Arc III
Contents listed after review
Orion Weiss (piano)
rec. 2022, The Concert Hall, Drew University, Madison, New Jersey, USA
First Hand Records FHR129 [76]
The explanation for the title of this disc, Arc III, is given as follows: ‘The music recorded in Arc I (FHR127) expresses foreboding from the brink of disaster. The music on Arc II (FHR128) was written by composers dealing with tragedy. At last, Arc III is a set of pieces born from the bright points of life. Peace, hope, love, ambition, optimism and the divine – the inspirations are myriad. These compositions spring from the million shades of happiness. ‘Oh, my goodness, yes! I’m always optimistic about the human race.’ (Louise Talma at 80 years old)’. As such, the selections are, indeed, illustrative of many of those states. Louise Talma was a discovery for me and I must now seek out more of her works, for this short piece which lasts less than five minutes gives a tantalising glimpse of a composer of real quality whose name deserves to be far better known. Her Alleluia in Form of Toccata is a really exciting little piece which is jolly in the extreme, bouncing along with great momentum and does not give any hint of being written by an American. This may be down to the fact that she was yet another pupil of Nadia Boulanger.
As Orion Weiss’ notes explain, the tragedy that is at the heart of Schubert’s song Der Wanderer is totally absent from his exuberant and life-affirming piano work, and, although there is a serious side to the first part the adagio, it soon reverts to the same expression of joy and happiness that Schubert had a masterful ability to put over in his music. When he expresses tragedy, you really feel it, and likewise, when he wants to impart a love of life, the listener is left in no doubt about it. Few composers had such a unique ability to mirror the very deepest feelings in their music. For me, some of his impromptus are among the most expressive works in the entire canon of music of his or any other time, and this work contains moments that are beyond amazing.
Claude Debussy was a composer whose unique gift was to ‘paint’ in music, and his ability to write the most delicate and sumptuous pieces is amply shown in his L’isle Joyeuse. However, it is clearly an imagined island where lush foliage and exotic birds exist, since it was written while on holiday with his future wife, Emma Bardac, in Jersey, hardly comparable with the idyllic island portrayed in this piece, which only emphasises his capacity for taking himself out of his surroundings and placing the listener in a different world.
Dohnanyi, who spent his last ten years in Florida, where, as Orion Weiss describes, it is ‘always summer (even in winter)’, leaves the listener to speculate as to which setting is portrayed in his Pastorale on a Hungarian Christmas Song. Is it in a cold crisp Hungarian winter with deep snow, roaring fires and sleighs or a country scene in warmer times with long vistas across fields full of wild flowers and shepherds calling to their sheep? What is obvious is the joy and the peace expressed, which Weiss reasonably attributes to the composer’s relief at the end of the terrible First World War.
Listening to Brahms’ third piano sonata, one is left in awe, since this was written when the composer was but twenty years old. It is an astonishing work for one so young and, not even his first attempt at writing piano sonatas. From a dramatic first movement that is typical Brahms to the second, with a far more relaxed and peaceful atmosphere, the finale of which expresses Brahms’ most Romantic side, alluding to an ecstasy rarely surpassed in all his compositions. In later life, these youthful feelings gave way to a far greater reflection of his attitude that some things were impossible to attain, by which as Orion Weiss explains, the young Brahms was not yet weighed down. The scherzo is a delightfully ebullient and joyful romp for almost a minute and a half then becomes more reflective before reverting to its original mood. Whereas I see it as a joyful romp, Orion Weiss describes it as ‘demonic’ – but I just don’t pick up on anything sinister in it. The fourth movement is a funeral march, beginning calmly enough, then rising in temperament – though I must disagree with the pianist again since I hear nothing terrifying in it. I must be missing something, despite having had it on repeat several times. The entire sonata is a journey in which the listener is taken through a story of love flourishing, then goes through periods of doubt and uncertainty, but any doubts about whether love would ultimately triumph are cast aside in the fifth and final movement which firmly declares that love has conquered all and the future is assured. One feels for Brahms who, in fact, never found anyone to share his life with.
Ligeti’s Arc-en-ciel is a fascinating piece and a good representation of his unique gift for making great music from the tiniest elements. Orion Weiss explains that he chose it to signify ‘a slate-clearing and a new launching off point.’ His point is that the good times don’t last; they are just points along life’s journey and tragedies occur, too. Just as Ligeti’s piece bursts into life at times, the brightness of the light within the rainbow dazzling, eventually rainbows fade and disappear as if they had never existed and his music vanishes just the same; the cycle can begin again.
For this disc, Orion Weiss’ selection was made to show in music how the good times can be had again; the first of the series dealt with the ominous period before the First World War, the next covered composers dealing with grief and tragedy, and, as we heard, this disc reflected joy and the rebirth of hope following the disappearance of the rainbow that began with music by Granados, Janaček and Scriabin. The fact that this final disc came at the end of the period during which we all dealt with COVID-19 is another demonstration of how we can set off again with the hope of better times to come following such a catharsis.
Orion Weiss is a consummate musician whose talent is on display at every turn and the way he plays reflects his love of the works he has chosen. This is a disc (and a series) that rewards each listening. If themes are particularly attractive to him, I can’t wait to hear what his next project might be.
Steve Arloff
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Contents
Louise Talma (1906-1996)
Alleluia in Form of Toccata (1945)
Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Fantasie in C major, Op 15 D.760 ‘Wandererfantasie’ (1822)
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
L’Isle Joyeuse L.106 (1904)
Ernő Dohnányi (1877-1960)
Pastorale on a Hungarian Christmas Song (1920)
Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Piano Sonata No 3 in F minor, Op 5 (1853)
György Ligeti (1923-2006)
Études, Book 1: No 5 Arc-en-ciel (1985)
