290. Felix Mendelssohn - Piano Trios No. 1 & 2 (1839, 1845)

Recording

Title: Piano Trios 1 & 2
Performer: Florestan Trio
Year: 2003
Length: 54 minutes

Review

Mendelssohn gives us more of his immediately attractive music here. There is nothing much that is truly innovative here but it is very easy to like music. This is not always a bad thing.

I tend to prefer composers that really challenge me and my perception of what music sounded like at a certain age, however, I have a soft spot for Mendelssohn. He does anything but challenge and yet his music is just so goddamn likeable.

So he's not a Berlioz or a Wagner or even a Liszt, but he is a very competent composer of somewhat lighter music that just works really well from an harmonic point of view. Yeah it's nice.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

During the initial composition of the work, Mendelssohn took the advice of a fellow composer, Ferdinand Hiller, and revised the piano part. The revised version was in a more romantic, Schumannesque style with the piano given a more important role in the trio. Indeed, the revised piece was reviewed by Schumann who declared Mendelssohn to be "the Mozart of the nineteenth century, the most illuminating of musicians."

First Movement:

289. Frédéric Chopin - Preludes (1839)

Recording

Title: 24 Preludes Opus 28
Performer: Grigory Sokolov
Year: 1990
Length: 90 minutes

Review

Chopin's short preludes can sometimes be play in an overemotional way. This is actually generally true of all of Chopin's piano composition and much of Romantic music.

This is a recording, however, that opts to play down the somewhat maudlin quality of Chopin's pieces in a way that reveals the brilliance of the compositions in a more detached way. This actually makes the music considerably better.

This toning down really makes Chopin's preludes brilliant pieces that can be appreciated in a new way here... with less fear of getting your man-card revoked. And they are indeed brilliant and beautiful pieces.

Final Grade

9/10


Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Chopin's Op. 28 preludes have been compared to Johann Sebastian Bach's preludes in the Well-Tempered Clavier. However, each of Bach's preludes leads to a fugue in the same key, and Bach's pieces are arranged, in each of the work's two volumes, in ascending chromatic order (with major preceding parallel minor), while Chopin's are arranged in a circle of fifths (with major preceding relative minor). Harold C. Schonberg, in The Great Pianists, writes: "It also is hard to escape the notion that Chopin was very familiar with Hummel's now-forgotten Op. 67, composed in 1815 – a set of twenty-four preludes in all major and minor keys, starting with C major." As Schonberg says: "the openings of the Hummel A minor and Chopin E minor concertos are too close to be coincidental."

Sokolov plays prelude no. 15:

288. Hector Berlioz - Romeo et Juliette (1839)

Recording

Title: Romeo et Juliette
Performer: London Symphony Orchestra, Daniella Barcelona, Kenneth Traver, Orlin Anatassov
Conductor: Colin Davis
Year: 2000
Length: 90 minutes

Review

Another Berlioz composition which is truly amazing, however I'm not so sure about the recording. It often sounds a bit too low even in the supposedly exciting parts the volume never seems to go high enough.

However, the composition is really amazing in its innovativeness. It is not hard to understand why Wagner admired Berlioz so much, in fact this sounds positively Wagnerian in bits.

So again Berlioz surprises in a positive way with his extreme flair for the dramatic. The composition even if it might at times sound operatic is most definitely symphonic, it represents scenes rather than tell a story and it does this beautifully. Amazing stuff.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Structurally and musically, Roméo et Juliette is most indebted to Beethoven's 9th symphony - not just due to the use of soloists and choir, but in factors such as the weight of the vocal contribution being in the finale, and also in aspects of the orchestration such as the theme of the trombone recitative at the Introduction. The roles of Roméo and Juliette are represented by the orchestra, and the narrative aspects by the voices. Berlioz's reasoning follows:

If, in the famous garden and cemetery scenes, the dialogue of the two lovers, Juliet's asides, and Romeo's passionate outbursts are not sung, if the duets of love and despair are given to the orchestra, the reasons for this are numerous and easy to understand. First, and this reason alone would be sufficient, it is a symphony and not an opera. Second, since duets of this nature have been treated vocally a thousand times by the greatest masters, it was wise as well as unusual to attempt another means of expression.

Finale:

287. Robert Schumann - Kreisleriana (1838)

Recording

Title: Kresileriana, Fantasy Op. 17
Performer: Evgeny Kissin
Year: 2004
Length: 34 minutes

Review

Another pretty great set of piano pieces by Schumann, I think that for me the tide on Schumann is definitely turning now, I am enjoying this a lot more. Of course Evgeny Kissin's playing can only help matters.

Kresleriana almost constantly alternates between fast and ebulient and slow and lyrical movements and they are both very interesting. Schumann is still playing around with the Eusebius and Florestan characters, and for me here is where he most achieves good portraits of both characters.

Interestingly enough none of the pieces in Kreisleriana were attributed to either Florestan or Eusebius by Schumann, but their presence is quite obvious. The recording is crisp and perfectly executed, so really go with it if you are interested in listening to Kreisleriana, which I recommend you do.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

The work is intended to represent the fictional character Johannes Kreisler from the works of E.T.A. Hoffmann. Like Kreisler, each piece has 2 very different sections, resembling the imaginary musician's manic-depression, and perhaps recalling Florestan and Eusebius, the two imaginary characters created by Schumann himself, who said that they represented his impulsive and dreamy sides, respectively.

Arcadi Volodos plays the first movement:

286. Robert Schumann - Kinderszenen (1838)

Recording

Title: Piano Music
Performer: Alex Slobodyanik
Year: 1999
Length: 21 minutes

Review

Finally something from Schumann which I really enjoyed. A set of very short pieces (which I don't usually enjoy) about childhood. The way this works better for me has to do with the fact that Schumann simply gets a good hook in each piece and runs with it for a short time.

So this is a collection of pieces which never tires and many of them are understandably famous, the delicacy of Traumerei for example could never go unnoticed by anyone.

Maybe I am just starting to warm up to Schumann, maybe it is just a particularly good subject for him, but this was almost a revelation in the context of the list. Some really beautiful stuff.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Träumerei is one of Schumann's best known pieces. It was the title of a 1944 German biopic on Robert Schumann. Träumerei is the love song for Robert and Clara Schumann in the 1947 Hollywood film Song of Love, starring Katharine Hepburn as Clara Wieck Schumann.

Horowitz plays Traumerei... maybe a a bit too fast:

285. Robert Schumann - Fantasy in C Major (1838)

Recording

Title: Fantasy in C, Papillons
Performer: Sviatoslav Richter
Year: 1961
Length: 32 minutes

Review

Another Schumann piano piece, but this time there is an added layer of interest. This is a case of strong Beethovian influence, particularly obvious in the third movement sonata, but which pervades the work.

This is only natural as the piece was a commission for the erecting of a Beethoven statue in Bonn. So the tributes are natural but Schumann actually does something interesting by updating them for his time.

So as Schumann pieces go this is one of the best up until this time, here Schumann gives himself more time to develop his musical themes with longer movements allowing him to run freer.

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Schumann's interest in music was prompted as a child by the performance of Ignaz Moscheles playing at Carlsbad, and he later developed an interest in the works of Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Felix Mendelssohn.

First Movement:

284. Franz Liszt - Anées de Pelerinage (1837-77)

Recording

Title: Annees de Pelerinage I-III
Performer: Alfred Brendel, Zoltan Kocsis
Year: 1986
Length: 2 hours 27 minutes

Review

Maybe my problem is not so much with disjointed piano pieces as it is with Schumann, that's what I immediately though when hearing this recording of Liszt's Annees de Pelerinage.

Actually Liszt's pieces are much longer on average than Schumann's and therefore they do have more space to develop. And when they do develop they are pretty amazing. There are moments where Liszt sounds astoundingly modern, although we can't forget that this work spans forty years, the first batch is already pretty astounding.

Au Lac de Wallenstadt, for example sound almost ambient-like, reminding me of composers of the second half of the 20th century in it's simple melodic line and effective emotional impact. Essential.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Liszt's complete musical style is evident in this masterwork, which ranges from virtuosic fireworks to sincerely moving emotional statements. His musical maturity can be seen evolving through his experience and travel. The third volume is especially notable as an example of his later style. It was composed well after the first two volumes and displays less showy virtuosity and more harmonic experimentation.

Kempff plays Au Lac de Wallenstadt:

283. Hector Berlioz - Grande Messe Des Morts (1837)

Recording

Title: Grande Messe Des Morts, Symphonie Fantastique
Performer: Robert Tear, London Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir
Year: 1980
Length: 90 minutes

Review

At this moment on the list my favourite composer seems to be without a doubt Hector Berlioz. Even if his presence in the list is small and his albums are far between they always seem to be the ones I look forward to the most.

This was no exception. I was anxiously awaiting this great Requiem with its extensive orchestration including 4 different brass bands and 4 choirs! When it finally came around it was more subdued than I expected but by no means was it a disappointment.

Berlioz's orchestration is innovative throughout, he knows how to keep a mood going and how to reinforce or punctuate it using this extremely powerful orchestra. He is also amazing at using dissonance to reinforce feeling and few things in the 1830s have sounded as modern as the perfect lacrymosa. Amazing.

Final Grade

10/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

In relation to the number of singers and strings, Berlioz indicates in the score that, "The number [of performers] indicated is only relative. If space permits, the chorus may be doubled or tripled, and the orchestra be proportionally increased. But in the event of an exceptionally large chorus, say 700 to 800 voices, the entire chorus should only be used for the Dies Irae, the Tuba Mirum, and the Lacrymosa, the rest of the movements being restricted to 400 voices."

The work premiered with over four hundred performers.

Lacrymosa:

282. Robert Schumann - Davidsbündlertänze (1837)

Recording

Title: Davidsbündlertänze, Waldszenen, Fantasiestucke
Performer: Andreas Haelfliger
Year: 1991
Length: 34 minutes


Review

Another sequence of short piano pieces by Robert Schumann. Again this is not my favourite kind of piano piece, I much prefer a more extended genre like the sonata or the concerto.

The problem with this is that Schumann seems to have some good ideas which don't really have time to develop. So it often seems like a missed opportunity. As little songs without words or dances they are quite good.

So another album by Schumann which I did not particularly like but in the end quite enjoyed. Still hoping for better stuff, actually I think this format will be quite good when it comes to the really big sequence of lieder that we will have here.

Final Grade

8/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Schumann named them after the imaginary Davidsbündler. The pieces are not true dances, but are characteristic pieces, musical dialogues about contemporary music between Schumann's characters Florestan and Eusebius. These respectively represent the impetuous and the lyrical, poetic sides of Schumann's nature. Each piece is ascribed to one or both of them.


First six:

281. Felix Mendelssohn - String Quartets, op. 44 (1837-38)

Recording

Title: The Complete String Quartets
Performer: Pacifica Quartet
Year: 2004
Length: 54 minutes


Review

Yes, this same recording has been on the list before with a different set of String Quartets by Mendelssohn. I do like Mendelssohn but this collection was really not the best stuff by him.

It feels a bit too backward looking, particularly taking into account the innovative things being done in the piano... in fact it often looks back beyond Beethoven's innovation in this genre.

Nonetheless, it is some pretty nice music to listen to. The whole thing is pervaded by Mendelssohn's trademark sunny disposition, sometimes to a fault. Some lovely stuff here but not much new.

Final Grade

7/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Mendelssohn's first two numbered quartets were published out of order, whilst his next three quartets were published together as Op. 44 and were all dedicated to Crown Prince Gustavus of Sweden.

Op. 44 no.3:

280. Giacomo Meyerbeer - Les Huguenots (1836)

Recording

Title: Les Huguenots
Performers: Joan Sutherland
Conductor: Richard Bonynge
Year: 1969
Length: 4 hours

Review

Meyerbeer brings us one of the most musically interesting operas for a while on this list. The fact that he was filthy rich and therefore able to do what he wanted might factor heavily into this.

Gone are the populisms of Donizetti and Bellini, who, talented as they were, were catering for a very specific audience. Meyerbeer on the other hand is a freer spirit and the orchestration is often surprising.

Where it all falls flat is in the plot which is supremely uninteresting and cliched. Again this is a opera best heard and not seen, in that respect this recording is pretty great and highly recommended.

Final Grade

9/10

Trivia

From Wikipedia:

Following five years after Meyebeer's own Robert le diable and a year after Fromental Halévy's La Juive, Les Huguenots consolidated the genre of Grand Opera, in which the Paris Opéra would specialise for the next generation, and which became a major box-office attraction for opera houses all over the world.

Hector Berlioz's contemporary account is full of praise: with 'Meyerbeer in command at the first desk [of violins] [...] from beginning to end I found [the orchestral playing] superb in its beauty and refinement [...] The richness of texture in the Pré-aux-Clercs scene [act III] [...] was extraordinary, yet the ear could follow it with such ease that every strand in the composer's complex thought was continually apparent - a marvel of dramatic counterpoint'.


Aria: