Henri Litolff (1818-1891)
Piano Music – Volume 1
Tingyue Jiang (piano)
rec. 2022, The Margot and Bill Winspear Performance Hall of Murchison Performing Arts Center, University of North Texas, USA
Toccata Classics TOCC0666 [69]
Aside from the warhorse “Scherzo” from the 4th Concerto Symphonique, only a small percentage of Litolff’s large output has been recorded. This is a shame as, having played his Spinnerlied Op.81 and very much enjoyed the Hyperion recordings of the Piano Trios and the Concerto Symphoniques, I am sure there are many interesting discoveries to be made. Regarding his solo piano music, I’ve long pestered Martin Anderson of Toccata Classics to redress this omission from the catalogues and at last my wish has been granted.
This CD includes two sets of small pieces, published together, and a diverse selection of other standalone works. All of them date from 1846 – 1862 which puts them in the middle of Litolff’s composing career.
The recording starts with a set of six Arabesken with various assorted titles. They are nicely varied in character and a far cry from the outrageously difficult piano writing of the Concerto Symphoniques. The first piece is a rather lovely utterance whose title translates as “Memories of Home” and (as the excellent cover notes say) is similar in nature to some of Schumann’s “domestic” piano music. The second piece is more energetic and reminds me of Grieg – as do some of the other pieces elsewhere on this disc. There are some lovely touches here, with an excellent contrast between the light and cheerful music and the darker contrasting episodes. Thirdly, is another more relaxed piece, subtitled “Yearning” which in places reminds me of Mendelssohn, especially in the contrasted middle section. “Der Gondelier” follows and is another work similar to Mendelssohn’s; the opening is especially good. The rippling middle part contains some difficult sounding figuration that is rather evocative – perhaps of a gondolier struggling against a current? This gradually subsides to a less frantic theme, based upon the opening music, and has a splendid ending which has a “once upon a time” feeling to it. Fifthly, is a slightly stormier little piece which has plenty of work for the pianist to do and Ms. Jiang makes a wonderful job of it. The set concludes with a proper little Etude but is actually entitled “Arabeske”. This contains more difficulties for the soloist who, once again, produces a superb performance of a tricky little piece. Overall, this set contains much music of interest and is played magnificently throughout.
The second set of works on the disc is entitled “6 Opuscules” – a title which, as the notes explain, is a brief literary work. In the first of these, Litolff is, once again testing his performer with a finger–twisting little Tarantella which is a minor masterpiece. Next, is a set of two polkas, full of spiky rhythms and interesting key changes, not deserving, I think, of the criticism levelled at them in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. Both are rather charming and each bounces along merrily for a couple of minutes. I think that Litolff must have been channelling Chopin in the second half of this set, as what follows is an elegant, very Polish-sounding Mazurka. The galumphing middle section is rather fun and makes a good contrast to the opening. The “Valse styrienne” that follows is a very short and Chopinesque piece in the way that it twists the end of the main theme with a nice little mordent. This is a super little piece and would make an excellent encore in a recital. Next, we have a very powerful and gallant “Polonaise Brilliante” which has managed to stick in my head as an earworm, a characteristic shared with the final work, a “Bolero”. Both pieces are splendidly put together and are utterly cheerful little creations.
All the remaining works on this disc are individual and not collected in any way. Track 14 is entitled “Invitation to the Polka” and starts in a way that sounds as if it could turn into a complex fugue – as well as reminding me of the theme “Ein feste burg” as used extensively in Liszt’s “Fantaisie dramatique sur Les Huguenots de Meyerbeer” (S412). Once the introduction is over, it transmogrifies into a rather pretty little piece that proceeds cheerily for about four minutes.
Next follows “La Mazurka”, published as Op.109, comparatively late in the composers career. This is more of a showpiece than the earlier Mazurka in the Op.25 set and far more complex and difficult sounding. It’s also another memorable creation, nicely put together and very well played. Equally wonderful is the following “Valse élégante”. This is nothing like Chopin in feeling and the middle section, which is rather affecting, is beautifully phrased. The penultimate work here is called “Une fleur du bal” and was published as Op.77 in 1853 – with the subtitle “Valse Brilliante”. This is wonderful and another work that deserves to be better known. The repeated notes that occur frequently in the piece remind me of the “Scherzo” from Mendelssohn’s Incidental music to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” but the overall atmosphere is, unsurprisingly, more like Chopin. However, I also detect hints of Gottschalk. Again, it’s brilliantly played. Lastly, and perhaps in homage to the most famous work by this sadly neglected composer, we have the Scherzo, Op.115. This is a proper showpiece, full of difficult figurations and complex writing. It’s also rather fun; there are hints here and there that it was written by the same composer as the Concerto Symphonique – but that is in no way a criticism. It is a bouncy, slightly bonkers, short piece that contains a more restrained and interesting chordal section that builds up tension nicely before the opening madness returns, and is developed, varied and contrasted before a virtuosic and amusing conclusion.
This is a lovely recording; the works are nicely varied and the programme is intelligently put together. It also shows that Litolff is deserving of being remembered for being so much more than being just a “one hit wonder”. Ms Jiang makes a very good case for all the music here and does not put a finger wrong. She is a talented and evocative player who gives real character to these pieces and certainly seems to enjoy performing these works. The cover notes by William Melton are extremely detailed and contain a wealth of information about the composer and his life and times -he certainly had what could be described as an “interesting” life. I warmly recommend this disc to anyone who wants to hear something a little off the beaten track. I shall be listening to it often and am looking forward to volume 2.
Jonathan Welsh
Help us financially by purchasing from
Contents
6 Arabesken, Op. 65 (publ. 1854)
No. 1 Heimgedenken
No. 2 Polen
No. 3 Sehnsucht
No. 4 Der Gondolier
No. 5 Erwartung
No. 6 Frohes Wiedersehn
6 Opuscules, Op. 25 (publ. 1846)
No. 1 Tarantelle calabraise
No. 2, 2 Vagabondes Polkas: I
No. 2, 2 Vagabondes Polkas: II
No. 3 La Mazourka
No. 4 Valse styrienne
No. 5 Polonaise brillante
No. 6 Bolero
Invitation à la Polka, Op. 31 (publ. 1846)
La Mazurka, Op. 109 (1861)
Valse élégante, Op. 107 (publ. 1861)
Une fleur du bal, Op. 77 (publ. 1853)
Scherzo, Op. 115 (publ. 1862)
