Louise Farrenc (1804-1875)
Piano Quintet in A minor Op 30
Elena Firsova (b.1950)
Piano Quartet Op 146
Mélanie Bonis (1858-1937)
Piano Quartet No 1 in B flat Major Op 69
Ensemble Louise Farrenc (Katya Apekisheva (piano), Mayumi Kanagawa (violin), Klaus Christa (viola), Mathias Johansen (cello), Dominik Wagner (double bass))
rec. 2021, Markus-Sittikus-Saal, Hohenems, Austria
cpo 555 624-2 [65]
I have been impressed by the music of the extraordinarily prolific Elena Firsova ever since I first came across her ‘Cassandra’ for large orchestra, recorded back in 1994 on BIS 668. It’s quite extraordinary that with so much music to her name, so little seems to have made its way to the UK in live performances. However, at least twenty pieces are available on CD.
Her Piano Quartet is typically compact, lasting just over twelve minutes. It falls into three movements. The first is just a brief, rather searching introduction marked ‘misterioso’ and is followed by an equally brief Scherzo which will remind many of Shostakovich, as will possibly the opening of the third movement with its high string harmonics and rather fearful atmosphere. This movement remains Adagio throughout and is by far the longest. The overall and somewhat unusual format is convincing, and since its first performance in 2016, the piece has proved to be very successful.
The miniscule booklet notes (sadly, not untypical of cpo) by viola player Klaus Christa tell us in some detail the biographies of these three composers and little about the music. When it comes to Mélanie Bonis’s Piano Quartet No1, however, the biography becomes essential as it was composed during a very challenging period of her life. It seems that, although married with three children, she had another child by a younger man which they kept secret, and who had to live with another couple. Perhaps this work reflects some of that. It falls into four movements, and I will, to a certain extent, quote Christa’s notes. The opening movement is described as melancholy, and ‘the fragile drifting second movement’ marked ‘Intermezzo Allegretto tranquillo’ is described as ‘sounding like a companion piece to Debussy’ alongside whom Bonis briefly studied. ‘A profound sadness unfolds in the third movement: sorrow which becomes transformed in an intensified atmosphere’. This is surely the crux of the work which is ‘brought to a dramatic conclusion with a passionately pulsating finale’ reminding me in places of Caesar Franck who, when she was young and helped give her the confidence to study composition. Perhaps this performance could have brought out even more of the passion which I feel lies between the notes of this last movement.
Bonis’s quartet is the highlight of the CD but the music of Louise Farrenc has quite deservedly come to the fore in recent times especially the symphonies. When she is working in a minor key, as in this Piano Quintet, there is something distinctly Beethovenian about it. The first movement, in sonata form, makes a strong start, but the more delicate second subject is never particularly developed. The Adagio which follows is melodically very memorable, and the Scherzo, described in the booklet a little extravagantly as “demonic”, seems in its lightness of touch a cross between Mendelssohn and Beethoven with some distinctly virtuoso piano writing – as there is also in the first movement. The finale is related in mood to the first movement but, interestingly, ends pianissimo, all passion spent. This work lasts almost half-an-hour and is a significant statement; its appeal develops with more hearing.
Except for the occasional caveat, these are fine performances of arresting works and well worth exploring.
Gary Higginson
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