Fantasias for piano
Kenneth Leighton (1929-1988)
Fantasia Contrappuntistica Op.24 (1956)
Lawrence Rose (b.1943)
Piano Fantasia Op.24 (2018)
Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Morceaux de Fantasie Op.3 (1892)
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)
Fantasia Baetica (1919)
Martin Cousin (piano)
rec. 2023, Menhuin Hall, Stoke d’Arbernon, Surrey, UK
Convivium Records CR103 [74]
This is a refreshingly unusual, interestingly programmed, very well played and recorded programme from pianist Martin Cousin. Cousin has been performing for well over twenty years now having won the Gold Medal at the Royal Over-seas League Competition in 2003. Since then his discography is quite small – Discogs lists eight solo recitals plus a couple as pianist in chamber ensembles. I know two of those earlier recordings – Rachmaninov and Glazunov Piano Sonatas on SOMM and both are again artistically and technically excellent so clearly quality over quantity is the key.
The premise behind the programme is simple but effective; how four more recent composers have responded to the stimulus of the 16th Century improvisatory and virtuosic instrumental Fantasia. My interest in this new disc was primarily piqued by the presence of a substantial work by Kenneth Leighton. Leighton is a composer whose work has never really broken through to gain wider popularity or even familiarity but when his music is performed or recorded the reception is almost always enthusiastic. Indeed the SOMM recording of his Every Living Creature was one of my Records of the Year in 2023. The programme note for this new disc written by Lawrence Rose neatly sums up Leighton’s work as; “a balance between emotion and intellect, content and style.” These qualities are very clearly present in the Fantasia Contrappuntistica Op.24 that opens this recital. Interestingly when Angela Brownridge included it in her 3 disc complete survey of Leighton’s piano works for Delphian the title included “Homage to Bach” which this five section – continuously played -that lasts 13:37 here fairly explicitly is. There is a lean sinewy clarity to Leighton’s writing – ideally realised by Cousin – that eschews any Romantic gestures while remaining a compelling and rewarding listening experience. Although stylistically and expressively quite different, this music reminded me of the way Shostakovich’s own Bach-inspired Piano Preludes seek a fusion of the composer’s contemporary voice with the aesthetic of Baroque masterpieces. Rose again provides an astute commentary; “There is clearly a rigorous intellect at work in this amazing piece but not at the expense of lyricism or emotion”.
Rose’s own Piano Fantasia Op.24 follows which dates from 2018 and was dedicated to Martin Cousin. The work is in six separate sections which flow together without being truly continuous and lasts 22:52. I had not encountered any of Rose’s music before – his website elaborates on his career in law which he gave up in 2001 to pursue composition full-time. On disc Rose’s music has been recorded alongside major works from Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata to Rachmaninov’s and Smetana’s Piano Trios. There is clearly craft and skill in the writing – again I appreciated the clarity and precision of the composition but at the same time it would be hard to say that there is as strong a musical personality here as is clearly present in the other three works. Rose himself writing in 2022 notes that he is “largely inspired” by a raft of musical giants from Beethoven to Stravinsky. In direct contrast Leighton, the young Rachmaninov and de Falla are more strikingly their own people even when, in the case of the Leighton, there is an intentional acknowledgement of an earlier composer. That said this is a wholly enjoyable work which is authoritatively performed by Cousin. If Leighton’s work is markedly ‘Bachian’ and the Rachmaninov set more a collection of character pieces, Rose’s Fantasia sits rather neatly between the two where the individual movements share musical and aesthetic material across the entire work in a way that binds the whole together very effectively.
Quite how fully formed Rachmaninov’s musical personality is instantly apparent in his early set of Morceaux de Fantasie Op.3 written when he was just nineteen years old. From the very opening bars of the Elégie in E flat minor the melancholic gloom of the mature composer is present. “Fantasie” here really means music more concerned with mood and character rather than form – elsewhere Rachmaninov collected early works together as “Morceaux de Salon” or “Moment Musicaux”. Cousin has recorded quite a lot of this composer’s music to considerable acclaim so I wonder if its inclusion here has more to do with Cousin’s affinity with the music rather than any close stylistic ‘link’. Cousin performs the set in the original 1892 versions rather than the 1940 revisions of No.3 Mélodie or No.5 Sérénade. I like very much his performances here with a weightier more sonorous tone aptly drawn from the fine Steinway Model D than he did for the Leighton or Rose. This set includes as the second piece the Prélude in C sharp minor that would become the bane of Rachmaninov’s career as both composer and pianist. Cousin’s approach is powerful but objective. He avoids the excessive rhetorical rubato that can mar many a performance. This is especially effective when the prelude is played as part of the original set since the Elégie and Mélodie that frame it are also essentially melancholy pieces. Cousin’s unmannered playing of the prelude allows for a welcome contrast. But he does this without sacrificing any sense of virtuosity or emotional presence. Of course, this work has been recorded complete many times so there is likely to be some duplication involved for the collector however in its own right this version is very fine and well-worth hearing.
Manuel de Falla’s piano music is something I do not know well. Certainly I had not heard the substantial [15:20] Fantasia Baetica of 1919 before. Again Rose’s liner is helpful pointing out that the date of composition places this work at the end/high-water mark of de Falla’s Andalusian period before his music became more self-consciously austere. Baetica is the old Roman name for Andalusia and although all of the music is original the atmosphere and style is unmistakably of Southern Spain. At the same time the legacy of his years in Paris and the friendships he forged with Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky are equally apparent. Indeed the fusion of Impressionistic glamour with obsessive folk-derived motifs and rhythms makes for a genuinely impressive and absorbing work. Again Cousin’s performance impresses by its fusion of lyrical languor and percussive brilliance. As a major work by a significant composer no surprise that multiple versions again exist in the catalogue including those by great players such as Alicia de Larrocha, Garrick Ohlsson, Rafaël Orozco and many others. I cannot claim familiarity with any other version but Cousin’s performance here is again notable for its combination of technical authority and expressive range. Certainly it makes me inclined to search out more of de Falla’s – not extensive – keyboard works.
So a genuinely enjoyable recital offering impressive and insightful performances of a wide range of often unfamiliar music. The Convivium engineers and production team have captured Cousin’s playing very well indeed in the supportive but not intrusively resonant Menuhin Hall at Stoke d’Abernon. This is one of those happy discs which can be enjoyed equally piece by piece or as a ‘home concert’.
Nick Barnard
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