Julius Röntgen (1855-1932)
Piano Music Volume 6
Dolce far niente, Op. 60
Sonate in C Minor
Julklapp, Op. 12
Toccata: Schnell und markiert
Passacaglia und Fuge
Mark Anderson (piano)
rec. 2023, Wyastone Leys, Monmouth, UK
Nimbus NI8117 [67]

I thought that when I reviewed volume 5 of this series back in 2020, that was the last of these wonderful recordings. Happily, Nimbus and Mark Anderson have continued unearthing more fascinating piano works by the sorely neglected Julius Röntgen (and quoted me in the notes for this disc to boot!).

I think Röntgen must have been in a particularly cheerful mood when he composed his set of six short pieces entitled “Dolce far niente”. The title translates as “The sweetness of doing nothing” – a great name for a set of pieces. The first is a rather lovely, slow waltz which puts me in mind of Arensky’s Waltz for 2 pianos from his Op.15 suite. This is a marvellous piece; it has a nonchalant, lilting quality to it and contains some really odd harmonies and a witty, wholly unexpected ending. The second work is a ‘Lento – Andante con moto’ and is (according to the notes), a musical portrait of loneliness. It’s very melancholic and heartfelt and beautifully played here. Thirdly, we have a little ‘Allegretto’ that bounces along cheerfully, despite some very odd and unexpected harmonies. The middle section of this piece is almost like Chopin but with an overlay of strangeness – as if viewed through a veil. The jolly opening music returns before a requotation of the strange Chopin-like music, providing a reflective conclusion to this work. Fourthly, we have an Irish Folksong (called “The Parting Glass”, according to the notes). This is a very mournful little creation; the opening theme is full of sadness but things do cheer up a bit in the middle and the work ends optimistically in a major key. The last of the set is a slow Habanera and sounds very exotic. To my mind, it puts me in mind of Albeniz’s “Iberia” but gone wrong, an effect caused by Röntgen altering the length of the bars and disturbing the rhythm. It’s very well played here, with plenty of feeling and an otherworldliness. This is a little masterpiece and really should be better known. All six of the works in this small set have a cool quality and plenty of harmonic interest and really repay repeated listening. The playing throughout is superb.

The following Sonata in C minor (in one movement) is anything but calm or nonchalant; the opening is a very insistent earworm, ominous and grumbling low in the bass and occurring throughout the work. This leads to a powerful and challenging main theme which occurs elsewhere throughout the piece. The central slower sections are pretty but somehow have an underlying unease that seems as if it could break through at any minute. The piece develops with plenty of interesting and unexpected modifications to the themes and a gradual ratcheting up of the pressure, tension and power. Once the themes have been developed to their fullest, there is a coda which wraps the work up in a suitably complex way. The ending is rather like something Alkan might have written; it dissolves into the ether before fortissimo chords punch out the final notes. I must say that of the piano music by Röntgen that I have heard in this series of six discs (so far), this is one of the best and, in my opinion, an absolute masterpiece. Why on earth it wasn’t published, I have no idea. If you have to listen to only one work on this disc, make it this one, as you will not be disappointed. I watch out for its publication, as it is a work I would dearly like to play.

Next, on tracks 7 – 15, we find a small suite of nine pieces under the title “Julkapp” (Swedish for Christmas; my knowledge of Swedish is almost zero so am grateful to the notes for that morsel of information). These pieces were published as his Op.12 and dedicated to Röntgen’s fellow student and later wife, Amanda Maier – an interesting composer in her own right. Several of her works, including a rather splendid violin concerto, have been recorded, so I urge you to look her up as well. This little set of pieces was given to her as a Christmas gift and begins with a short ‘Allegretto con espressione’, a heartfelt little piece that really sticks in your mind. There are perhaps hints of Schumann here but Röntgen does his own thing. The second work is a small ‘Andante cantabile’ that was his first published work – not bad for a nine-year-old. The third piece in the set is a rather jolly little ‘Presto’ that bounds along energetically before a simple and very effective contrasting section in the middle. The more boisterous music returns to round off this little gem. Fourthly, we have an equally small ‘Allegretto’, a lilting little waltz with more than a touch of melancholy, followed by a straightforward ‘Andante’ that leaves me wishing that it were longer than a minute and a half. Röntgen decided that the next piece should be a bit jollier and provided a galumphing, march-like work that puts me in mind of the Rhapsody from Brahms’s Op.119. The middle section is more restrained and rather beautiful. As is so often the case, the energetic music returns to round off this powerful little piece. The last three works from the set are all very short (less than two minutes) and the first is a ‘Lento’ that continues in the same vein as the slightly wistful works from earlier in the set, ending with what sounds to me like an imitation of bells. There is then a strange, wayward little ‘Allegretto con grazia’ that sounds as if it could meander along forever. Last is a very fast, short Humoresque that whizzes all over the place in a playful game of one hand sounding as if it is trying to catch the other. Both this little work and the remainder of the set are difficult, but everything here is played wonderfully and this again is music that I will return to often.

The penultimate track is a short  – less than three minutes – Toccata which was unpublished and undated. This is a shame, as it’s another delightful little creation – a fast-moving piece with lots of interesting and very difficult parallel passages in the right hand. There is none of the wistfulness of the pieces found elsewhere on this disc; this is a powerful little piece with some finger-twisting difficulties thrown in. Again it is superbly played.

Lastly, we have a Passacaglia and Fugue, dating from 1911 but published as late as 2007. This piece begins with a mysterious opening theme that runs for just eight bars before being used to underpin the first part of the work. Thereafter, this opening theme is elaborated, modified, stretched and generally developed.  As it progresses, it includes some almost Bachian figurations, some really impressionistic-sounding harmonies and lots of very clever writing. A particularly striking passage is at 3’20’’where the music is stripped back to a single line and it sounds very, very strange. The following development reminds me a little of Franck’s late piano music before heading off into completely different sounding territory. This development continues for roughly two thirds of the running time until it abruptly stops and restates the theme as a “Crab Canon” (thank you to the notes for this information) before growing increasingly complicated again. Ultimately, this gives rise to a fugue in four parts and is full of contrapuntal and pianistic difficulties, finally ending with a return of the passacaglia theme, blasting out in the bass and providing a powerful and effective conclusion to the piece. The musical structure of the work is well described in the notes so I will not repeat it here but I would say this is one of those pieces which requires very careful listening to understand it. It’s an incredible work, full of power, unexpected harmonies and really interesting writing and is here given an astounding performance. I cannot think of any work by another composer that resembles it.

Röntgen once again shows himself here to have been a completely original composer, as although there are hints at others – Chopin, Albeniz, Liszt, Alkan etc. – his harmonic language and construction are entirely his own. This fascinating selection of works, coupled with the magnificent playing by Mark Anderson, the sympathetic recording by Nimbus records and the interesting and detailed notes by the pianist himself all make for a disc in this continuing series that I will return to often. I am already looking forward to a volume 7, should those responsible oblige. 

Jonathan Welsh

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