Unplayed Stories … in 40 Fingers
Multipiano Ensemble
Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin/Ivor Bolton
rec. 2022/2023, Haus des Rundfunks, Berlin; Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv University
Hyperion CDA68459 [64]
This is a bit of a mixed bag of pieces although considering the dates of the music it is perhaps quite authentic; the idea of a concert that we are accustomed to nowadays – an overture, a concerto and a symphony for example – was only beginning to be formed in the latter half of the 19th century. Prior to that instrumental or vocal items might appear between the movements of a concerto for instance, transcriptions and improvisations would be common and works adapted for multiple performers at one or two instruments would be a popular draw as well as being useful repertoire for domestic music making. The first two pieces here would fit in nicely as an appendix to Hyperion’s romantic piano concerto series while Liszt’s arrangement of Schubert’s Wanderer fantasie, a work he loved, is better known, having been recorded several times since it first appeared on disc with Clifford Curzon in 1937 and Edward Kilenyi in 1938. The final item then dispenses with the orchestra for two Schubert marches arranged for two pianos, eight hands by Ernst Pauer, just a tiny example of the many similar arrangements that he made of orchestral, instrumental and vocal works.
Mendelssohn and Moscheles were friends almost from the time that Moscheles taught the young Mendelssohn and in later years they would share the stage in Mendelssohn’s concertos for two pianos and Bach’s triple concerto with Sigismond Thalberg as the third pianist. For all their shared classicism in comparison to the revolutionary writing of Chopin and Liszt it is interesting to read in Harold Schonberg’s The Great Pianists an account of the Bach performance in which Mendelssohn was praised for his cadenza in which he took up the threads of the subject of the concerto then, suddenly rousing himself he wound up with a wonderful shower of octaves, indescribable in effect…imagine that in a modern concert! The Fantaisie and Variations on a theme by Weber was jointly prepared by the two composers for a charity event in 1833; it appears to have been a last minute work partly due to Moscheles falling ill with influenza and probably leant heavily on both musician’s keen improvisatory abilities, filling in parts where they had no time to write them down. The manuscript was soon lost and the version that has been recorded in recent times by the Egri Ppertis duo (Hungaraton HCD81355) is a later version that Moscheles published. The original manuscript was eventually discovered in Russia only this century having been given to the pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein by Felix Moscheles, the composer’s son and this is the version that receives its recording premiere here. The slow, fantasie introduction is by Mendelssohn while Mendelssohn and Moscheles share the honours in the variations that follow, based upon a march from Weber’s once popular incidental music to Preciosa; in his diaries (Moscheles – Emil F. Smidak, Scolar Press) Moscheles describes telling Mendelssohn I’ll do a variation in a minor key that rumbles down in the bass and you do a brilliant one in a major key at the top don’t you think? The finale is a dazzling scherzo-like piece that occasionally reminded me of the scherzo by Henri Litolff; the two pianist format allows for sparkling interplay and truly finger twisting passagework. Anyone who likes the Mendelssohn concertos would respond positively to this well constructed and musical work, many steps above the banal note-spinning that was so prevalent in the salons of the day.
Pure Moscheles is heard in Les Contrastes, a work that he wrote for two pianos eight hands based on baroque movements and style; it comprises a prelude and fugue followed by a chorale and variation, siciliane and finale. The booklet describes it as having a thick texture and so the idea of rewriting it with an orchestra added to the original ensemble, redistributing the parts makes sense; certainly listening to the opening of both versions there is a lightness and bounce to the orchestral version that contrasts – no pun intended – with the thicker writing of the original. The prelude is in the style of a minuet and while the characteristic dotted dance rhythm that is heard throughout creates something of a menuet antique feel it is couched in gloriously romantic writing. The fugue has a spirited subject that slides across several keys and a backdrop of cascading thirds and sixths and other characteristically romantic piano figuration. The choral is particularly effective in its orchestral guise allowing the pianists to supply the flowing decoration and the siciliane finale has a jaunty lilt to its dance that changes to a more march like movement while still retaining its buoyancy. The work is relatively short at a shade under 15 minutes and is a joy to listen to; I even thought I heard pre-echoes of the Gounod march aka Hitchcock theme in some of the very engaging siciliane.
Schubert’s C major fantasie in its original form is a staple of the repertoire and with its thematic transformation obviously appealed to Liszt who used the technique in much of his writing. He arranged it for two pianos, solo piano in which he adapts Schubert’s supposedly unpianistic writing – a general feeling at the time – and for piano and orchestra, ramping up the virtuosity and which has some writing for the piano soloist that is reminiscent of the writing in his E flat and A flat concertos. Despite his good intentions this version is very definitely Schubert-Liszt, with the muscular and virtuosic piano part and heavier orchestration so Alexander Tamir of the Eden-Tamir piano duo addressed some of this when preparing a version for his duo to perform. The piano writing is more faithful to Schubert’s original and the orchestration is transparent enough to add its voice without overwhelming; there are some beautiful touches such as the very brief duet in the opening section at 3’07” and at the opening of the adagio the orchestra does not make itself known until 2’05” when the mood begins to darken leaving the pianists to enjoy their moment of calm reflection. For those interested in a concertante version of the work but are put off by Liszt’s grandiose style this will be the version for you; in my opinion it lends itself marvellously to the re-imagining and Tamir’s arrangement sounds very much in keeping with the period.
Almost by way of encores the four pianists of the Multipiano Ensemble (Alon Kariv, Tomer Lev, Berenika Glixman, Nimrod Meiry-Haftel) come together for two of the seventeen marches that Schubert composed for four hands at the piano in arrangements for eight hands by Austrian composer pianist Ernst Pauer. The name E. Pauer will be familiar to those who have used old Augener editions of Schumann, Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, Haydn and others. Apart from being an editor he made many transcriptions including all the Beethoven Symphonies and several Wagner operas as well as being yet another arranger to tackle the Bach D minor violin Chaconne. He made eight hand arrangements of at least twelve of the marches and we hear the third and sixth from the Grande Marches D.819. Apart from the texture being a wee bit richer and the range extended I don’t know that the four additional hands make a lot of difference from a listening point of view; I imagine that the performers get a great deal from the performing these and they would be impressive in a concert setting. That said these are energetic and vivacious readings.
That can be said of all the excellent performances on this disc. It is a mixed bag but it is also a delightfully engaging programme brought to life by the extremely adept and idiomatic playing of both orchestra and soloists. The programme recreates something of a concert tradition that is rare indeed nowadays and I hope that the Multipiano Ensemble can unearth more of the same.
Rob Challinor
Buying this recording via a link below generates revenue for MWI, which helps the site remain free.
Contents
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) and Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870)
Fantaisie and Variations on a theme by Weber MWV.09 (1833)
original version for two pianos and orchestra
Ignaz Moscheles
Les Contrastes – Grand Duo Op.115
version for two pianos, eight hands and orchestra by Tomer Lev and Aryeh Levanon
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) arr. Franz Liszt (1811-1886)
Grosse Fantasie – Wanderer S.366
version for two pianos and orchestra by Alexander Tamir
Franz Schubert arr. Ernst Pauer (1826-1905)
Grande Marche in B minor D.819 No.3
Grande Marche in E major D.819 No.6
arranged for two pianos, eight hands
