poet János Pilinszky, who praised his ‘selfless
In turn, Richter was unable to convince Kocsis of the devotion and concomitant unheard-of strength of
value of piano compositions by Paul Hindemith, or of personality, youthful vigour and homogeneity. Shelley and
Grieg’s arrangements of Mozart keyboard works, which [Hungarian poet and revolutionary Sándor] Petőfi could
Kocsis deemed ‘hugely wrong’. have been like that!’
Kocsis is particularly moving about the late physical In reflecting on Kocsis’ premature death and legacy,
decline of Richter after surgery, and states that he piano lovers may conclude that the most apt response is
did not want to hear recitals by the great pianist in a what Kocsis himself wrote after the death of Sviatoslav
diminished state. Richter: ‘Let’s grieve and think.’ IP
He had a correspondingly intense ‘love it or leave it’
attitude about Hungarian national pride, even towards
pianists who had already chosen exile rather than live in
an oppressive, Fascist-leaning regime. Possibly youthful
experiences with Communist authoritarianism made
Kocsis excessively tolerant when the pendulum swayed to
a different form of tyranny in his homeland. Zoltán Kocsis – Complete
In a 2011 interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Kocsis Philips Recordings
opposed András Schiff, a former performance partner Decca 4851589 – 26 CDs
who warned about the neo-Fascist tendencies of the

PREMIERE
Seeking silence
MANUELA JANS
Colin Clarke introduces an uncompromising new
piano concerto to be heard in London this month
R
ebecca Saunders’ piano concerto, to an utterance,
was due to be premiered at the Lucerne Festival
in 2020, but Covid delayed its first performance
to September 2021, Enno Poppe conducting the
newly formed Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra
with British pianist Nicolas Hodges as soloist.
Saunders is British born but based in Berlin.
Her new score for piano and orchestra is typically
uncompromising, yet also contains some surprising
references to the Romantic concerto archetype. ‘To a
certain degree, I’m definitely nodding my head at that,’
she says, ‘and from a purely compositional point of view
it’s really interesting because it involves working with a
very virtuosic palette as well as with sound masses. This
provides a wonderful compositional concept – to have
two such different compositional processes and combine
them in one project feeds the piece, enriching its polemic.’ Hodges expands on the idea of clusters: ‘It’s not
Of course, there has to be a departure point: ‘The primarily a physical action. It’s a chord.’ (‘It’s both,’
piano is the initiator of processes, but at one point the interjects Saunders). ‘In Rebecca’s music, chaotic
orchestra takes over and drowns him, and that’s the point staccatos usually have no length, but composed clusters
of departure away from the traditional concerto idea’. are rarely staccato as they have to have weight and colour.
Saunders did something similar in her Violin Concerto, a You can balance clusters exactly as you can a chord.’
deliberate drowning of the soloist. The concerto’s title, to an utterance, will surely invoke
Virtuosity is rife, and piano and orchestra seem to a multiplicity of interpretations. ‘I felt Nic was telling his
engage in struggle more than harmony; when an uneasy story,’ says Saunders. ‘The idea of “to an utterance” is an
peace arrives, more than 20 minutes in, it is hard-won. old phrase which means taking things to the brink, to the
There is also a cadenza improvised by the soloist in which edge of things, and through the speaking, seeking one’s
Saunders had a strong hand, essentially telling Hodges silence; through an excess of speaking, to seek silence.’
what not to do. The music’s own momentum does the rest That ‘excess of speaking’ is very apposite: the effect of
– when a soloist is as saturated in the music as Hodges, the world premiere was truly shattering.
the results naturally fall within the frame of utterance. Saunders was brought up with the piano, so much so
Saunders scores for a large orchestra of four horns, three that it took her a while to make her first attempts on it.
trumpets, strings and three groups of percussion. A second Here though, the pianist-protagonist immediately sets
piano, harp and accordion are treated as a separate group, the scene, caught in an ‘utterance,’ one so extreme that
often operating as an echo or pre-echo of the solo part. the music, in its transcendent virtuosity, seems to totter
Against this is Saunders’ search for the new. The musical on an abyss. Preoccupation with narratives of single
surface is dominated by piano glissandos, while clusters protagonists in a static situation has a strong influence.
generate material and follow a melodic line, or lines, that ‘What do people think, feel and do in moments of
drive the piece. Glissandos are notated in different ways: solitude?’ asks Saunders. ‘What is solitude? The inner
there are at least three types. The ‘width’ of the glissando is monologue that each of us carries – to give that a channel
defined – single note, glissando cluster – hence the need of expression. It’s not about the normal form of speech,
for the soloist to wear gloves. it’s about the inner stream of consciousness, a cacophony
Clusters exist in different states – clusters with holes in sometimes of different voices.’ To achieve this, Saunders
the middle, clusters with particular notes foregrounded, actually uses a minimum of material, a ‘skeletal quality’
Shattering: Nicolas and so on. Clusters allow for a blurring of ‘image’ or line she finds in her beloved Samuel Beckett that maps on
Hodges (above right) to disclose that line strategically, which is what Saunders to her own methodology. She uses ‘very limited palettes
premieres Saunders’ does at the end. The glissandos also blur the lines but can of sound; finding the cell and then exploring the full
concerto in Lucerne be lyrical too. potential of what one can do with that. I see it as a mobile:

PREMIERE
I take the same thing and show different perspectives, Rebecca Saunders:
always the same and always slightly different.’ ‘ “to an utterance” is an
Saunders knows exactly what she wants from old phrase which means
every instrument, right down to stipulating specific taking things to the
fingerings to generate quarter-tone tunings on the brink’
F-horn. Through this precise sonic imagination,
the orchestra sounds at times like one heaving,
chthonic mass against which the piano rails
in its ‘super-virtuoso’ part (Saunders’
description).
She has already recast around half the
material from the concerto to create
a study for solo piano. Out of that will
come a third, more substantial solo
work for piano. In the meantime,
to an utterance can be heard in
ASTRID ACKERMANN
London later this month, featuring
Hodges as soloist with Edward
Gardner conducting the London
Philharmonic Orchestra. IP
Rebecca Saunders’ to an utterance will receive its UK premiere

alongside works by Missy Mazzoli, Mason Bates and George Walker
at London’s Royal Festival Hall on 30 March. nicolashodges.com

PIANO GENEALOGIES
Rooted in tradition
Almost every pianist’s biography makes mention of the
teachers behind the artist. Over the years there have been
various attempts to draw up a pianistic genealogy, showing
the links between artists, but Spanish pianist Daniel Pereira
has taken the idea to new lengths with a major project hosted
by the University of Maryland. Jeremy Nicholas reports
I
‘ want people to know this is not my teacher’s. It has now got a bit out of hand
a musicology project. I am not a and I have spent hundreds of hours doing this,
musicologist. It is a project that is just because each chart requires a lot of reading,
for fun, for people who are curious, and research and time to create the graphics.’
to see how global the piano world was in the Daniel Pereira was born in 1977 in
17th, 18th and 19th centuries. You see pianists O Carballiño in Galicia, northwest Spain, and
going to Siberia, Australia, New Zealand, began playing the piano at the age of eight.
South America from Europe and vice-versa. From the ages of 11 to 19 he was almost
The intermingling is incredible.’ totally self-taught, but it was while taking
Daniel Pereira is talking about the pianists’ some lessons at the Conservatorio Profesional
family tree he has devised and designed, and de Música of Ourense that he played for the
which is currently on view at lib.umd.edu/ipam/ Brazilian pianist and teacher Luiz de Moura
pereira-home-page – hosted free of charge by the Castro. Through him, Pereira won a scholarship
International Piano Archives at Maryland. to Hartford University in Connecticut, after
Arguably, no other profession attaches more which – the inevitable family tree is already
significance to teachers than that of concert sprouting – he studied under Paul Ostrovsky,
pianist. No biography omits the names of former pupil of Gilels and Flier, at the State
those with whom he or she has studied, University of New York. Then, crucially, ‘because
the names of the illustrious artists whose I was now interested in research and they had
masterclasses they have attended, and the an incredible archive’, he opted to study further
names of those pianists who have contributed at the University of Maryland with its unique
to their musical development in any way. It International Piano Archives (IPAM).
is a practice that has existed for generations. Pereira obtained a doctorate from the
Think only of all those pianists – great, average university with a thesis on the Preludes of
and hopeless – who flocked to Weimar Alexander Scriabin (his studio recording of
desperate to be in a masterclass, just long all 90 Preludes was released in May 2020 by
enough to enable them to scuttle back home Odradek Records). Having lived in the States for
and declare themselves a ‘pupil of F Liszt’ on 14 years, he moved back to Spain. ‘Then I fell in
their posters and programmes. love with a woman. She was about to go and
You never hear of an accountant or teacher, study in London, so I decided to go with her.’ He
estate agent or solicitor listing their teachers. taught in the capital for a year, returning to his
A chef might tell you in whose kitchen they native country again in 2016. He now teaches at
trained, a doctor might tell you in which the conservatoires of Ourense, Madrid and Tui,
hospital, but it is de rigueur for a pianist to as well as performing in a piano duo with his
include their pianistic pedigree in any concert now wife, Andrea González Pérez.
programme or CV. Having begun his pianistic ancestry
There have been a few attempts in the past to research, Pereira tried to get a publishing
make a pianistic genealogy, but nothing on the company to take it on. All the major university
scale of what Pereira has achieved. ‘I was always publishers rejected the project, saying it was
very interested in pianists and the history of very interesting but too complex to publish
TOMMASO TUZJ
the piano, so I started doing my own genealogy on paper. ‘So then I contacted the University
tree years ago. Then after a bit I decided in my of Maryland archives, where I had spent so
spare time to look at Chopin’s tree, Liszt’s and much time as a student.’ During his time there,

PIANO GENEALOGIES
Daniel Pereira: ‘Each chart requires

a lot of reading, research and time to
create the graphics’

PIANO GENEALOGIES
he had become close friends with pianist and

Peabody graduate Maxwell Brown, who by
then had transitioned from being a part-time
The Clara Schumann Tradition
student worker at IPAM to being a full-time
project manager, essentially assistant to This abridged version of ‘The Friedrich Wieck and Clara
curator Donald Manildi. Schumann Tradition’ is reproduced with kind permission of
‘All the material that comes into IPAM is
processed by me,’ reveals Brown. ‘Daniel is
Daniel Pereira. To view the full tree, visit lib.umd.edu/ipam/
such an enthusiast. Probably 90 per cent of genealogies/tradition-pages/wieck-schumann-tradition
students you encounter at music schools and
conservatories do not have a lot of curiosity.
Daniel was one of the rare exceptions. He was
at IPAM all the time researching and listening
to things. He showed me this project years
ago. Over time, he collected a vast amount
of material and approached me in the fall of
2020. The two of us pitched the idea to Donald
Manildi, he gave the OK and IPAM agreed
to host it. I don’t know why no one has done
this before. IPAM’s website featured a modest
version of the pianistic tradition – about five
or six family trees – but even these were far
from comprehensive.’
Parallel to the family trees is the biographical
information on these ‘family members’, some of
whom, even for those of us who spend our lives
with the piano, we have never heard of. ‘So far,’
Pereira tells me, ‘I have the biographies of 2,000
pianists on the database. Not all of them are in
the published charts yet because I decided to
issue each teacher tree step-by-step.’ What is
the criterion for inclusion? ‘Well, you have to be
dead to be famous,’ he jokes. ‘Normally my cut-
off point is the late 20th century, but pianists
who are still alive like Pollini or Pires I include.
I have to stop at some point because new
pianists continue to come up all the time.’
It is not just the factual content that is
impressive, it is the visual presentation. What
could have been unwieldy and hard to follow
is cleverly organised and colour-coordinated.
‘This was Daniel’s design,’ says Brown. ‘He
uses software called Lucidchart. Eventually we
hope to make it even more interactive. Similar
trees are one-dimensional, but this explores
various connections. For instance, what do
you do with someone like Emil von Sauer, who
studied with Liszt and Nikolai Rubinstein, and
Rosenthal who studied with Liszt and Mikuli?’
There is still a long way to go before the entire
piano genealogy is complete – that is, if it ever
can be. The Leschetizky school, for example,
one of the biggest and most important, has yet
to be done. This, I suggest to Pereira not entirely
flippantly, is a project that could keep him
occupied for the rest of his life. ‘You know, it’s
like being in a tunnel,’ he says. ‘Once I get in that
tunnel, I see nothing else.’ IP

PIANO GENEALOGIES

EDUCATION
A musical
home
Colin Clarke marks the 30th
anniversary of the Cadenza
International Summer Music School,
which specialises in fostering
collaborations between pianists
and string players under the expert
guidance of a distinguished faculty
C
adenza caters for pianists aged ten kids are in their teens or twenties. We have to John Thwaites: ‘I hope the course will reach a
upwards and takes place over a week be careful that each constellation can make higher and higher level’
each July at the Purcell School near chamber music, and each age range can form
London. The piano course director social circles.’ include pianists Teo Gheorghiu and Alex
is John Thwaites – better known as head of Indeed, enduring friendships are made. One Ullman, violinist Nicola Benedetti, and cellists
keyboard studies at the Royal Birmingham participant, Hanhan Qu, refers to Cadenza David Cohen and Laura van der Heijden.
Conservatoire – whose fellow faculty members as her ‘musical home, an environment of Thwaites pays a glowing tribute to Norris: ‘It
are Julian Jacobson, Fali Pavri and Carole musicians who also loved music as their was as if there was a course approach to music
Presland. Together they contribute a wealth of second nature’. The immersive element is key. that came directly from Peter – for example,
experience as performers and teachers, while ‘Some people come into a specialist musical how to handle a musical elision, like the hand-
the course venue offers a multiplicity of pianos environment for the first time,’ says Thwaites, over of a baton. He was a philosophical figure.
by Steinway, Yamaha, Kawai and Fazioli. All ‘which has a potentially transformative effect He taught at a Krishnamurti school, a window
piano students have a Yamaha practice piano on peoples’ lives. I hope the course will reach on to a whole new civilised way of living. A
in their room. a higher and higher level, but also that we huge force, he died far too young.’
The course has in-built flexibility that allows continue to attract people coming into a Pianists make up over 25 per cent of course
pre-formed groups to focus exclusively on specialist environment for the first time.’ participants. Around half of piano students get
chamber music, or alternatively one can stick Teachers, of course, leave indelible involved in serious chamber groups. The other
to solo repertoire. Pianists start off every day impressions. Lucy Colquhoun speaks fondly half focuses on solo repertoire, but they also
with a double session (90 minutes) in the of the teaching of the late Peter Norris, who play duets, so everyone is exposed to chamber
recital hall at the Purcell School, which boasts was the director of music at the Menuhin music. Teaching provision is generous, with
a Steinway Model D. Straight after breakfast, School appointed by Menuhin and was a minimum of three solo lessons and three
with teachers, taking it in turns, they play heavily involved with Cadenza 30 years ago. chamber music coaching sessions. The core
pieces, followed by discussion. ‘I absolutely loved every second that I was concept can be summed up as ‘challenging
Intake is a ‘broad ship’, says Thwaites, there,’ says Colquhoun. ‘The quality of tuition but supportive’. There is no attempt to
meaning that players returning to the piano was unsurpassed, and I remember particularly change foundational technique in a week
after a break are welcomed with open arms. the teaching of Peter Norris, who was a great (which could be damaging), but certainly
As Thwaites explains, ‘We have to make sure influence on me. It was truly inspiring to watch there is the impression that horizons will be
the balance is right – the vast majority of him coach the Mendelssohn Octet.’ Alumni broadened considerably.

EDUCATION
And there is fun. Violin tutor Leland Chen

brings his model helicopters to fly in display.
Once upon a time there were stilt races, and
there are still plenty of games tournaments.
There is often a resident artist: past pianists
include Steven Osborne and Gergely Bogányi.
Returning from the States where he had
played the complete Chopin, en route to
Hungary via the UK, Bogányi offered a full
evening playing any Chopin any student
wished to hear.
With faculty and/or student concerts every
day, plus chamber music groups that mix
staff and students, Cadenza offers a varied
menu. Costs have been kept remarkably
reasonable and include full board, though
the website advises everyone to bring a
towel! A scholarship is already available for
an exceptional chamber music violinist, and
Thwaites aims to offer the same for piano,
viola and cello. IP
This year’s Cadenza International Summer

Music School will run from 16 to 23 July 2022.
cadenzasummerschool.org.uk A student piano trio rehearses at Cadenza
GENEROUSLY SUPPORTED BY THE VAUGHAN WILLIAMS CHARITABLE TRUST
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PIANO CONCERTO IN C MAJOR
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CITY OF LONDON CHOIR
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TUESDAY 3 MAY 2022, 19:30

RODERICK WILLIAMS - BARITONE
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Tickets £12-£45 (+ booking fee) | www.barbican.org.uk

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EDUCATION
Instant
access
Owen Mortimer gets to grip with OKTAV, a new sheet music subscription service that
offers personalised recommendations from a growing library of over 20,000 piano pieces
T
he pandemic saw a surge in people as Beethoven’s Hammerklavier Sonta (level OKTAV’s stated mission is ‘To make
taking up the piano. In the UK alone, 88), Rachmaninov’s Prelude in G minor Op musical joy digitally available to every piano
a million people began learning a 23/5 (86), Chopin’s Heroic Polonaise (85) and player’. A consequence of this commitment
musical instrument, many of whom Debussy’s Pour le piano (85). More unusual to accessibility is the inclusion of simplified
chose the piano or keyboard. Piano sales are pieces in this category include Carl Vine’s versions of classical masterworks, arranged for
booming too, prompting new showrooms to Toccatissimo (level 85), John Ogden’s Dance beginners. But given that the piano repertoire
open and established retailers to upscale their Suite (85) and Rautavaara’s Mirroring (80). is so vast, this seems scarcely necessary. There
capacity for handling online sales. The site is clear and easy to navigate, are already many wonderful pieces suitable
Websites offering access to sheet music and once you’ve selected a piece to play the for players of every ability, besides which the
are yet another beneficiary of this trend. score mode works well on tablet devices. It original versions inevitably offer a much richer
Take the Austrian startup OKTAV, which was is possible to add your own annotations on- experience for players and listeners. Surely it
only founded in 2018 but already boasts over screen, plus you can print a limited number is better to aspire to this goal than move the
100,000 subscribers – many of them acquired of pieces each month to practise offline. Some goalposts closer?
during the pandemic. scores also come with a recording to guide These small criticisms aside, OKTAV is
What makes OKTAV different from other your interpretation. a superb service that looks set to go from
sheet music websites is its capacity to offer A ‘Skills’ section complements the main strength to strength with the addition of more
personalised recommendations that reflect archive with technical exercises, sight-reading publishers. As company founder and CEO
the technical skill and taste of each subscriber. and theory books. There’s even a section David Kitzmüller explains: ‘Our customers
You set your own skill level on a scale of 1-100 devoted to jazz piano. ‘Playlists’ group the rest report that thanks to OKTAV they spend more
and choose from a series of filters that ensure of the repertoire by genre, which run the gamut time at the piano, deal with new pieces and
you receive appropriate suggestions, which get from classical to ‘Electro Pop Beats’. It’s an experience more joy with the instrument.
emailed to your inbox on a regular basis. eclectic offering with something for everyone. Many of them wouldn’t have gone to a shop to
OKTAV is an officially licensed partner The classical catalogue is fairly extensive, access new pieces, but at OKTAV, they can just
of several leading publishers that include though there are some notable omissions. For start playing whatever music they enjoy.’ IP
Bärenreiter, Faber, Alfred, Schott and example, searches for ‘Messiaen’ or ‘Stravinsky’
Universal. The website’s library currently yield no result, while ‘Shostakovich’ only OKTAV is priced at £99 for an annual
features 20,000 pieces spanning all genres, brings up six pieces. Perhaps because much of subscription offering unlimited
with around 100 titles being added each week. the site is geared to popular genres, all scores access to its library. A monthly subsription
The service is not just for beginners. At the are listed under the title ‘Arrangements’, even costs £12.90. oktav.com
upper end of difficulty you’ll find works such in the case of original compositions.

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RETURNING TO THE PIANO
A technical refresher course for recommencing piano enthusiasts,
created for International Piano by Murray McLachlan
I – Posture and co-ordination
M any adults returning to the piano feel

pushed for time. Stressful lifestyles leave
us with little opportunity for practice, turning
little singing and physical movement can
help to cultivate the necessary focus. At the
piano we are constantly emulating vocalists.
It makes sense to do some preliminary
stretches before starting to play. Try raising and
lowering the shoulders then swinging the whole
eagerness into impatience. Daily routines can Phrasing without breathing and a sense of arm from the shoulder joints while standing
seem frustratingly time-consuming and we are cantabile becomes unnatural and contrived, with firm feet shoulder-length apart. I am
soon overwhelmed. What to do? so we owe it to the music to sing as often as also a great believer in squatting movements.
In fact, it is wrong to view ‘piano time’ as we can. We should also be mindful of pulse Squats take the strain away from your neck
something from which the rest of life distracts and movement. Though some people may feel and shoulders and encourage an emphasis on
us. Everything we do in life affects our piano uncomfortable doing a three-minute dance the glute and core. Stopping to do one minute
playing. Our quality of sleep, food, exercise routine, we can all enjoy a few rhythmic jigs of wall squat exercises after each hour of
and social interactions directly affect our and physical thrusts from a standing position! practice is extremely beneficial for posture and
concentration, attitude and focus at the Swinging our arms and body in time to an wellbeing. Aim for a straight line from the back
instrument. This means all the activities listed inner pulse helps us connect with rhythm. to the top of your neck against the wall. Your
above are forms of indirect piano practice. Our piano playing will always be more focused arms should extend through your hands in
Indeed, I like to imagine I am practising the when we retain this vital connection. straight lines touching the wall and your knees
piano 24 hours a day, seven days a week! should form a 90-degree angle.
It is unquestionably harder to memorise
music if you have had less sleep than you
Everything we do in Once we get to the piano it is important to
find a seated position that is comfortable and
need. The mind is more likely to wander and life affects our piano practical. Raised shoulders generally mean
feel distracted during practice if you have you are sitting too low, while a rounded back
binged on sugary foods rather than a balanced playing indicates a position that is too high. Finding
diet of fruit and proteins. If you have had a the correct distance for the stool will require
blazing row with a work colleague or partner, Regarding warm-up routines and general experimentation, but the squatting approach
or feel frustrated by a more trivial matter, health, there are now many ways for us to with firm feet and engaged quadriceps can
it can be hard to remain calm and work develop physical wellbeing. These include the work wonders. It can also be illuminating
with the patient serenity required to resolve Alexander Technique, Feldenkrais Method and to experiment with a physiotherapy wobble
knotty problems. yoga, as well as traditional forms of exercise – cushion. This helps to develop a good
Reviewing our entire lifestyle on a regular running, swimming, cycling, etc. Inevitably we posture by engaging your core and lowering
basis can be enormously beneficial to the will go through phases of trying one approach, your shoulders.
progression of our playing. Positivity, love, self- then moving on to another. Example 1 (right) by the 19th-century
care, calm confidence and mindful awareness Whichever approach we choose, we must musicologist Frederick Iliffe is a chordal
are the starting and finishing points of always remember the essentials for healthy skeleton of the opening Prelude in C major
musical development. Emotional intelligence piano technique: from Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. This
and sensitive awareness of everyone and ‘Technical security at the piano can only is extremely useful for warming up and
everything around provides a strong exist when the performer has achieved cultivating alignment between the wrists and
foundation for long-term success at the piano. complete firmness in the fingertips along forearms. When you depress each chord and
Before going near the instrument, make with total freedom and relaxation in the rest at the point of escapement it is crucial
sure that you are mentally, physically and wrists, elbow and shoulders’ that the wrists and lower arms form a straight
spiritually prepared. Getting your mind Piano Professional Series: The Foundations line. If the wrists are slightly above or below
focused is as important as warming up of Technique (Faber Music) the point at which the notes sound, you are
your fingers. Deep breathing exercises and Never play with cold hands. Take time to creating tension and risk injury. Healthy wave
meditation can be invaluable for getting nurture your posture. It is essential to relax movements as wrists guide the hands from
into the zone. Remember that positivity is your joints while feeling firm strength in your one note or position to the next are vital. The
paramount for success. fingertips, feet and core muscles. Shoulders moment at which the notes speak should see
Feeling positive about practising will help should not be raised. Remember that the neck wrist-arm conformity and connection.
you reap rich rewards from the effort you is an extension of the spine, so check they Any scale fragment could be used to
make. Prior to sitting down at the piano, a are aligned. develop loose wrists with firm fingers, but

EDUCATION
Iliffe’s analytical compression of Bach’s C the joints of the fingers. Feel strength and joints (gentle rotation exercises can help
minor Prelude provides a gentle and musically connection from the bridge of the hand, with this).
stimulating alternative (Example 2, page 40). being mindful not to collapse the two finger Examples 1 and 2 can also be useful later
Experiment first by holding each note and joints below the knuckles. It is also important for developing facility with ‘legato pedalling’
drawing circles with the elbows, keeping the to recognise that stiffness and tension can – especially if the figured basses are realised
fingers firmly on the keys. Try not to collapse readily manifest itself in the three thumb as indicated. After playing the first chord in
Andante con moto q = 1 1 2
4F
1
F F
2
F F
3
F F
4
F F 5 F 6
F 7
F 8
F F FF FF
&4 F F F F F F F F F F #F F F F
{
F F
PERIO D I. C Ma jo r, e s ta bli s hin g the ke y. Fro m he re it m o ve s away to the ke y of the Do min a nt
FF FF FF FF FF FF F F FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF
?4
4
6 — 6 — 6 — #4 — 6 — 6 —
5 — 5 — 2 — 4 —
4 — 3 — 2 —
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
& FFF FF F
#FF
F
FF FF FF #F F F F F F FF FF
FF FF FF FF
{
F F F F F F F F F F F F F F F
PERIO D II. Mo d ula te s to ga in c o lo ur. G e ntly re -
F
? F
FF F F FF FF bFF FF FF FF bFF FF FF FF
F F FF FF FF FF
7 — 7 — 6 — 6 — 6 — 6 — 6 — 7 —
# — #4 — 4 — 4 —
b — b3 — 2 —
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26
& F F bFFF FF FF
{
FF FF FF FF b FF FF FF FF FFF FF FF FF FF FF FF
F F
tur n s to To nic . PERIO D III. C o d a . Do min a nt Pe d a l.
? F F FF FF F
F
F
F F F F F F F F F F F
F F F F #FF FF bF F F F F F F F
7 — b7 — 7 — b7 — 6 — 7 — 6 — 7 —
4 — 4 — 5 —
3 — 4 —
27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34
U
35
& F FF #FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF w w
w w
{
F b FFF FF
F w
w w
w w
w
U
To nic Pe d a l.
? F FF bF F nF F FF FF FF FF
F F F F F
7 — #7 — §6 — 7 — 7 — F F w w w
5 — b6 — 4 — 5 — 5 — b7 — 6 9
3 — 4 — 4 — 3 — 4 7
5
4
Example 1 ••• Iliffe Analysis of JS Bach’s Prelude in C major BWV 846

EDUCATION
Allegro con brio q = 1 20
b 4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
F F F F F F
&b b 4 F F F F nF F F F F F
{ ? bb 44 F
b
PERIO D I.
F
C Min o r, e s ta bli s hin g the ke y.
F
6
4
F
—
—
9
§7
6
4
F F
—
—
—
—
F
5
3
Fro m
F
—
—
he re
F
6
it
F
6
m o ve s
F
§6
#4
2
by
F
—
—
—
d e g re e s away fro m
F
6
F
6
F
6
4
2
F
—
—
—
b
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
&b b F F F F F F F F F F F F F
{ ? bb
b F
the
6
o r ig in a l ke y to its Re la tive Ma jo r ( Eb) .
F
—
F
6
4
2
F
—
—
—
F
6
F
—
F
6
F
—
F
6
5
F
—
—
F
5
3
PERIO D II.
F
—
—
6
§4
2
F
Example 2 ••• Iliffe Analysis of JS Bach’s Prelude in C major BWV 847, bars 1-15
Example 1, put the sustaining pedal down and knowledge and training who can provide exercise – namely its last ascending and first
hold it till the next chord is played (‘glued’) effective exercises if you fall into this category. descending bars.) Remember to keep your
to the first. Then release the pedal while still As you develop confidence, try swinging wrists loose as you grip the keys with your
holding down the second chord and continue from one note of each Bach exercise to the fingertips, binding each note with the next.
the process into the third chord and beyond. next. Aim for gentle looping movements with You can gently build velocity and co-
Space forbids a proper exploration of free arms as you pivot from the elbow. Keep ordination between the hands, though
issues that many individuals face with finger the fingertips firm. Next, you can try applying to execute Hanon’s exercise at full speed
co-ordination resulting from ‘hypermobility’ this approach to the first exercise from demands a high degree of finger independence
(double-jointed fingers) but there are now Hanon’s The Virtuoso Pianist. (Example 3, – an issue that will be addressed in a later
many physiotherapists with the requisite below, presents the ‘turning corner’ of this instalment of this series. IP
f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
1 2 5 4 5 4 3 2
& f f f f f f f f f f
1 2 5 1 2 5 1 2 3
{ ? f f
5
f
4 1
f
f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
5 4 1 5 4 1 5 4 3 2 1 2 3 4
f f f
5
f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
5 5 1
5 4
f f
4 4 4 4
& f f f f f f
3 2 1 2 3 3 2 1 2 3 4 1
{ ?
f f f f f f f f f f
1
f
2 3 4
f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
5 4 3 2 1 2 3
Example 3 ••• Hanon The Virtuoso Pianist Part I: Preparatory Exercise No 1, bars 11-18
4 5 4 3 2 1 2 5 1 2 5

MASTERCLASS
Italian pianist Alessandro Marangoni explores the charming intimacy
of Rossini’s ‘Une caresse à ma femme’ from the composer’s piano cycle
Péchés de vieillesse
R ossini was fêted like a rockstar during

his lifetime. He was one of the most
celebrated composers of his era: every theatre
his secret gems just for himself and his friends.
The Péchés de vieillesse (Songs of Old Age)
appear in 14 volumes containing more than
he understood the musical aesthetics
of his time and many famous musicians
and pianists frequented his salon in Paris,
in Europe wanted him and his operas; he was 200 pieces for piano solo, voice and piano and including Sigismond Thalberg and Franz Liszt.
also highly popular both in musical circles and chamber music – a precious treasure chest full Rossini’s piano works are almost all virtuoso
with his audiences. However, after composing of brilliant and innovative ideas. pieces, both in their technical and expressive
Guillaume Tell in 1829 at the height of his Rossini ironically considered himself a demands, full of skilful and innovative use
career, he apparently retired from his public fourth-rate pianist, but in fact he mastered the of harmony.
musical life, aged just 37. His career as an keyboard very well and he loved the piano and Rossini would practise works by Bach every
opera composer may have fallen silent at this its sound (he played Erard and Pleyel pianos). day (especially the Well-Tempered Clavier).
point, but this was when he began to create Rossini’s approach to the piano is Romantic: Classical composers such as Clementi were
Alessandro Marangoni: ‘Rossini’s piano

works are almost all virtuoso pieces’
DANIELE CRUCIANI

MASTERCLASS
also favoured. But alongside tradition, he connecting the left-hand chord of the next bar
was fond of experimenting at the piano and without changing the pedal.
discovering new sounds, always finding fresh In the last two lines of this section, marked
harmonic solutions. Often his piano pieces pppp, I recommend trying to play as softly
are full of irony and self-parody, and he jokes as possible, caressing the keys and trying to
with the pianist, asking him to play like control the weight of both hands, to create a
horns (‘Petit Caprice [style Offenbach]’, Vol magic and atmosphere that brings you back to
X – Miscellanée pour piano) or to sing with a the initial caress. From bar 76 there is a reprise
parrot while playing the piano (‘Les raisins, of the caress theme from the beginning of the
À ma petite perruche’, Vol IV – Quatre hors piece. When I get to this point, I try to vary the
d’œuvres et quatre mendiants). tone and the rubato: the calm after the storm,
Living in Paris, first in his flat on the corner the love of the two lovers that becomes even
of the Boulevard des Italiens and then in more tender and the caress more conscious
his beautiful villa in Passy, now in the 16th and delicate, in the certainty of having found
arrondissement, Rossini proudly displayed his each other again.
prestigious collection of honours and musical From bar 107, the final coda is a reprise of
awards. When he arrived in Paris in 1855, he the introduction to the piece: the voice of the
was ill but soon managed to recover his health cello (left hand) is no longer alone this time
and serenity, thanks to the care of his beloved but accompanied by unusual harmonies (right
second wife Olympe Pélissier, who adored him hand) because the caress is also reciprocated
and looked after him almost like a nurse. by the other lover. In this case the left hand
One of his most beautiful piano pieces, ‘Une must emerge, always softly, very legato with a
caresse à ma femme’, is dedicated to Olympe, balance of voicing so that the right hand does
from Vol VI Album pour les enfants dégourdis, not disturb the singing. This beautiful piece,
unfortunately rarely played today. This piece Rossini in 1865 perhaps one of the most famous of the Péchés
(‘A caress for my wife’) is divided into three de vieillesse, thus closes cyclically, with a final
parts: in the first part there is the description
of the caress itself in G major. The first five
‘In Péchés de vieillesse low G that must be played like the tolling of a
bell from far away, almost imperceptible and
bars are a brief introduction, introducing Rossini used the piano with great refinement.
us to the family environment: the left hand In Péchés de vieillesse Rossini used the
alone is like a cello that makes us imagine as his confessor’ piano as his confessor, opening up his heart
what will come next, creating an ambience of and even describing intimate episodes of
sweetness and tenderness – the initial caress. situation that can happen even between his emotional life, as in ‘Une caresse à ma
Immediately the bass creates a lulling rhythm, the most intimate lovers – as perhaps it did femme’. I hope that many pianists will play
very simple, to be played legato and softly. between Rossini and his wife Olympe. You this charming piece (and others by Rossini)
Above the bass begins a simple melody that have to lift the pedal and let out a deep breath in their recitals around the world, knowing
recreates the movement of a hand when it before playing the acciaccatura on the B, that this is great music for the piano that can
caresses someone, gently. It is very important which breaks the enchantment and continues excite audiences, making them laugh as well
to play not only with the movement of the with a whirling series of fast quatrains: first as moving them to tears. IP
fingers but also to accompany the movement with the right hand (the female voice that
with a small rotation of the wrist, to create a starts the fight) and then with the left hand
very soft sound. (the male voice). After these very bright and
I suggest playing this melody unhurriedly, fast bars, you can play bars 49 and 50 without
with rubato, stopping a little on the highest changing the pedal.
note (B-flat), in bar 12. From pp it reaches an f From bar 52 the atmosphere changes again,
at bar 15, without exaggeration, to return after and we return to a ppp – melancholic, with a
a short polyphonic passage to pppp. (Rossini very beautiful, yearning melody. Even though
liked to use many indications of dynamics, the dynamic is ppp, I recommend ‘singing’
exploiting all the possibilities of the piano with the right hand using a nice legato, while
from pppp to sff.) respecting the precise writing of the pauses in
The barcarolle-like development expressing the left hand. At bar 59 you can play the high Alessandro Marangoni’s recordings
the loving caress between the two lovers is B with the right hand instead of the left to of Rossini’s complete piano music are
abruptly interrupted at bar 37 by a sudden avoid arpeggiating; and the same again at the available as a 13-CD box set from Naxos
fortissimo: here begins the second part of the beginning of bar 67. It is good to keep a single (8501306). alessandromarangoni.com
piece, which describes a quarrel, an everyday pedal on the last two Bs of the right hand,

Une caresse à ma femme
Une caresse à ma femme
Péché de Vieillesse
From Péchés de Vieillesse
Gioachino Rossini
Gioachino Rossini
#2
& 4 ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑
{
pp sempli ce
? # 42 ‰ f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f
#
5
& ∑ ‰ f f f f f fJ f f f f f #fJ f f f f f
{
pp affettu oso
?# f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f f f f f #f f f f
f f f f f f f f
un a c o rd a
bf
9
# f f J
& J f f f f f J f f f f f fJ f f bf f f f f bf f f
{
pp
?#
f f f f bf f bf f
f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
13
# fJ f fj ‰ j ‰
& f f f f f f f f
f ff f f
f f f f f J f f f
{
f f
f f
f
?# f f f f f f f f f f #f f f f f f f f f f f nf f f
f #f f f f f
f

17
# j ‰ ^ ‰ ^ j
& f f
f ff f f f f
f f f
f f Ff bf f nf nf f Ff bf f nf f # f
{ f f
> >
? # f f f f f f f f #f f f f f f f f f^ f f f f f f f #f^ f f f f f f f
di m .
#
21
& Ff f #f f f f Ff f #f f f f ‰ f f f f f fJ f f f f f
{ pp
> pppp
?# f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f
f f f f
f f
f f f f
f f f f
j ‰
25
# f f
& #J
f
f f f f f J f f f f f J f f f f f fJ f
f f f f f
{
pp
f f f f f f
?# #f f f f f f f f f f f f nf f f f f f
f f f f f f f f
29
# #f j ‰ j ‰ j j ff ff ff ff f
& f f b ff f f nf f ff f
f f f f f J f ff ff
{
ff f f
f J
bf ^ ^
f f
?# f f f f f
bf f f f f f f f f™ f f f™ f f
f f f f f f f f
j j j
# f j ff f ff j ff ff ff j
33
& fJ f ff ff ff f f
ff ff
ff ff ff J f J f
{
ff f f ff f f ff f f
J J J
^™ ^
f f ppp
?# f f f f f f
f f f f f f f™ f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f

j f f f f #f f f f nf f f f f
# ff
37
J
,
& J f f f f f f f f f f
#f
j
{
f
f
ff li ti gi oso
f ff
‰ #ffff
?# j f
ff #fff
f
tre c o rd e
sf sf sf
# j
39
& f ‰ #ffff ff
ff f
{
# fff
sf sf sf
? # ff f f f f #f f f f nf f f
, ff
J J f f f f
f f f f f f #f f f
j
f
f
^
# bff^
41
r ≈ f f f ff r ≈ b f f f f f
& f #f f f f f bf
ff nff f f f
∏∏∏∏∏
{
∏∏∏∏∏
ff '
' fÆ
f fÆ bf
?# K f R
Ô ® ≈ ‰ f b f RÔ ® ≈
bf bf
f ® ‰
r f f f f
f f f
# ^
≈ n#nffff nff^
43
f f f #f f r f f f f f f
& nfr #f f f nf ≈ n
nff f f
∏∏∏∏∏
∏∏∏∏∏
{
' '
n f # fÆ nf fÆ
nf R f RÔ ® ≈
?# ®
nf nf #f Ô ® ≈ ‰ ® f f nf f ‰
f #f f
# #ff^ ^j ff^ ^j fff^ ^j # fff^

45
& #fj ff ff ff fff f

J #fff f
J
{
' J f J
?# ® f f f f f #f f f f f
f f f f ® f f ® f f f f ® f f&
f #f f f f f

f^ f f f^ f nf f^ f f f^ f f ^ ^ ^ ^
# bf
47
f f f f f f f f
& f f f f bf f f f f f bf
{ # ^ f
^
f
^
f
^
& f f f bf nf f f f f f f f f ? ^ f f f bf^ f f f ^ f f f f^ f f f
f f
smorzando
# f U
49
& fff‰ fff ‰ ‰ ‰ ∑ 6
{
f 8
p pp
?# ‰ fff fff fff ‰ fff ‰ U

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SHEET MUSIC
Paderewski
Légende No 1

BY JEREMY NICHOLAS Ignacy Jan Paderewski
(1860-1941)
I gnacy Jan Paderewski composed his

Légende No 1 in 1887. It is the first of seven
pieces in a collection somewhat unenticingly
entitled Miscellanea: serie de morceaux pour
piano. Of the others – Mélodie, Thème varié,
Nocturne, Légende No 2, Un moment musical
and Menuet – only the Nocturne has been
widely played and recorded (Freire, Novaes,
Hough and Goerner foremost).
Légende No 1 has not fared as well on disc
and, to this writer’s knowledge, there has
only ever been one recording of the complete
Op 16: by that indefatigable champion of
Paderewski in particular and Polish keyboard
music in general, Jonathan Plowright, on a
now-deleted CD (Master Musicians ESCD004).
The Légende’s most notable recording
currently available is by Dang Thai Son on the
Chopin Institute label (NIFCCD051).
Paderewski himself made a piano roll of
the piece, which has been transferred to a
Nimbus CD (NI8802). But although this is an
interesting historic document, it does not
accurately reflect the way he played live. The
basic pulse is pulled about mercilessly by the
pianola operator – quite unlike the tempo
rubato Paderewski extolled in an essay for a
1909 book called Success in Music. Shaw, reviewing his concerts in the 1890s, Paderewski’s entire output between his first
‘Rhythm is the pulse of music,’ he wrote. admired Paderewski the pianist and thought opus (Valse mignonne of 1876) and the seven
‘It marks the beating of the heart, proves its he was wasting his time writing music.’ [The Miscellanea consists of just over 50 short
vitality, attests its very existence. Our human piano] is the one instrument that he does piano solos (plus a violin sonata dedicated to
metronome, the heart, under the influence of not understand as a composer,’ wrote Shaw Sarasate) of which by far the most famous is
emotion, ceases to beat regularly – physiology in 1893, ‘exactly because he understands it so the Menuet in G – ‘Paderewski’s Minuet’ as it
calls it arrhythmia. Chopin played from the well as an executant.’ became known – from his six Humoresques de
heart… To play [his] G minor Nocturne with Indeed, by the turn of the century, concert Op 14.
rhythmic rigidity and pious respect for the Paderewski had all but stopped composing: Légende No 1, incidentally, is dedicated to
indicated rate of movement would be as only his opera Manru, the Piano Sonata, 12 Céline Scheurer-Kestner, whose politician
intolerably monotonous, as absurdly pedantic, songs, the magnificent Variations and Fugue husband Auguste was a leading figure in the
as to recite Gray’s Elegy to the beating of a in E-flat minor and his Polonia Symphony fight to secure justice for Captain Dreyfus in
metronome.’ (1907) remained to be written. And before 1899. IP
Paderewski the pianist, the celebrity these, only the Piano Concerto and Polish
and statesman has long overshadowed Fantasy (1888 and 1893 respectively) were Read more about Paderewski on the Polish
Paderewski the composer. George Bernard large-scale works. Music Portal: portalmuzykipolskiej.pl

Légende
Légende
No.1 Ignacy Jan Paderewski
Op 16/1
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LABEL PROFILE
KEY
FACTS
Label:
Grand Piano
Founders:
Klaus Heymann and Astrid Angvik
Launched: 2012
HQ: Hong Kong
Mission: The exploration of undiscovered
On the
piano repertoire
record
Grand Piano specialises in multi-volume
recordings and complete cycles of piano
works by lesser-known composers
whose output might otherwise have
remained unknown and unrecorded.
Spanning three centuries of music
Jeremy Nicholas marks from around the world, the Grand Piano
catalogue includes music by composers
the tenth anniversary of past and present. It is both historically
Grand Piano Records, and geographically global in its reach,
whose extensive catalogue

not only featuring the Austro-German
epicentre of piano music but that of
of undiscovered piano Eastern Europe, Russia, Armenia, the
repertoire is reaching USA, Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil.
millions of listeners Catalogue: 250 titles, growing by 20-25

worldwide new releases each year
GETTING ON TRACK piano repertoire the next question was how Grand Piano. There can be as many as six or
‘Several factors led to the creation of Grand to present this. What should be the look and seven projects submitted a week. The proposals
Piano,’ says label director Astrid Angvik. ‘First, feel of the product? “Grand Piano” was a nice come from new artists and their manager, or
it was already clear that there was a market title – a sort of word play – and after a lot of from pianists who have already appeared on
for rare piano repertoire. Second, there was thought I decided we would not have pictures the label and want to do more. The artist is
already a long list of recordings in the Naxos of the artists or any pianos on the covers paid with CDs they can sell. ‘We might also
pipeline focusing on core repertoire (such as because that’s what everybody else does. approach an artist with a specific idea and ask
the complete cycles of Liszt, Scarlatti, etc). Piano is a solitary thing. It’s the pianist and if they are interested,’ says Angvik. ‘For example,
And then there were the proposals we received their instrument. I wanted to bring that to the we wanted to record the Burgmüller and
from pianists, good though many were, which covers. So we choose atmospheric pictures of
did not fit the Naxos label but which our solitary figures.’
chairman Klaus Heymann thought a shame To launch the project and get maximum
to let go.’ coverage, Angvik enlisted the marketing heads
At the outset, the biggest problem was to of Naxos in the UK, US and Germany. The first
convince the sales force that the idea had four releases were of music by Saint-Saëns,
legs. After all, they were being asked to sell Raff, Weinberg and Schulhoff, all with covers
unknown repertoire by unknown composers by the same designer. ‘They loved the covers
played by unknown pianists. The initial and we got a lot of exposure, particularly in
response was sceptical. Heymann tasked Germany. After that the heads of our sales
Angvik with setting up an independent label forces decided to invest time and money in
under the Naxos umbrella, a job she has since promoting the label.’
combined with her duties as chief operating
officer and deputy chairman of Naxos. PLAYING THE NUMBERS GAME
‘I have started businesses before,’ says Most of the recordings come from an artist
Angvik, ‘and one thing I know is the giving the label a proposal. The sessions
importance of having a really clear profile – a are paid for by the artist – or sponsored by Top track: ‘Souvenance’ by Roger-Ducasse has
clear identity. Having decided to focus on rare someone – who then offers the master to been streamed over five million times

LABEL PROFILE
Czerny etudes. Although reluctant at first, the

two pianists we approached ended up loving
the idea – concert pianists playing pieces they
were teaching their students!’
‘Whether you like it or not, you cannot
ignore streaming,’ says Angvik. ‘It offers
unprecedented potential access to music
lovers around the world, but it’s essential to
get on to the big playlists of Spotify, Apple and
Amazon. Two of the most important are the
Peaceful Piano playlist on Spotify and Piano
Chill on Apple. Each has millions of listeners,
so the tracks that get selected make a lot of
money. But it’s very difficult to get picked
because your Max Richters and Einaudis of
the world tend to dominate and the platforms
use “perfect fit content”. This means I have
to consider which music will be interesting Surprise hit: Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov
for playlists. An example is our series called
Secrets of Armenia. The latest volume is very When it comes to physical CDs, all of cascades and keeps going,’ says Angvik. ‘It’s
spiritual and is unlikely to sell as a CD – if we promotion is concentrated in the first three a domino effect, prompting other playlists to
pressed 300 we might sell half of them – but I months. This is when 90 per cent of physical say, “Oh that’s a nice track”.’
thought it was worth taking a risk on digital. sales happen, unless an album receives a
Fortunately Apple chose it for their Piano Chill major award that lengthens its appeal. ‘The ARTISTS AND REPERTOIRE
playlist, and Spotify has also picked it up.’ beauty of digital is that once it starts, it sort So far, Angvik has selected all the label’s
recording projects herself with additional
suggestions from Heymann. ‘It’s important
to have a portfolio of repertoire and not
concentrate on one particular period – or only
Viennese and German.’ Sometimes she will
send a recording to digital specialists for their
opinion. Projects can be declined because they
don’t fit the algorithms. ‘Previously there were
people curating playlists, picking tracks that
they wanted. These have largely been replaced
by algorithms. There will be a curator picking
20 or 30 tracks which will form the basis of the
playlist, setting the parameters with music of
so many beats a minute, length and dynamic
range, etc – and then the algorithms pick the
tracks. That’s how it works. Our challenge is to
get Alexa to pick our recordings.’
Grand Piano’s best-selling CDs are very
different from their most popular streaming
tracks. ‘Souvenance’ from Petite Suite No 1
Astrid Angvik: ‘Our by Jean Roger-Ducasse has been streamed
challenge is to get Alexa to five million times on Spotify alone. Two
pick our recordings’ tracks from A Hundred Years of British Piano
Miniatures (by Leo Livens and David Powers)
Label director: Astrid Angvik have also had close to five million hits on
Born in Bergen, Norway, Angvik learned to play the piano and sang in choirs as a child. She Spotify. Physical successes include Nicolas
joined the Bergen opera choir aged 15 and considered a career as a singer: ‘Opera changed Horvath’s six-volume Philip Glass series
my life – I couldn’t believe how wonderful this music was.’ While studying business at the Glassworlds and Elisaveta Blumina’s 2013
Norwegian School of Economics, Angvik visited China and Hong Kong in 1989, fell in love with album of music by the Ukrainian composer
the latter and made up her mind to work there. She wrote her thesis on strategic alliances in Valentin Silvestrov (b 1937), a surprise best-
technology and got her first job with Philips in Hong Kong. Angvik joined Naxos in 2011. From seller for the label. IP
2016 until December 2021 she was deputy chairman of Naxos.
grandpianorecords.com

RECORDING FOCUS
A fresh look at Beethoven

Not content with writing a book on Beethoven’s dedications which is destined to become
a standard reference work, Portuguese pianist Artur Pereira has gone on to record the
complete sonatas – and has chosen to partner them with music by a compatriot, whose
daughter used to give him lessons. Jeremy Nicholas reports
A
few months ago I reviewed a book for then in Cape Town with the South African Around this time (2015) Pereira became
our sister publication Gramophone. It is pianist Nina Schumann. I learned a lot from increasingly interested in the performance
called Beethoven’s Dedications – Stories her as well – and also a different culture and practice of Beethoven’s music during his
behind the tributes, a fascinating treasure-trove different language.’ lifetime. ‘Things like trills, grace notes, or
which tells you all you should ever wish to Pereira then moved to the UK and the amount of pedal used, etc. Most of my
know on the subject. Destined to be a standard Manchester where he studied for his master’s information came from people like Czerny
reference work, it is an extended and revised at the Royal Northern College of Music with but also from a recent study by the Beethoven
version of a doctoral thesis awarded by the Norma Fisher. ‘That was when I began to scholar Clive Brown, whose sources are
UK’s University of Manchester in 2016 to the be more interested in the life and works of absolutely immense. And then everything in
Portuguese pianist Artur Pereira. Beethoven from an academic point of view, Beethoven’s music suddenly made a lot more
He was born in 1979 in Lamego but raised particularly the dedications of his works. Just sense. For example, a person has to learn how
100 kms to the west in Porto. Here he had his by chance, across the road at the University not to play massively long legato lines. I always
first piano lessons aged seven, continued his of Manchester, was professor Barry Cooper, had trouble with this. But if you do the slurring
studies in Portugal till he was 22, then moved one of the leading Beethoven experts of our as Beethoven indicated, the clarity comes
to South Africa. ‘In Portugal I studied with time. We met and he was very interested in through immediately and everything becomes
a very good Romanian pianist, Constantin the subject, so I decided to pursue my studies, more fluent and easier to perform.’
Sandu, so I received some Romanian-Russian focusing on all Beethoven’s dedications – Having already learned almost all the
school training – I owe this teacher a lot – and which resulted in the book.’ sonatas by then and discovering that there

RECORDING FOCUS
are few recordings of Beethoven’s music that the standard ‘cycle of 32 Sonatas’: Beethoven Mountains. Pereira’s second volume of the
follow performance practice of his time, wrote 38). Beethoven sonatas features numbers 4-7
Pereira decided to record the complete cycle. But there’s more. Alongside Beethoven, and was recently named one of the best new
‘My account of the sonatas combines all the Pereira has decided, boldly, to programme the albums of 2021 by the German classical music
19th-century heritage together with a fresh music of his compatriot Luiz Costa (1879- website Orchestergraben. ‘I can’t believe no
reading of scholarly editions, looking at the 1960). Though not a well-known name outside one thought to download these pieces before.
text from a new perspective but using all the his native country, Costa is recognised as one I love this music. It’s stunning.’ IP
artistic input of amazing artists of the past.’ of the most important Portuguese composers
The recording project came about through of the late 19th/early 20th century. Pereira has
the Portuguese consulate in Manchester, a a direct connection to him.
city with a number of fine musicians from ‘He had a very talented daughter, Helena
Portugal. Finding that Pereira had been Sá e Costa, who played all over Europe, a
performing quite widely in the UK and playing brilliant performer, and she gave me many
lots of music that is not well known outside lessons when I was young. I learnt the Tempest
Portugal, they started the Sonoris Causa Sonata with her which, coincidentally, is the
label. ‘We found this absolutely brilliant first sonata of my Beethoven cycle. I went
sound engineer from Manchester called Mark to lessons in her house in downtown Porto
Almond.’ The results of Pereira’s first two which she inherited from her late father and
volumes of Beethoven sonatas, I can attest, are had two massive Bösendorfers. The first two volumes of Artur Pereira’s
superb: clarity of texture, grasp of structure, ‘It was not till later that I discovered Beethoven cycle are available from
and performances that transcend the studio how wonderful her father’s music was and Sonoris Causa (SC002 and SC003).
make them rival any other recent accounts started playing it. All of his manuscripts have His recording of Luiz Costa’s complete
of Op 31 (The Tempest), Op 110, Op 57 been put online for people to use – music Poemas do Monte will be released in
(Appassionata) and the early F minor WoO47 that has never been printed.’ He shows March 2022. arturpereirapianist.com
No 2 (Pereira, rightly in my opinion, eschews me manuscripts of Costa’s 11 Poems of the

REVIEWS • CDs
Critic’s choice BY MICHAEL CHURCH
Frühe and Humoreske with his Arabesque

plus three Etudes. Namoradze argues that
the notion of ‘arabesque’ covers the lot,
even if its primary meaning – of ornate,
spiralling and interlacing patterns – applies
to visual art.
In Namoradze’s Arabesque, the pianist’s
hands are superimposed throughout, playing
intertwined figurations that can only be
Arabesque distinguished by their dynamic shifts. Brahms
Works by Schumann and Namoradze Two modes alternate, one ascending and Late Piano Works Opp 116-119
Nicolas Namoradze pf the other descending, creating a rondo- Paul Lewis pf
Steinway & Sons STNS30112 like structure showing the influence of Harmonia Mundi HMM902365
Schumann’s work of the same name. Well,
As readers of the January edition of this

magazine will know, Nicolas Namoradze
has been led via his interest in Ligeti to
that’s how Namoradze sees it, though in
practice this complex structure is almost
impossible to discern by ear and only reveals
Sometimes a liner essay can brilliantly
illuminate a CD, and that’s true of Matthias
Kornemann’s here. It is very short but delicately
develop a revolutionary marriage of pianism itself to the eye in close-up. teases out the miracle of the 20 pieces with
and neuroscience. The crux of his theory lies On the other hand, this piece and the which Brahms bade farewell to the piano. As
in his belief that with difficult passages, the three intricate studies which follow purvey Kornemann points out, late styles are usually
brain can trick us into believing we can play an aural pleasure that needs no theoretical constructs of posterity, rather than deliberately
them before we physically can. ‘Imagineering’ justification: Namoradze’s playing has a devised adieux by composers themselves. But
– engineered imagining – is his word for crystalline purity, and his art, which follows Brahms designed a late oeuvre whose cast,
this process. in Ligeti’s footsteps, feels like an esoteric texture and mood would not allow anything to
This process powers his new CD, in extension of Ligeti’s art. Meanwhile the follow. And to ensure that this was so, he burnt
which pieces by Robert Schumann are Schumann pieces are a delight. every other half-finished score he could find.
interwoven with compositions of his own: Don’t approach this CD as an intellectual Paul Lewis’ account of these little
he juxtaposes Schumann’s Gesänge der exercise – just let the music speak to you. masterpieces has a dignified grace. His
BENJAMIN EALOVEGA
Dazzling: Jean-Efflam
Bavouzet W elcoming the tenth CD in Jean-
Efflam Bavouzet’s Haydn series,
we might bear in mind how it came into
being. As this pianist once explained to
me, ‘My involvement with Haydn had
initially nothing to do with music.’ Back
in 1989 he began to suffer from functional
dystonia – a loss of muscle co-ordination
in specific movements. His particular form
of it prevented him from playing octaves
in sequence. ‘I could play one, but with the
second or third my hand would collapse
on the fifth finger.’ At this point he was just
embarking on his career: he was advised
not to cancel any concerts, but to change
his repertoire.
ALBUM OF ‘It was then I discovered there are hardly

any octaves in Haydn,’ he recalls. ‘During my
THE MONTH time at the Paris Conservatoire, Haydn had
been reserved for pianists who were not able

CDs • REVIEWS
delineation of the craggy contours of the first only Elisabeth Leonskaja – can make tiger which intermittently sheaths and
has a high exaltation which yields gently to Beethoven speak so eloquently by unsheathes its claws, the Adagio has a
the tenderness of the second. He rings the approaching his music with such self- dignified sweetness, as its melody winds
changes of tone and mood with authority, effacing humility. And it’s no coincidence its way through the ruminative thicket of
and if he occasionally misses the sheer that both studied at the Moscow octave tremolos. The finale has a lilting
strangeness of some pieces – notably the Conservatory during the golden age of grace, serenely poised throughout.
mysterious E minor Intermezzo Op 116/5 – Soviet pianism.
he does run the emotional gamut. On this album Lugansky presents a trio
High points are his handling of the of family favourites: the Moonlight, Tempest
intricate metrical and thematic structure and Appassionata Sonatas. I’ve seldom heard
of Op 117/2, his beguilingly light touch in the first two movements of the Moonlight
Op 118/4, his exquisite chain of descending given such dry and metronomic treatment.
thirds in Op 119/1, and the sweet urgency of But this allows the finale to ratchet up the
the gently stammering melody in the second intensity by way of contrast, even though its
Intermezzo of that set. tempo is equally strict; you feel Lugansky has
earned his blaze of glory in the final flourish.
No rubatos are permitted to pull the
tempo about in the opening Allegro of Chopin
the Appassionata; the playing is leisurely, Piano Concertos 1 and 2
measured and clean as a whistle. It feels as Martha Argerich, Arthur Moreira Lima
though this movement has been liberated pf Orkiestra Filharmonii Narodowej/
from its usual aura of heavy importance, Witold Rowicki
the sound acquiring an orchestral NIFCCD637
freshness and variety. The Andante has an
understated expressiveness, and the finale This album celebrates a great event in
purveys enormous excitement. Lugansky piano history. In 1965 the concert hall
Beethoven encourages us to listen to details which of the Warsaw Philharmonic hosted the
Piano Sonatas Nos 14, 17 and 23 most pianists gloss over, like the long and Chopin Competition, which was won by
Nikolai Lugansky pf irregular chromatic scale which gravely two players from South America – Martha
Harmonia Mundi HMM902442 descends through four octaves: in his hands Argerich (who won) and Arthur Moreira
it becomes a riveting statement as opposed Lima (who was the runner-up). As the
When does plain become personal? When to a mere transitional device. producer of this CD says, in the first round
Nikolai Lugansky is playing Beethoven Lugansky’s Tempest is a delight. If the Lima emerged as the favourite, with a
sonatas. Very few other pianists – perhaps first movement is playful, suggesting a delicate touch and bearing an uncanny
resemblance to Chopin himself as he sat at
the piano. Argerich, however, ‘captivated
the audience from the very first note of the
to play Beethoven, or any other composer. the tension going so we hang on every note. second round’ – and the rest is history.
‘Haydn was totally underrated – nobody There are jokes galore to enjoy here, as well as These original recordings feature Lima
played him. But I began to look closely at intimations of mystery. playing the Concerto in F minor and
this second-rate composer – and found his Argerich playing the one in E minor. Lima
music incredible.’ – whom we no longer hear in concert in
And here we are, 15 years on, with London, though he is still performing in
a growing series of ever more dazzling Brazil – may have disappeared from view,
CDs, in which Bavouzet is demonstrating but he was clearly a worthy opponent in
exactly why that music is so incredible. 1965. Yet there was never any real debate as
Some of the sonatas here were early ones to which of the two pianists should be the
designed for students, but he also includes winner. Lima simply lacked those qualities
Sonata No 60, one of Haydn’s grandest and which Argerich possessed in abundance,
most intricate. and which she still possesses today.
The delight of these recordings lies in I am talking about the fire and force of
Bavouzet’s pianism. His touch is wonderfully Haydn her Allegro movements, and the laser-like
flexible, and in the Allegro movements his Piano Sonatas – Vol 10 precision of her passage work. There are
sound is bright, incisive and smart as a whip. Sonatas Nos 3, 4, 28, 45 and 60; Arietta moments which no other pianist could ever
Drawing on a very wide palette, he gives con 12 Variazioni deliver as she does. The celebrated bars
each work its own colouring; when Haydn Jean-Efflam Bavouzet pf just prior to the return of the subject in the
is at his most economical, Bavouzet keeps Chandos CHAN 20191 Larghetto of Op 11 have never sounded as
magically crystalline as they do here. IP

REVIEWS • CDs
HISTORIC RECORDINGS face of his underlying poetry. Again, there is fine Baroque playing on the modern piano,
too little of the Second Barcarolle’s teasing its companion Fugue beautifully shaped.
sophistication, its subtly and indirection. Beethoven’s Bagatelle in C minor WoO52 comes
Reigned in by a sense of co-operation, she next, offering a quirky commentary while
excels in the song, Les berceaux, a sensitive maintaining the momentum of Bach’s cycle.
partner to Ninon Vallin; the music’s gentle As soon as the concept is established it
rocking and harmonic shifts convey an infinite invites further listening, not least because
sadness. Long is also at her best in the First Libeer is a true pianistic chameleon: try his
Piano Quartet (with the Pasquier Trio), her fabulously vital reading of Bach’s G major
warmth and engagement notable in the Fugue and the poignant Shostakovich
magically halting Adagio’s central section. On Prelude Op 34/2. Other highlights include the
the other hand, in the Second Piano Quartet one ‘extra-curricular’ fugue by Ravel ( from
The French Piano School: she and her colleagues’ choice of tempo for the Tombeau de Couperin) and Mozart’s Fantasia
Marguerite Long – Volume 1 Adagio is too fast to convey its elegiac inner K608 (with Laloum). To conclude the cycle,
Works by Fauré and d’Indy world (Fauré’s father’s death was prominent Libeer mirrors the cleanliness of Bach’s great
Marguerite Long pf among many other disturbances at this time B minor Fugue with Schoenberg’s Op 19, then
APR 6038 – 2 CDs in his life). There is scant recognition of the returns to the opening C major Prelude.
later Fauré with the exception of the Fifth A positively enriching way to experience Book
A PR’s important series devoted to Paris

Conservatoire pianists of the early 20th
century continues with this release dedicated
Impromptu, its whirling perpetuo and play of
whole-tone scales seized on with aplomb.
As a bonne bouche, APR adds d’Indy’s
I, this release is illuminating beyond measure.
to Marguerite Long. Her turbulent career Symphonie sur un chant montagnard française,
as a pianist and teacher was central to that its outgoing and scintillating brio a gift
institution in the era when it was celebrated for a pianist of Long’s distinctive talents.
for its cultivation of the sparkling keyboard Complemented by a lengthy, witty and
style known as jeu perlé. informative essay by Roger Nichols, this is an
Long’s enthusiasm for Fauré, prompted by issue to alert present and future generations
her husband Joseph de Marliave (‘If you don’t to the value of confronting changing tastes
know Fauré you are not a musician’), was and traditions.
initially welcomed by the neglected composer, BRYCE MORRISON
though he later turned against her transparent
opportunism. ‘She is a shameless woman,’ said SOLO REPERTOIRE Saint Saëns: Piano Works, Paraphrases
Fauré, ‘who uses my name to get on.’ & Transcriptions – Volumes 1 & 2
Such instability occurred within a wider Antony Gray pf
context of fractiousness and in-fighting. It is Divine Art DDA21235/6 – 4 CDs
significant that Fauré, a frequenter of Paris
salons, was known for provoking jealousy. Much of Saint-Saëns’ output is cruelly
His love of beautiful and high-bred women undervalued, so the musical world owes
was reciprocated. He was once described as Antony Gray a debt for reminding us that
possessing ‘that mysterious gift that no other aside from Carnaval des animaux, Samson et
can replace or surpass: charm. In and around Dalila and the Organ Symphony a cornucopia
him, all was seductive.’ Fauré’s affaires were of delights awaits the listener.
notorious. The first of these four discs showcases opera
This perhaps goes some way towards JS Bach & Beyond: A Well-Tempered and ballet transcriptions. There are four items
explaining the inconsistency of Marguerite Conversation from the ballet Javotte, two from the operas
Long’s Fauré interpretations, her alternation Julian Libeer, Ada Laloum pf Proserpine and Ascanio (based on the Benvenuto
of sympathy and aggression mirroring the Harmonia Mundi HMM 902696/7 – 2 CDs Cellini story), plus an extended nine-minute
surrounding turmoil. Both performances arrangement of the Quartet from Saint-Saëns’
of the early and idyllic Ballade are more This inspired programme pairs each of the operatic masterpiece, Henri VIII. As Gray’s own
thoughtful than literal while her way with the Preludes and Fugues from Book I of Bach’s notes say, ‘it is hard to see why the transcriptions
Second Impromptu is brilliant and engaging Well-Tempered Clavier with a work by a later of Liszt have maintained a place in the standard
when not blunt and cursory (including composer. Featured works run the gamut from repertoire, and not those of Saint-Saëns’.
a blatant denial of the composer’s ‘sans Mozart to Ligeti via Brahms, Fauré, Ravel, Some works include Lisztian tropes; others
presser’). The central section of the Fourth Shostakovich, Busoni, Reger and others. Libeer are pure Saint-Saëns. The ‘after Gluck’ Caprice
Nocturne is violent and confused. Fauré performs on a Chris Maene straight-strung d’Alceste is delicious; the ‘Danse de l’amour’
may have objected to those who ‘play me concert grand, offering an extended palette. (Ascanio) sounds like Liszt in watery ‘Jeux
with the shutters down’ but he can hardly It is clear from the opening C major Prelude d’eau’ mode. Gray brings a sense of festivity to
have envisaged such impatience flying in the that Libeer’s Bach wants for nothing. This is the Valse from Meyerbeer’s Prophète.

CDs • REVIEWS
The second disc focuses on ‘Places’: the Suite The Etudes (1956/7) will likely appeal The Third Sonata begins with a restless
Algérienne, Rhapsodie d’Auvergne, a Fantaisie to anyone enamoured of Ligeti’s set. In movement of post-Schoenbergian beauty
sur l’hymn national russe. There is even a slinky Jablonski’s hands the repeated patters of No (‘Fantoms’) before ‘Bell’ presents a single
tango (Lola Op 116). Meanwhile, the Elégie 10 are kaleidoscopic. He persuades us that chord repeated 17 times with different
Op 160 is pure Saint-Saëns and reveals Gray’s Bacewicz’s Etudes are up there with the great durations and dynamics. The two-movement
deep understanding of the composer. Volume 1 sets (Chopin, Liszt, Ligeti). Fourth Sonata’s opening is hewn from
closes with Africa, an evocative, virtuoso tour Composed in 1949, the First Sonata was granite, though a slight softening of
de force. Gray is a terrific guide, tracking the edited for publication by Jablonski – a gap Walker’s uncompromising voice occurs in
contours of the piece superbly. of some 70 years between composition and the registrally open spaces of the second
The first disc of Volume 2 covers oratorios, publication/performance. Its potent mix of movement, which quotes the Negro spiritual
cantatas and occasional pieces. While one modernism, folk music and sophisticated ‘Motherless Child’.
might pine for a little more magic in the rhythmic writing finds a sensitive interpreter Written when 80, the Fifth Sonata is both
‘Hymne’ from Berlioz’ Faust, Gray finds in Jablonski. The poignant harmonic shifts of knotty and exhilarating. Beck’s playing is
great lyricism in the Improvisation sur la the slow movement are particularly touching. marvellously alive throughout.
Beethoven-Cantata de Liszt. But if one ever Balancing this is the quixotic Scherzo and the COLIN CLARKE
thinks of Saint-Saëns as purveyor of fluff, robust finale, bracingly delivered. The Second
listen to some of the progressive harmonies in Sonata (1953) initially seems more ruminative, PIANO CONCERTOS
‘Improvisation’ from Album des Gauloises: the but this impression is soon brushed aside. The
way Saint-Saëns resolves his dissonances is scurrying finale is an oberek, a Polish dance in
full of sleights-of-hand. the form of a toccata.
The final disc presents two transcriptions Recorded in exceptional sound, this is a very
of music by Luis Mílan and 13 of Bach. valuable release.
Is there a brighter reflection of the joy of
Bach’s Ouverture from Cantata 29 than
this arrangement and Gray’s performance?
Emmanuel Despax offers a more nuanced
reading on his Spira, Spera album, but Gray
has captured its pure celebratory feel, setting
off a miraculous sequence of arrangements. Mozart Piano Concertos: No 25 in C major
Irresistible music, superbly played. K503; No 20 in D minor K466
Unmissable. Anne-Marie McDermott pf Odense
Symphony Orchestra/Sebastian Lang-Lessing
Bridge Records BRIDGE 9562
George Walker Five Piano Sonatas
Steven Beck pf For this fourth volume of her ongoing Mozart
Bridge 9554 concertos cycle, Anne-Marie McDermott
offers a reading of K503 that emphasises
Interest in the music of George Theophilus what annotator James Keller calls its ‘noble …
Walker (1922-2018) has grown over recent character and vast … symphonic scope’. Her
years, so it is good to have his five piano choice of first-movement cadenza, written by
sonatas in one place. They date from 1953 to Chris Rogerson of the Curtis Institute, chimes
2003. The first black person to win a Pulitzer very nicely with this spirit of nobility. She
Bacewicz Piano Works Prize in Music, Walker studied with Nadia also has a winning way with the succeeding
Peter Jablonski pf Boulanger. He was also a fine pianist, studying Andante and final Allegro. This is an
Ondine ODE1399-2 at the Curtis Institute with Rudolf Serkin. enthralling and flawlessly poised performance.
Stephen Beck continues this lineage as a In the popular D minor Concerto K466,
Peter Jablonski’s third album for Ondine finds former student of Serkin’s son, Peter. McDermott catches the cut-and-thrust of the
him exploring the magnificent but little- Walker’s fluent First Sonata features an opening Allegro as well as anyone and better
known music of Polish composer Grażyna abrasive first movement set against a songful than many. The fleeter central section of the
Bacewicz (1909-69). theme for the second, based on the Kentucky Romance sounds a touch pedestrian, but the
This is the first time Bacewicz’s sonatas folk melody ‘O Bury Me Beneath the Willow’. outer sections are charming, and the finale
and etudes have appeared on disc together. Walker shares with Barber an ability to meld is adroitly played. The Odense Symphony
Jablonski opens with the Concert Krakowiak traditional harmonies with spiky dissonances, Orchestra under Sebastian Lang-Lessing
(1949). A pupil of Szymanowski in her native and Beck offers a fabulously fastidious reading provide immaculate support throughout.
Poland before moving to Paris to enter of the work’s toccata finale. The Second Bridge’s sound is beautifully clear and
Boulanger’s circle, Bacewicz’s imagination is Sonata (1956) opens with a quirky Theme and natural, the engineering as poised as Mozart’s
vast – as Jablonski’s stunning, post-Lisztian Variations that recalls Prokofiev, while the inexhaustible invention.
performance reveals. brief finale offers a modicum of tranquillity. GUY RICKARDS

REVIEWS • CDs
CHAMBER MUSIC & SONG Connoisseurs of two-piano playing won’t want

to miss this high-voltage album recorded in
Moscow with visceral engineering by Maria
Soboleva. Lovers of Gershwin’s standards –
from songs through his own transcription
of the I Got Rhythm Variations to gorgeously
in-the-groove arrangements by Gregory Stone
and Paul Posnak – are in for a treat.
Meanwhile, Westerners unfamiliar with
Gershwin’s younger Soviet counterpart
Alexander Tsfasman (1906-71) – who in
1926 founded the USSR’s first professional
Brahms Three Sonatas Opp 100 & 120 jazz collective and touring band, amassing
Stephen Hough pf Michael Collins cl a huge recording catalogue – have a Roman
BIS 2557 feast in store. A contemporary and friend
IRA POLYARNAYA
of Shostakovich, admired by the likes of
Supplementing Brahms’s two familiar Clarinet Goldenweiser and Neuhaus, and trained at
Sonatas Op 120 (1894), Michael Collins’ the Moscow Conservatory under Blumenfeld,
transcription of the Violin Sonata in A major Tsfasman was a master of his art, as capable of Stunning: Arthur Ancelle and Ludmila Berlinskaya
Op 100 (1886) is an unexpected opener. It touching the spirit as racing the pulse.
works agreeably enough, a useful addition to Celebrating 10 years together, the Russo- the first of the eight songs, ‘you will want
the repertoire. But the velvet-toned approach French duo of Berlinskaya and Ancelle offer to hide the notes; and if it bewitches you so
he and Stephen Hough adopt makes for a a stunning display of tone, touch, timing and many times you will never forget it’. Indeed
rather distant, muted impression. The absence teamwork. Variously cultured and earthy, we don’t, nor the other numbers of this
of incisive clarinet attack or individually dizzying and glittering, their pianism fuses 80-minute conspectus. Each is a masterwork
coloured pianism is mirrored in the seemingly liberal imagination, rhythmic flexibility and of expression and emotion, striving in different
restrained production values and sound swing with classical attention to detail and ways to seek the inner Grieg.
imaging (Henry Wood Hall). Overall, it is a articulation. Unmissable. Davidsen’s wondrous voice moves from
politely efficient outing, nimble and fleet but operatic to enfolding intimacy, bravura to
emotionally low on voltage. whisper, while Andses sculpts a magical
The Op 120 pair similarly run their course, wonderland through elevated and imaginative
offering nothing spectacular. Collins’ phrasing pianism. Gloriously special.
is too carefully studied, while his reluctance to
delve deeper into Brahms’ reservoir of melody
tends to de-personalise proceedings. Hough,
too, declines to venture little further than the
garden gate and keeps his Bechstein firmly
under wraps.
The overall effect is opaque, twilit and
wanting in tension – a bit like a rehearsal Grieg Songs
heard from the back of a darkened room, Leif Ove Andsnes pf Lise Davidsen sop
neither player yet fired up. Decca 4852254
‘Everyone in Norway knows this music’, says Visions

Davidsen. ‘I am very aware of the conventions Works by Musorgsky,
of how it “should” be done and by whom. This Rachmaninov, Poulenc and Franck
project was about listening to the music on Spina-Benignetti Piano Duo: Leonora
our own terms, trying to find our Grieg sound.’ Spina, Michele Benignetti pfs
Recorded in the Stormen Konserthus, Bodø, Sheva Collection SH 277
just north of the Arctic Circle, the veteran
Arne Akselberg showing us exactly how to Comprising an exercise Allegro (1860) and a
engineer a classically golden sound, this a re-cycled ‘salon’ Scherzo for solo piano (1858),
collection of inestimable beauty. Musorgsky’s unfinished Sonata in C was
Gershwin and Tsfasman In his booklet notes, Andrew Mellor written during his time with Balakirev. Bored
Works for two pianos understandably calls Haugtussa (The with Germanic form and discipline, neither
Ludmila Berlinskaya, Arthur Ancelle pfs Mountain Maid), published in 1898, movement hints at the composer’s raw genius
Melodiya MEL CD 1002564 ‘Scandinavia’s greatest song cycle’. ‘If you to come, though the Scherzo has transient
know the dream and know the song,’ goes charm.

CDs • REVIEWS
Spina and Benignetti offer an indulgent view on African percussion music, both traditional who seems to have composed little. But then
of Rachmaninov’s Six Morceaux Op 11 (1894). and popular. Yoruba Songs by Akin Euba so did many female composers, including
Unlike Goldenweiser/Ginzburg’s classic 1951 (1935-2020) features arrangements of three the two greatest of the 20th century, Ruth
account, they tend to protract and prettify popular songs. The Nocturnes by Moroccan Crawford Seeger and Lili Boulanger. Works
this music, often to its detriment. Moments of composer Nabil Benabdeljalil (born 1972) are by living composers include Gribbin’s Unseen
Russified fantasy and melancholic escapism plangent and attractive. Ghanaian composer (2017) and Mary D Watkins’ Summer Days
are few and far between, and the trickier Fred Onovwerosuoke, born 1960, studied – both of them powerful, intense, dramatic
ensemble pages are prone to muddiness. in the US and became an American citizen. works in a quasi-tonal idiom.
The terse Poulenc Sonata fares better, His Five Kaleidoscopes for Piano (2013) were
occasional raggedness notwithstanding. Less commissioned by Rebeca Omordia. On this
winged than worthy, Franck’s organ Prélude, album of rather conservative music, they’re
Fugue et Variation Op 18 (1860-62), in Abel the most modernist contribution.
Decaux’s 1903 arrangement (claimed to be
a first recording), comes across blandly, its
strengths and tension watered down. Short on
air and space, the bass-heavy and congested
sound isn’t helped by a frayed, poorly toned
Yamaha that’s surely seen better days.
ATE˛S ORGA
Speaksome
CONTEMPORARY & JAZZ Christian Wallumrød pf, synth, autoharp,
drum machine
Hubro CD2650
The Future is Female – Vol 1: In Nature
Sarah Cahill pf Pianist-composer Christian Wallumrød is
First Hand Records FHR131 best known for chamber works inspired by
Norwegian folk and church music. Speaksome
Sarah Cahill’s new three-volume series is his second solo album and features a
celebrates women composers from the 17th varied, eventful set of pieces, playful and often
century onwards, featuring 70 compositions bucolic. They show a remarkable postmodern
and many premiere recordings. ‘I’m sensibility, intimate but with power and affect.
ambivalent about the notion of “woman A ‘less is more’ aesthetic leads to textures so
African Pianism composer”,’ Cahill admits. ‘But I’ve found this minimal they’re mostly played with one hand.
Rebeca Omordia pf is only scratching the surface.’ As his colleague Ivar Grydeland comments,
Somm SOMMCD 0647 Volume 1 supports that verdict. In a blindfold Wallumrød’s music is both historic and
test, I’d have guessed that the opening Sonata futuristic. In recent years he’s returned to
Akin Euba (1935-2020) advocated the concept could be by a youthful Sturm und Drang electronics, as here. Speaksome is mostly studio-
of African Pianism in which the piano Josef Haydn, and that it was followed by a recorded but ‘Self Volk’ was captured at home,
expresses aspects of Nigerian traditional Mendelssohn Songs without Words. I would with creaks and ambient noise. Each piece
music. His Three Yoruba Songs Without Words never have known that the Sonata is in fact by is full of character. ‘Speakless’ is for prepared
are featured on this album of music by mostly Haydn’s near-contemporary Anna Bon, and piano with electronic and feedback effects
Black African composers, performed by that the Mendelssohn in question is Fanny. that include a sound like a slowly bouncing
Nigerian-Romanian pianist Rebeca Omordia. Deirdre Gribbin is the only other composer ball. The spacious ‘Nölen und Laden’, as much
She is artistic director of the African Concert here that I’d heard of. sound-decay as sound, is acoustic with ghostly
Series at London’s Wigmore Hall. An outstanding highlight is the electronic overdubs; ‘Zitternpappel’ is bluesy
It is an intriguing collection that focuses expressionist Sonata ‘To the Victims of with echo-laden effects.
on an increasingly intractable issue: the Auschwitz’ ‘Treeline’ opens as an out-of-kilter
adoption by African composers of structural (1949, first pointillist tonescape with random beats,
and tonal models from Western art music. The published 1997) soon counterpointed by ponderous piano
most substantive contribution is by Nigerian by Agi Jambor chords. The engaging ‘Gitar’, with its gently
composer Christian Onyeji (born 1967), (1909–1997) rolling country feel, is a gem; the title-track
who in Ufie transfers indigenous drumming – a Hungarian synthesises Norwegian folk and blues. These
techniques to the piano. concert pianist pieces recall Peter van der Merwe’s striking
Ayo Bankole (1935-1976), also from Nigeria, thesis, in Origins of the Popular Style, of the
based his Egun Variations on an Egun song. Celebrating universality of the blues – he even has a
CHRISTINE ALICINO
Ghanaian Joseph Hanson Kwabena Nketia women chapter on ‘The British Origins of the Blues’,
(1921-2019) studied in London and the US. His composers: which clearly could be extended to Norway. IP
propulsive, modal African Pianism is based Sarah Cahill ANDY HAMILTON

PRESENTS...
Exclusive CD • Foreword by Sir Andrew Davis CBE • Essential listening

This Official
150th Anniversary
VAUGHAN Publication
includes:
WILLIAMS  Exclusive CD with
26 tracks of the
recommended
recordings
A 150th anniversary
celebration of the  In-depth features on
man and his music the man and his music
 Reflections from
leading interpreters
 Listening guide to
key recordings
VAUGHAN
WILLIAMS RVW and the Bard
150th ‘Miniature gems’
Like many composers, Vaugha
n Williams was inspired
though the craft of writing by the works of Shakespeare,
incidental music to plays
writes Stephen Connock was a skill he learned on
the job,
é egg. Three
y and finesse of a Faberg
art songs with all the intimac
‘S
Vaughan Williams crafted what makes
Adrian Horsewood about hakespeare was the best friend
anniversary share their thoughts with he had’. This was the

evocation in sound of the
singers and an accompanist
view of Ursula Vaughan Williams ‘cloud-capp’d towers’ in The
when discussing as well as reflecting in music: Tempest,
her late husband’s love of the ‘We are such stuff as dreams
playwright and poet in
these works so special 1998. Vaughan Williams had
a child when he was given
first discovered Shakespear
e as
are made on, and our little
responded to the compassion
life is rounded with a sleep.
’ VW
the complete edition by Caroline , the insight, the humour and
the
for as long as I can remember, Darwin. He re-read all the nobility of Shakespeare. He
2022): ‘I’ve sung his music plays in 1951, counting The also recognised that Shakespear
F
Williams occupies prime love Merry e
or many, Ralph Vaughan of my repertoire. What I Wives of Windsor,
Windsor Richard II and Henry was thoroughly musical, a
and it’s always been a staple realise V as his favourites. writer who thought deeply
about
position in the pantheon
of English art-song to working on them you He began setting Shakespear music. VW took Shakespear
is that when you get down e’s words to music in the 1890s, e’s many references to English
composers; there can be
scarcely a singer or so much more than just the including Sonnet 71 and ‘O folk-ballads as supporting
Lea’, that there is real depth there, all
Mistress Mine’ from Twelfth
Night.
his own ‘national’ approach
to
know ‘Silent Noon’, ‘Linden ring, pastoral composer that we He went on to compose Sir music: ‘Shakespeare makes
enthusiast who does not to image of the tweed-wea John in Love (completed in
1928)
an international appeal for
the
with so many other aspects with a libretto by the composer very reason that he is so national
or ‘The Vagabond’. But as know.’ based on The Merry Wives and English in his outlook,
’
music, delving past the best- whose RVW of Windsor
Windsor, the lovely Serenade he wrote in December 1944.
Vaughan Williams’s life and the For baritone Roderick Williams, Roderick Williams, to Music (1938) with lines
layers and threads that run most extensive of any currently who has an extensive from the last act of The Merchant Against this background, VW
known songs reveals hidden discography is perhaps the from his long discography of RVW
Thanksgiving (1945) which
of Venice, and the Song of
by Archibald Flower on behalf
was excited at the invitation
career. the songs sprang
whole length of the composer’s , active singer, his love for songs, was introduced included extracts from Henry
V.
of (Sir) Frank Benson to
heart of the English song canon’ part of the composer’s output: to the genre ‘by stealth’ Overall, VW was to set Shakespear conduct the orchestra as well
RVW is ‘the beating
On association with another through the choral works e’s texts, or write incidental as write and arrange incidental The statue of
Spence, fresh from recording Williams’s music through music to the plays, over 20 music to a number of Shakespear Stratford-upon-Avon’s
according to tenor Nicky April ‘I first got to know Vaughan times throughout his long
career. e plays for the August 1912 famous playwright
label (release date: Shakespeare also seems to and April-May 1913 seasons
Wenlock Edge for the Hyperion have influenced the remarkable at Stratford. Benson (1858-1939
)
William Shakespeare
final movement of the Sixth was an actor-manager who towers over that of
Symphony (1947), in part founded his own company
SIMON VAN BOXTEL an spring of 1883, managing in the one of his best-known
the Stratford Shakespearean characters, Henry V–
FREE
TONY CRADDOCK Festival a favourite of RVW
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION £14.99
1872 – 1958
1872 – 1958 CD choirandorgan.com
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BOOKS • REVIEWS
managed to avoid recording Bartók, Prokofiev no fundamental principle at stake in the war
and Stravinsky, considering that composers he “except perhaps anti-communism”.’
failed to perform in public, like Gershwin, he Accepting even the possibility that a
regaled friends with on social occasions. superhuman icon of a pianist may have
At least seven Gieseking renditions of had feet of clay is apparently too much for
Beethoven’s Emperor Concerto have been some devotees. Rainer Peters admits that
left to posterity, six of Schumann’s A minor ‘Gieseking’s position on the [Nazi] regime
Concerto, and five of Franck’s Variations cannot be completely clarified, and only
symphoniques. Peters accurately observes that partially reconstructable with the help of
in playing Scriabin’s Sonata No 5 Op 53 ‘The contradicting testimonies.’ Yet Peters lashes
Poem of Ecstasy’, Gieseking incarnates ‘ecstasy out at Michael Hans Kater, a Canadian-based
itself; the pianist is beside himself ’. Although German historian who has written well-
Gieseking hurried through Beethoven’s Sonata documented studies about culture under Nazi
in C minor Op 111 in under 20 minutes, his rule. Peters places within ironic quotation
Liszt Concerto No 1 in E-flat major from marks Kater’s academic title of ‘Distinguished
1932 is ‘impressively validated by intellectual- Research Professor of History,’ cited in English.
manual clarté’. Then Peters proceeds to unconvincingly
Walter Gieseking: The Paradox of This otherwise perceptive account falls offer a comparative list of pianists even more
Perfection [In German: Walter Gieseking: down in trying to oppose well-established deeply entrenched in Nazi ideology, like those
Die Paradoxie des Vollkommenen] facts available in reliably researched Hitler-loving Wilhelms, Backhaus and Kempff.
Rainer Peters histories. It has been conclusively established Similarly, Peters goes to some lengths
Wolke Verlag, 120 pages that during the Nazi era, Gieseking to try to refute postwar accusations by
opportunistically enjoyed a career boom, with Arthur Rubinstein that Gieseking affirmed
P
iano lovers have yet to fully understand attendant income increases, officially lauded allegiance to the Nazi regime in the 1930s.
the phenomenon that was Walter as a ‘God-gifted’ pianist. Curiously, Peters does not mention postwar
Gieseking. Talent on this level naturally Used tirelessly by the Nazi Propaganda public statements by other musicians such
confounds anyone who tries to capture or Ministry, he toured annexed, occupied and as Vladimir Horowitz, Gregor Piatigorsky
categorise it. Gieseking is often mentioned in neutral countries, and in 1944 was decorated and Nathan Milstein who, while admiring
connection with his major recording projects of with the War Merit Cross, 2nd Class without Gieseking’s artistry, also affirmed that it was
music by Mozart, Debussy and Ravel, but this Swords, presented to those whose actions were unseemly for him to enjoy a American tour
hardly indicates the range of his interpretive deemed to advance the fight against the Allies. immediately after the war to garner ovations,
command, due to uncanny sight-reading The Nazis controlled his career, although considering the way he had spent the past
abilities and digital skills that, according to at least early on, Gieseking apparently felt few years.
Gieseking himself, were only flummoxed by he still maintained some degree of personal All of which may lead the reader to
Chopin’s Waterfall Etude Op 10/1 in C major. choice, as when he ineffectively protested a conclude that for the most part, pianists
Because he practised little, his performances ban on music by his colleague Paul Hindemith and their fans have little grasp of world
could be terrifyingly spontaneous, especially in 1936. But he summarily dumped prewar events, even decades after the fact. Despite
apt for Schumann’s Kreisleriana and Jewish musician friends and colleagues, like the aforementioned flaws, limitations, and
Davidsbündlertänze. Gieseking’s intensely the violinist Bronisław Huberman. occasional expression of ill-temper, this is
characterised renditions remind us that the After the war, there was a perhaps an enthused and informed exploration of an
composer wound up in a mental asylum, predictable kickback, and Gieseking’s immortal of the pianistic landscape, whose
diagnosed with psychotic melancholia. international performances discography is a Mount
Gieseking was also a riveting interpreter of were singled out for public Rushmore in sound.
Rachmaninov and Scriabin, and magisterially protest, whereas other, more The ‘paradox’ in the
performed works by Frank Martin, Cyril Scott, ideologically convinced book’s title points to
Pfitzner, Hindemith, Szymanowski, Villa- Nazi musicians whose the fact that despite
Lobos, Honegger, Sinding, Schulhoff, Tansman collaborations with iniquity his seemingly effortless
and others. He even recorded Schoenberg’s were less publicised, went abilities and titanic
Three Piano Pieces Op 11 and relatively untroubled after musical gifts, Gieseking
6 Little Piano Pieces Op 19 on Welte piano the Axis defeat. During his was a surprisingly normal
rolls. Sometimes he championed duds, denazification interviews, fellow, or as Peters
including the Teutonic mediocrity Max Trapp to interrogators Gieseking describes him, a ‘friendly,
or the Harvard eminence Walter Piston, reportedly ‘excused and happy, jovial giant with
whose influence in their respective cultural justified Hitler and Hitlerism huge hands’. But then,
domains might have persuaded Gieseking to and said he believed in Hitler’s most pianists scarcely live
play their lesser compositions. new order. He said he saw up to the heights of their
In a lively new account of Gieseking’s artistry in private life. IP
career, Rainer Peters wonders how the pianist Walter Gieseking (1895-1956) BENJAMIN IVRY

REVIEWS • SHEET MUSIC
as well as serving as an excellent her own right. Her substantial display of power more akin to
study in filigree arpeggios and output included a piano concerto, Prokofiev’s modernism than any
scales for the left hand. piano solos, chamber music, of the preceding miniatures. An
‘Sarabande Variations’ is the choral works and a symphony. intriguing find.
most substantial work and a This volume comes from Boosey
significant achievement. Its & Hawkes’ new Kashperova
wonderful final variation builds in Edition, edited by British
power and velocity to culminate musicologist Graham Griffiths.
in impressive pianistic fireworks Dating from 1910, In the Midst of
reminiscent of Brahms’ Handel Nature is a charming, pedagogically
Variations. useful suite cast in six movements.
It opens with a post-Tchaikovskian
pair of floral miniatures, ‘Roses I
Stadtfeld & II’, which while not stylistically
Händel Variations progressive are lovingly crafted
Edition Schott ED 23283 and encourage legato pianism,
sensitive balance and judicious use
M artin Stadtfeld shot to fame

when he was signed by
Sony Music Germany at the age
of the sustaining pedal. ‘Autumn
Leaves I & II’ display a love of rich
chromaticism, though the textures
R Strauss
Till Eulenspiegels lustige
of 22, producing an astonishingly are never overly thick and their deft Streiche
assured recording of Bach’s characterisation recalls the spartan Transcr. by Édouard Risler
Goldberg Variations that belied miniatures of early Scriabin. Muse Press
his tender years. This generous ‘The Murmuring of the Rye’ is an
60-page volume presents 11 of his ideal study for controlled pianism. This solo reworking of Richard
Handel arrangements, which he Kashperova When played as quietly as Strauss’ orchestral tone poem by
recorded in 2019. In the Midst of Nature possible, its arpeggiation demands Joseph-Édouard Risler (1873-1929)
Perhaps it does not do justice Boosey & Hawkes BH 13563 an even, consistent touch, as is an extraordinary testament to
to Stadfeld to describe these well as expert co-ordination and transcendental virtuosity. It needs
enticing pieces as ‘arrangements’. The Russian pianist Leokadiya synchronisation between the to be taken at a mercurial tempo
He takes Handel’s persuasively Kashperova is best remembered hands. Finally, percussive flair with leggiero touch. Anything less
lyrical melodies and provides as Stravinsky’s teacher but she and élan come to the fore in ‘The will destroy the deliciously balletic
textures, colourings and was also a prolific composer in Threshing of the Wheat’, a vibrant energy of its textures.
pianistic asides that serve as Risler was the dedicatee of
contemporary commentaries Leokadiya Kashperova the massive Dukas Piano Sonata
on the music. For instance, the (1872-1940) and the first pianist to perform
much-loved ‘Ombra mai fu’ is Fauré’s Dolly Suite (with Alfred
adorned with arpeggios that Cortot). Until Muse Press rescued
imbue the tune with a wistful, Risler’s impossibly demanding
folksy innocence . In ‘Lascia ch’io transcription from obscurity, it
pianga’ dynamics and articulation had lingered for decades in the
markings are kept to a minimum, archive of the Paris Conservatoire.
allowing performers freedom to Though the music’s treacherous
develop their own take on the leaps, double notes, triple stave
music. The anthology as a whole contrapuntal complexities and
cultivates a relaxed aesthetic in fast speeds are unquestionably
which old and new co-exist with intimidating, it can be extremely
intriguing results. beneficial to explore key sections
Many of the smaller numbers of the score as if each one was
will be readily accessible to a study. I am currently relishing
intermediate pianists. I can working on the passage beginning
RUSSIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MUSIC
imagine many Grade 6 players at bar 432, which is a fabulous

warming to the gentle lilt of challenge for filigree sound and
Stadtfeld’s left-hand part for requires utmost dexterity and
the D minor ‘Siciliano’. The final precision. An elegantly presented
number, ‘Piangero la sorte mia’, issue to fear and revere! IP
features some exquisite two-part
‘duet’ writing in the right hand, BY MURRAY McLACHLAN

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REVIEWS • CONCERTS
FONDATION LOUIS VUITTON/MARTIN RAPHAËL MARTIQ

In concert
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London ‘Sometimes I think I could sing myself to Tchaikovsky Competition. He is very much
Alexandre Kantorow 29 January death’). Baffling to early listeners who were a man after their own hearts, his warmth
inclined to ask, ‘When is a sonata not a and engagement a far cry from other more
L
iszt’s Dante Sonata made an audacious sonata?’ it also infuriated a later critic who abstract and even chillier alternatives (Pollini’s
opening to Alexander Kantorow’s referred to is as ‘a farrago of fatuities’. Yet from celebrity in the West remains a mystery to
London debut recital. It proved to Kantorow, all possible reservations were swept the Russians).
be the start of a memorable evening that aside: whether in the mockery of the Scherzo’s Kantorow is a pianist with a burning
showed off this French pianist’s extraordinary central alla burla ma pomposo, in the beguiling mission, reminding you of William Blake’s
gifts to maximum effect. Whether in Liszt’s scotch-snap of the finale’s second subject, and immortal aphorisms: ‘exuberance is beauty’;
tumultuous rhetoric or in the central most of all in the concluding alpine octave and conversely, ‘prudence is an ugly old maid
Francesca da Rimini episode (in Kantorow’s leap across the keyboard, Kantorow’s mastery courted by incapacity’. IP
hands, a truly heart-felt and caressing dolce sustained and riveted attention. BRYCE MORRISON
con amore) the performance carried all This was followed by more adventures
before it: a marvel of recreative vision and into manic and obsessive territory, by way of
imagination. Scriabin’s Vers la flamme (Towards the flame),
Schumann is, perhaps to an even greater forever associated with Horowitz yet clearly
extent than Liszt, an ideal outlet for a pianist with a new and formidable champion here.
of Kantorow’s rhapsodic and blazing intensity. Then, by way of relative breadth and repose,
The F-sharp minor Sonata is long, wild and came Brahms’ arrangement for left hand of the
unruly, dedicated to the beloved Clara ‘From Bach Chaconne in D minor. Encores included
Florestan and Eusebius’, Schumann’s most Guido Agosti’s arrangement of Stravinsky’s
dearly cherished schizophrenic alter-egos. Firebird and Liszt’s Petrarch Sonnet No 104
Like Brahms’ early Sonata in the same key, (‘I fear and hope and burn and am full of
the F-sharp minor bristles with savagely ice’) where Kantorow’s empathy for Liszt’s Alexandre Kantorow can be heard
unpianistic demands contrasting with arrangement of his earlier song was absolute. performing the Bach-Brahms Chaconne on
Schumann’s lyricism ( from a composer How the Russians must have loved his latest album (BIS-2600 SACD)
who once exclaimed with tragic prophecy, Kantorow in his triumph at the 2019

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MUSIC OF MY LIFE
INTERVIEW BY JEREMY NICHOLAS
Joyful
message
Italian pianist Maurizio
Baglini chooses favourites
from a lifetime of music
DAVIDE CERATI
T
he recording of Brahms’ German
Requiem conducted by Karajan was
the gift I received from my first fan. I
was eight years old! He was a student of my have played a lot as soloist, but we only had He said, ‘Because we are incompatibile’. This
first teacher named Filiberto and he admired a few hours to record music that is not part is just by way of saying Bernstein has always
me because I was playing Schoenberg’s Kleine of the core repertoire. I didn’t want to offend fascinated me as a conductor, composer
klavierstücke Op 19 plus some of Schumann’s anybody or be critical so asked them to triple and pianist. When I was at the Academy
Kinderszenen in a few concerts. He said he check everything. Then Sylvia would ask, in Imola, my teacher asked me to analyse
wanted to give me something special. It was ‘Maurizio, is that my fault?’ It was difficult Fidelio and since then it has been a talisman
a vinyl disc with an amazing cast, though I mixing the family and the professional. for me. I have listened to many different
didn’t appreciate it at the time – I didn’t even Finally, the conductor said, ‘Please Maurizio, recordings but Bernstein’s makes one feel
know Karajan or the Berlin Philharmonic. But tell us the truth!’ Sylvia is rediscovering a lot that Beethoven will still be contemporary in
I did know that Johannes Brahms had been a of 20th-century Italian music, so after Rota, 500 years. Maybe there are other recordings
composer and had died sometime in the past. Sony gave her the chance to record Pizzetti, that are psychologically deeper but Bernstein
I listened to the orchestra and choir in this Casella, Respighi, Castelnuova-Tedesco and conducted it with such joy and freedom. It’s
huge masterwork – it was how I discovered Malipiero. It’s very important that we play the most joyful Fidelio message imaginable. IP
music beyond the piano. That was my first such neglected repertoire.
impression. Since then I have become a fanatic I heard Vlado Perlemuter in Florence when I Brahms
for religious music. I have about 15,000 CDs of was 12. He stood in for Claudio Arrau. Not only Ein deutsches Requiem
musica sacra. did I think Perlemuter’s sound was incredible Hendricks, van Dam, etc; Vienna
Francesco Finotti, in my opinion, is the – I had never heard such a synaesthetic Philharmonic/Karajan
DG E4316512
best organist living. He inspired me to know combination of colours and perfumes – but
all the Bach-Busoni piano works. Thanks to he also played several works I had never L’Organo Mauracher/Zeni
him I am a real Bach fanatic! Finotti won first heard before, like Le tombeau de Couperin. I Works by JS Bach
prize in the 1978 Liszt International Organ immediately phoned my uncle in Paris to tell Francesco Finotti organ
Competition in Budapest. He does not have a him what I had heard, and he said, ‘Oh, but La Bottega Discantica BDI 105
high profile – he doesn’t seek exposure – but my housekeeper comes to my apartment to Rota
plays in cathedrals and places like Saint- clean on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Cello concertos
Eustache in Paris. The organ is not a popular Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday she cleans Silvia Chiesa vlc Orchestra Sinfonica
instrument in the musical life of Italy. But the flat of Perlemuter.’ Her name was Fatima Nazionale della RAI/Corrado Rovaris
Finotti plays the entire works of Bach from and she was Portuguese so I asked if she could Sony 88697924102
memory – he has a huge repertoire from the introduce me. That’s how I came to meet Vlado Perlemuter plays Ravel
18th century up to Franck – and is doing what Perlemuter in Paris. He was deaf and it was Vlado Perlemuter pf Colonne Orchestra/
he can to popularise the organ in Italy and to difficult to have a conversation but he still Jascha Horenstein
restore many of the country’s instruments. played the piano in a beautiful way. VoxBox CDX2 5507
It’s thanks to him that I increased my musical Bernstein’s recording of Fidelio combines
Beethoven
culture, let’s say. my favourite conductor and composer! Fidelio
Silvia Chiesa – my wife – performing two Fidelio is one of my deepest passions. I met Janowitz, Kollo, Popp, etc; Vienna
cello concertos by Nino Rota: my first album Alfred Brendel when he came to Italy for a Philharmonic/Bernstein
as producer! It was quite difficult because conference and we spoke about Bernstein. I DG E4744202
this is the national orchestra with which I asked why he had never played with Bernstein.

New for March
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet couples the
Grand Sonata in C major with less
well-known works: two very early
sonatas (Nos 3 and 4) provide a
stark contrast to the later works
(Nos 28 and 45). The album ends
with the Arieea
Ari con 12 Variazioni.
‘Bavouzet more than

holds his own and,
,me and again, seems
to offer a fresh ear to
these sonatas, as if
this is as much his
great adventure as
ours’ - Gramophone
‘This con,nuing series

is turning into a real
classic’ -The Observer
CHAN 20191
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COMPE TITION
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JURY Marin Alsop* I UNITED STATES Andreas Haefliger I SWITZERLAND

Alessio Bax I ITALY Stephen Hough I UNITED KINGDOM WATCH THE ENTIRE
Jean-Efflam Bavouzet I FRANCE Anne-Marie McDermott I UNITED STATES COMPETITION ONLINE
Rico Gulda I AUSTRIA Orli Shaham I ISRAEL / UNITED STATES
Wu Han I CHINA TAIWAN / UNITED STATES Lilya Zilberstein I RUSSIA
AT CLIBURN.ORG
* Jury chairman
TICKETS & SUBSCRIPTION PACKAGES ON SALE NOW

CLIBURN.ORG I (+1) 817.212.4450

International Piano No80 March 2022

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EXPERT ADVICE FOR EVERY PIANO ENTHUSIAST

7 NEWS & NOTES

TULLY POTTER COLLECTION

12 IN BLACK AND WHITE

60 A FRESH LOOK AT BEETHOVEN

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7–9 Tib Street

EDITORIAL ADVERTISING © MA Music, Leisure and Travel Ltd, 2022.

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MATTERS OF ERRATUM opinion that there has to be

Competiton winner Bruce Anda’s supposedly ‘hypocritical’ The editor replies:

it all happens here.

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American composer George Crumb remembered

Samantha Ege (pictured), who y2u.be/8tS6bXx01v4

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Bechstein donates 16 pianos to Beirut Conservatory

Applications open for 2023 Cliburn Junior Competition

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TIBERIO SORVILLO/LUCA GUADAGNINI

system, but now he wants to spread his wings.

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www.saffronhall.com or 0845 548 7650

Stretched to the limit

& b 4 f f ff nff f f f ff bff ff™ f ff ff

≈ f f f f violin, pianos on the contrary went the other

b octave increased significantly and the action

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f f F f f The thing is always to sound convincing,

f as if you are deliberately choosing to spread

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would have heard of Oistrakh, Rzewski or

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more than 50 – FIFTY – names from the rock/

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Into the cosmos

structures and its spiritual depth

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Uchida’s teacher at the Vienna Music Academy was

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T he final version of the Diabelli Variations we know

‘The Diabelli Variations is

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final Minuet, it would be a different piece. The Minuet is

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For this reason, perhaps, Scriabin’s outsized ardour

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T he title of the new Boydell volume highlights a

he observed: ‘The world is the result of my activity, my

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Chopin: The Perfect Virtuoso

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his life, music and

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was invincible’ to the ‘ugly city of London, inevitably

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Mostly, Kocsis delighted in Richter’s penchant for

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Rebecca Saunders’ to an utterance will receive its UK premiere

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