Ronald Stevenson (1928-2015)
Piano Works
Contents listed after review
Peter Jablonski (piano)
rec. 2024, Palladium, Malmö, Sweden
Ondine ODE 1453-2 [63]
The recital opens with Ronald Stevenson’s important Peter Grimes Fantasy on themes from Benjamin Britten’s opera for piano solo, written for the pianist Graham Johnson. The opera, set in a small English fishing village, follows the tragic tale of a fisherman who faces societal ostracism and personal turmoil. The composer said: “Peter Grimes is the living conflict. His pride, ambition, and urge for independence fight with his need for love: his self-love battles against his self-hate.” Stevenson has made a conscious contrast of these ideas. The villagers’ loathing is seen in the storm music, whilst the Dawn Interlude refers to the drowning of Grimes. Tremendous technical resources are required to bring off this Fantasy. All the pianistic devices of Liszt are present.
I might have never heard of Ignacy Jan Paderewski’s (1860-1941) only opera Manru (1901) if it had not been for Stevenson’s present arrangement of extracts. I came across it four years ago in Christopher Guild’s performance (review). The story of the opera revolves around a village girl named Ulana and chronicles her love for Manru, a Gypsy. The liner notes tell us that the opera “was regarded as the first significant Polish music drama, it is a powerful work, masterfully written and orchestrated, with the best traditions of nineteenth-century operatic writing.” Stevenson has condensed the score into four short movements: “Introduction and Gypsy March, a soulful Gypsy Song, a lyrical Lullaby, and a feisty Cracovienne.” The latter, Polish folk dance, comes with simulated bagpipe drones.
Stevenson’s realisation of the Romance slow movement from Mozart’s Concerto K.466 combines the solo piano and the orchestral parts. There are a few “elegant flourishes [and] luscious chords”, but this is a straightforward transcription.
The first of four premiere performances here is the dreamily exquisite Quintet from Die Meistersinger, ‘elaborated for left hand alone’. Stevenson adapted pianist Paul Wittgenstein’s transcription for left hand only.
The Ostinato Macabro on the name Leopold Godowsky, another premiere recording, is also for left hand only. Truly short, at about a minute, it is certainly a sinister, creepy piece, and gives one the shivers.
The liner notes explain the short Etudette d’apres Korsakov et Chopin (Spectre d’Alkan) “poses endless technical challenges”. The nod to Rimsky-Korsakov is based on left-hand-only figurations from The Flight of the Bumblebee; the latter part incorporates Chopin’s Étude in A minor, Op 10 No 2 (Chromatic) in the right-hand part. All in under two minutes. I am not sure where the Ghost of Alkan fits in.
Leopold Godowsky’s 53 Studies Based on Chopin Etudes profoundly influenced Ronald Stevenson “as both a composer and pianist”. The Pensées sur des Préludes de Chopin are dark and introspective. Each ‘Thought’ is introduced by a quotation from the French philosopher Blaise Pascal. Stevenson adeptly selects, combines and transforms elements of Chopin’s music, creating a profound work that seems to transcend the original. While I found this adaptation enjoyable, if not entirely satisfying, some listeners might prefer that he had not tinkered with what many consider original masterpieces.
Little Jazz Variations on Purcell’s “New Scotch Tune” are based on a jazz-inspired transformation of Purcell’s melody. This moody, smoky little number captures our attention. Stevenson wrote this in 1964 but has toyed with it over the years, adding a few more variations. The theme comes from Playford’s Music’s Handmaid Part II (London, 1689).
Niccolò Paganini’s Caprice No 24 for solo violin has fascinated lots of composers, including Brahms, Liszt, Rachmaninov and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Stevenson’s take, Piccolo Niccolò Paganinesco,is wittily dedicated “To Laurenzio Guantaio”, which means the pianist and teacher Lawrence Glover. It is quite an acerbic piece, with no big romantic theme, but full of vitality and hints of jazz. It is good to hear this recorded for the first time.
The final premiere recording is the Preludette on the name George Gershwin. This delightful miniature is a million miles away from Stevenson’s massive Passacaglia on DSCH. Unlike that one-and-a-half-hour composition, the Preludette is only 53 seconds long. The dedication is “For my dear friend Harry [Winstanley] on his 50th birthday”. Winstanley authored a book about Gershwin, printed by Toccata Press. Stevenson has used the scale letters in Gershwin’s name (including B for H), and has creatively added the rest. This hovers between jazz and impressionism.
A year earlier, Stevenson transcribed Richard Tauber’s once well-loved song My Heart and I. I guess that this ballad may have passed from the common ken, but it is of its time and has been re-imagined with love, romance and tenderness. It would make a great encore at any recital.
Peter Jablonski, born in 1971 in Lyckeby, Sweden, is an internationally admired concert pianist. He began his career at the Malmö Conservatory, where he studied both percussion and piano. By the age of nine, he was performing as a drummer at New York’s Village Vanguard jazz club. His debut as a pianist came at twelve with Mozart’s Concerto No 17 in G major, K 453. He moved to the UK in 1989 to study at the Royal College of Music in London. Signed by Decca Records in 1991, he has since collaborated with leading orchestras and conductors worldwide, including Vladimir Ashkenazy and Valery Gergiev. His recordings include works by Chopin, Prokofiev and Bacewicz, and have earned him numerous awards.
This is a fantastic disc of arrangements, elaborations and original works, brilliantly and sympathetically played. The recording is excellent. Anastasia Belina’s detailed liner notes include an introductory essay about the composer’s life and music, and helpful notes on each piece.
This disc is a valuable addition to the growing collection of recordings dedicated to Ronald Stevenson. Other contributors include Murray McLachan and Kenneth Hamilton, and there is an ongoing cycle by Christopher Guild. And then there are several CDs performed by the composer himself. Is Peter Jablonski going to record further volumes of Stevenson’s music? I do hope so.
John France
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Contents
Peter Grimes Fantasy on themes from Benjamin Britten’s opera for piano solo (1971)
Suite for piano from Paderewski’s opera Manru (1961):
Introduction and Gypsy March, Gypsy Song, Lullaby, Cracovienne
Romance from Concerto in D minor, Mozart K 466, realised by Ronald Stevenson (2002)
Quintet from Die Meistersinger, ‘elaborated for left hand alone’, Wagner-Wittgenstein (1980)
Ostinato Macabro on the name Godowski (c.1980)
Etudette d’après Korsakov et Chopin (Spectre d’Alkan) (1987)
6 Pensées sur des Préludes de Chopin (1959)
Little Jazz Variations on Purcell’s New Scotch Tune (1964/1975)
Piccolo Niccolò Paganinesco (1986)
Preludette on the name George Gershwin (1981)
Tauberiana (Song My Heart and I) (1980)
