This week's Vivace: Melody and Enchantment

One of the least-known 19th Century British composers must be Sir Frederic Hymen Cowen (right), who was born Hyman Cohen in Kingston, Jamaica.  We'll hear a symphony by him during the first hour of Vivace this Friday.

At 7 am, we have a delightful trio for guitar by Francois de Fossa, whose music was heard recently on Melodiya.  At 7:30, we have a Violin Sonata by Franz Xaver Mozart and then some tranquil music to keep you calm in a busy morning.

After 8 am, we have a harp sonata by Rosetti and then we head over to France.

We will have a birthday celebration for Cecile Chaminade and then we stay in France for music of François-Adrien Boieldieu. 

Cécile Chaminade and François-Adrien Boieldieu

We'll end by heading south to Spain for a delightful work by Joaquín Rodrigo, the 1st Marquis of the Gardens of Aranjuez. 

The focus is on melody and enchantment this week on Vivace.  As ever, I hope you'll join me, 6-9 am, here on WTJU-Charlottesville.

Garrick Ohlsson: Liszt with Fluency and Finesse

Franz Liszt, Vol. 2
Garrick Ohlsson, piano
Bridge Records

The challenge with playing Franz Liszt's piano music is finding that balance between technical brilliance and insightful musicianship. The technical challenges in the music are huge -- which is why so many pianists take them on. If you can play Liszt without breaking a sweat, you can play just about anything. But what sometimes gets lost is the reason for all those notes.

Liszt had tremendous piano chops, and he used them to express his musical ideas. Garrick Ohlsson understands that, which makes his new recording of Liszt piano works so exciting.

Mastery of the music is a given with Ohlsson. He moves beyond that to get to the essence of the compositions, and expresses those insights clearly and effectively. In "Adelaide," for example, one hears Beethoven's voice coming through Liszt's arrangement. Ditto with the "Fantasy and Fugue." Bach-inspired, Liszt-arranged, both composers are given equal weight in Ohlsson's performance.

Purely Liszt compositions, such as "Mephisto Waltz No. 1" have plenty of showy drama -- but it's not over wrought. Ohlsson keeps the fireworks in check, delivering one cohesive musical work after another. This may well be the Liszt album for people who don't like Liszt.

The recording itself adds greatly to the enjoyment. Ohlsson performs on a Bosendorfer Imperial, which has an extended bass register. That gives the overall piano sound added weight. Yet the instrument's recorded clearly with just enough resonance to give it a natural sound.

Nelson Freire Plays Liszt

Liszt: Harmonies du Soir
Nelson Freire, piano
Decca

Occasionally a CD comes along that is so extraordinary that I must applaud it publicly. The Brazilian pianist Nelson Freire, born in 1944, has had a distinguished performing career, but his is a name known primarily to connoisseurs as one of the great pianists of his generation. 

His recordings of Chopin and Beethoven are particularly fine. He has appeared with many of the world's great orchestras, and his appearances at the Salzburg Festival are eagerly awaited. His style is patrician, and he programs only the highest quality repertoire.


Unfortunately (and unjustifiably) Liszt's music for the piano sometimes lends itself to "pounding" at the keyboard. But pianists of the highest caliber, for example Earl Wild and Alfred Brendel, performed Liszt's music with taste and sensitivity. Add Freire's name to that "list" of artists who have honored the memory of Liszt in his bicentennial year. 

In his new release on Decca, Harmonies du Soir, Freire resists the temptation to emphasize Liszt's showmanship and bombast. Instead, he plays Liszt's music with delicacy and taste, featuring an extraordinarily beautiful, limpid tone. His technique is impeccable, but the emphasis is on spontaneity of expression joined with a poetic sensibility.


The six Consolations, S. 172 are a narrative in pianistic form. The Sonetto 104 del Petrarca is a personal favorite, but it has never been performed more poetically by anyone else. While his musicianship is everywhere on display, Freire's skill and sensitivity in this recital perhaps are best synthesized in the title track, Harmonies du soir. 

To top it off, the digital sound of this Decca release is clear, with great depth and a broad soundstage. It is an excellent recording in every respect. It is highly recommended as one of the finest releases of the Liszt bicentennial year. If your taste runs to the Romantic, and you admire superior pianism, look no further.

Nelson Freire performs Liszt's Piano Sonata in B minor at the University of Maryland, 1982