BRAHMS Waltzes for Piano Four Hands / Fiammetta Tarli & Ivo Varbanov / Review

BRAHMS Waltzes Op.39

Liebeslieder Waltzes Op.52a

New Liebeslieder Waltzes Op.65a

FIAMMETTA TARLI 

& IVO VARBANOV, Piano 4 Hands

ICSM 001

 

Was it not Brahms, whom after hearing Johann Strauss Jr’s Blue Danube Waltz, once inscribed on a fan, “Leider nicht von Johannes Brahms” (Sadly not from Brahms)? He should know, being a naturalised Viennese and composer of waltzes himself. Brahms’ waltzes were not of the elaborate ballroom sequences and concert hall variety of the Strauss family, but much closer to the homespun spirit of Schubert and Ländler, humble Austrian country dances in three-quarter time.

 

Brahms’ three sets of waltzes for piano four hands (49 tracks in all) are well-loved by amateur pianists and choral societies for their memorable melodies, good humour and gemütlichkeit. All are short pieces, mostly lasting between one and two minutes (often less) and technically undemanding. To do these justice, however, needs artists of highest musicianship, which is why this recording by the duo of Fiammetta Tarli and Ivo Varbanov is simply a joy to behold.

 

The sixteen waltzes of Op.39 are the most familiar, and also exist in versions for solo piano. There are more details to be heard on four hands rather than two, and the performers are also less physically taxed which makes for better all round listening. The duo plays with much delicacy and wit, enhancing the delight to be had. Waltz No.15 in A flat major, the most universally recognised one, receives the tender treatment it deserves.   

 

There are two sets of Liebeslieder Waltzes (Lovesong Waltzes), often heard in versions for soprano, alto, tenor and bass (or mixed choir) accompanied by piano four hands. The earlier set Op.52a (18 waltzes, 1869), composed for Robert and Clara Schumann’s youngest daughter Julie, is by far the more popular one. Shorn of verses from Georg Daumer’s Polydora, the music is as infectiously tuneful as the purely instrumental waltzes, continuing seamlessly into the “new” Op.65a set (15 waltzes, 1874-77). Where one set ends and another begins is not as important as the sense of continuity and flow achieved by the duo.

 

As physical recordings go, this appears to be the only album available that so conveniently unites all three books. Lavished with care and with playing of such immediacy, the charms are hard to resist.     

DEBUSSY PRÉLUDES / Dennis Lee, Piano on ICSM Records / Review

DEBUSSY Préludes Books 1 & 2

DENNIS LEE, Piano

ICSM Records 015 / TT: 77”43

 

This is the second album of a survey of Claude Debussy’s complete piano music by Penang-born London-based pianist Dennis Lee. Like his earlier disc, focusing on the complete Images and Estampes, the 24 Préludes (published as two books, each with twelve pieces) is another fascinating journey through the impressionist sound world.

 

Debussy had written the pieces first, later appending the oh-so-poetic French titles which would appear at the bottom of each page. One is thus invited to first listen, imagine and fantasise before secrets are eventually revealed. As with the paintings of Monet, Renoir or Cezanne, one marvels at colour, light and shade, as expressed in brush-strokes, points or dots, with images and ideas later formed by the viewer’s senses.

Monet impressions. What do you see?
Water, sunlight and Houses of Parliament,
an impression of London on the Thames.

 

Book One is the more often performed set, and has the most familiar Préludes, including La fille aux cheveux de lin (The Girl with Flaxen Hair), La cathédrale engloutie (The Engulfed Cathedral) and Minstrels. My favourite sequence runs from Préludes 4 through 7, which encompasses the full palette of Debussy’s expressive effects. Shrouded mystery in Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l’air du soir (Sounds and Scents Swirl in the Evening Air, by far the longest title), sunlit playfulness in Les collines d’Anacapri (The Hills of Anacapri), bleak desolation in Des pas sur la neige (Footprints in the snow) and untamed violence in Ce qu’a ve le vent d’ouest (What the West Wind Saw) seem to say it all. Lee crafts these variegated scenes and moods to perfection, particularly in the portrayal of unremitting wintry sadness.   

24 pictures representing 24 préludes,
as found on Google's image search.

 

Book Two offers both pianist and listener a wider spectrum of contrasts, even if the pieces are less familiar, with the exceptions of Bruyeres (Heaths) and Feux d’artifice (Fireworks), which concludes the set. In the opening Brouillards (Mists), one is immediately submerged in a heady mix of sound textures, then led into the melancholic visage of Feuilles mortes (Dead Leaves) and vigorous Spanish rhythms of La puerta del Vino (The Wine Gate), before flitting with Les fees sont d’exquises danseuses (The Fairies are Exquisite Dancers). I could go on but one gets the picture that these are aurally stimulating miniatures which Lee gets to the heart of. His fingerwork is crystal-clear, pedalling exemplary, and contrasts and varying textures judged close to perfection.   

 

The recorded sound is warm and mellow, without the over-reverberance or haziness of sonority that tend to accompany some Debussy or Ravel recordings. Even if one possesses the famed recordings of Cortot, Gieseking (despite the limited sonics in both), Zimerman, Kocsis or Thibaudet (the modern day references), this set is ardently recommended.