F.  Schubert

Auf dem Wasser zu singen, D774

Andante e variazioni dal Quartetto n.14 D 810 “Der Tod und das Mädchen”

An den Mond D193

Sonatina: Allegro moderato, Andante D 968

Abschied D957

Erlkönig D328

Variations on an Original Theme D813

Fantasia in F min. D940

Du bist die Ruh' D776

Transcriptions by Hugo Ulrich, August Reinhard

La Bottega Discantica Milan, BDI317

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A monographic recital with some of the most representative works by Schubert, including both original compositions for piano duet and arrangements of chamber music and Lieder, genre so much loved by the composer himself and of great significance in his opera.

The recital turns into a tale that leads us to places of spirit, to be carried away by tenderness, joy, silence and Sensucht. The singable and graceful melodies of the short pieces and the intense phrasing of the more complex works accompany the listener along this unusual musical path, like a wanderer through the land of his soul.

Reviews

Questo CD Schubertiano rompe il cerchio rassicurante delle nostre abitudini di ascolto , per diversi motivi.  In primo luogo accanto a tre pagine originali si dispongono alcune trascrizioni ottocentesche, ad opera di Hugo Ulrich ed August Reinhard, che non si limitano però a un ruolo di contorno, ma piuttosto fissano il tono ge­nerale della registrazione, un tono molto domestico, nel segno di un cantabile nebuloso e sommesso. Il paradosso è che i due interpreti, fratello e sorella, usano per l'occasione il gigantesco pianoforte Borgato Grand Prix 333, dal quale ci aspetteremmo un volume di suono poderoso. Invece l'ultima invenzione di Luigi Borgato si caratterizza non tanto per il volume sonoro quanto per un timbro scuro e morbido, perfetto per le atmosfere ovattate di queste pagine schubertiane o per meglio dire di queste pagine schubertiane nell'interpretazione del Palmas Piano Duo. Dal mezzo­piano in giù le sonorità sono infatti piene di fascino, mentre nei fortissimi mi si avverte qualche punta metallica e in generale il Borgato Grand Prix 333 non sembra uno strumento molto reattivo né brillante. Della brillantezza, però, il Palmas Piano Duo non si cura, puntando su una dimensione espressiva intima e raccolta.

È curioso che sulla copertina del CD i due interpreti non si presentino con i propri nomi di battesimo - sono il Palmas Piano Duo e basta - come a ribadire una comunanza di intenti e una sintonia che all'ascolto si sentono bene. Cristina Palmas, però, è anche cantante e proprio al canto rimandano il fraseggio di queste interpretazioni, un fraseggio ricco di sfumature, a volte tendente al recitativo, soprattutto nelle trascrizioni liederistiche. Tutto sembra avvolto da una leggera coltre di nebbia, anche la celebre Fantasia in fa, le cui note ci giungono lontane e quasi sfuocate, immerse in un alone sonoro in disfacimento. Nemmeno la fuga conclusiva si sottrae a questo clima rassegnato e crepuscolare, che contraddistingue anche la trascrizione del Lied Du bist die Ruh, posto giustamente in conclusione di questo  viaggio nella penombra schubertiana.

La rinuncia alla brillantezza ma anche al virtuosismo è evidente nella trascrizione  del  Lied  Erlkonig:  a quattro mani potrebbe fare un grande effetto orchestrale, invece fa meno effetto della mirabolante tagliente trascrizione di Liszt per pianoforte solo. L'incedere lento e quasi faticoso dell'interpretazione del Palmas Piano Duo, però, è proprio il mezzo con cui far passar e all'ascoltatore tutta l'inquietudine del Lied. La frammentarietà del  fraseggio è chiaramente una scelta, perché negli altri casi il fraseggio appare scorrevole, quasi sempre elegante, sempre molto espressivo: avviene soprattutto nella trascrizione di Ugo Ulrich dell'Andante con moto dal Quartetto "Der Tod und das Madchen" (trascrizione di una trascrizione , visto che a sua volta l’Andante con moto utilizza il tema dell'omonimo Lied), tratteggiato sul pianoforte con una discrezione e un abbandono rari.

Luca Segalla

Schubert reframed will always reveal core truths of this composer. We hear Auf dem Wasser zu singen in a transcription for piano duo by Hugo Ulrich (1827–1872), and wonder anew at the melodic invention, and how a modern piano can be made to “sing” by the brother-and-sister Palmas Duo, a partnership that is no novice to the scene: Clara Schuman’s transcription of her husband’s Piano Quintet, op. 44, appeared shoulder-to-shoulder with Brahms’s transcription of Schumann’s Piano Quartet, op. 47, on the same label, reviewed in Fanfare 34:5.

The Lied “Der Tod und das Mädchen” forms the basis of the slow movement of Schubert’s D-Minor Quartet, D 810. This is Schubert taking the song for a walk; it takes a piano duo of great maturity to do honor the original, and yet that is what the Palmas Duo achieve through their compelling understanding of the score’s waft and weave. Each detail is beautifully considered, from the tightest of ornaments to every legato cantabile; more, Palmas has considered the harmonic ramifications of Schubert’s structures in depth both on an individual level and globally. Finally for our consideration of this transcription, perhaps let us nod appreciatively to Ulrich’s writing for the rich lower part of the keyboard which shows clear links to Schubert’s writing in his own piano sonatas.

Born in Silesia, Ulrich was a noted composer who apparently taught Hermann Goetz and Alexander Campbell Mackenzie. There is a healthy catalog of works that includes several symphonies and a Symphonie triomphale composed for the wedding of the Duke of Brabant. I mention this only as there currently appears to be a dearth of recordings, making him prime fodder for the likes of Naxos and, given his geographical location, surely the Osnabrück-based CPO label.

It’s interesting to hear the Palmas Duo have a crack of the whip in their transcription of “An der Mond,” and beautifully realized it is too, with a lovely light touch for the faster section; it’s also good to hear how daring they can be with the pauses, highlighting the progressive nature of Schubert’s setting. The first “true” Schubert, the delicious Sonatina in A-Minor, D 968, is performed with true unanimity; the Palmas’ rapport reminds me of the playing of the Justus Franz/Christoph Eschenbach duo (whose superb Schubert was at one point collated into a Brilliant Classics box, and whose Mozart is peerless). Despite its title of Sonatina (and no key given as the first movement Allegro Moderato is in C Major, the second Andante in A Minor), the Palmas Duo manages to project that sense of timelessness that Schubert was so masterful at creating.

Returning to Ulrich, Schubert’s famous Rellstab setting, “Abschied,” speaks every inch of the happy gait that opens the Master’s Die schöne Müllerin; and how keenly alive is the middle part that generates that sense in tandem with a feeling of movement.

It is August Reinhard (1831–1912) who transcribed the über-famous “Erlkönig” so beautifully here (among his other words appears to be a transcription of the first movement of Schubert’s op. 100/D 929 Piano Trio for harmonium and piano). It is a fine transcription; perhaps just a touch more of a sense of urgency to the performance would have sealed the deal.

The second piece of unadulterated Schubert is the Variations in A♭ Major, D 813 (published as his op. 35), in a magnificent performance that is positively aglow with serene A♭ radiance. This is an expansive work, equal in duration here to the more famous, late F-Minor Fantasie, full of passages that glisten like sun off water from the Primo or deep rumblings that take us to places of Winterreise-like profundity. It all bodes well for the F-Minor Fantasie, and there Palmas does not disappoint, finding huge heft and gravitas for the Largo. And when we hear a sweet treble line in the context of the music on this disc, it is impossible not to experience it as the melody of a Lied. The Scherzo is positively a fiesta; the finale is almost orchestral in scope, with an expansion of sound that retains the tone completely. The closing return of the work’s opening makes full effect; one feels really quite exhausted by the close. And so to a farewell: “Du bist die Ruh’” in Ulrich’s porcelain-like transcription.

The disc takes as its starting point a 1967 text, Che cosa sono le nuvole? (What are the clouds?) by Pier Paolo Pasolini that even begins with the words “Once upon a time….” A Märchenbild (fairy tale picture), the disc puts the piano duo as the Romantic protagonist, “journeying” through works both original and transcribed. The recording is splendid, fully revealing the depth the piano used is capable of, while also revealing the sparkling treble. That piano is actually a Borgato Grand Prix 333, which, when it was unveiled in Padova in Italy in September 2017, claimed to be the longest designated concert grand piano in the world (the “333” refers to its length, three meters 33 centimeters). Special spruce from Passau in Germany is used for the soundboard (apparently at a cost of 28,000 Euros per cubic meter). The piano technician for this recording was Luigi Borgato himself; small wonder it sounds in perfect shape.

As a concept, this is superb; it is also an education, and an example of the very best piano sound. It also beings deep joy and, at times, solace. This is Want List material. 

Colin Clarke

LE CLAVECIN BIEN TEMPÉRÉ transcrit à 4 mains LIVRE I is a recording project that documents the fine intervention of musical architecture carried out on the monumental work of J.S. Bach by one of the most talented scholars and teachers of counterpoint and harmony, Théodore Dubois. In this modular operation, in which no less than four piano duos are involved in the distribution and study of the materials, an essentially “musical” approach to Bach's polyphonic interweavings and textures is evident. Manifestly inspired by Carl Czerny's revision, in fact, the 4-hands version of the Dubois is an invitation to the virtuoso use of the dynamic and timbral means offered by the modern piano, in order to explore and translate the expressive contents not made explicit in the score of ‘the Old Testament of music for keyboard instrument’ (Hans von Bülow). 

Produced in 2020 by A.M.Ro.C. in co-project with three other associations engaged in the research and valorisation of unpublished works and original elaborations of works in the public domain, this valuable 2-CD box set is being presented live thanks also to funds from the NuovoImaie for record promotion. Preparation is already underway for the production concerning the recording of LIVRE II of the opera.

A. Dvorak Trio Dumky op.90 trancription by the author

E. Dohnanyi Quintet in C min op. 1, trascr. by  Jan Brandts Buys

La Bottega Discantica, Milan BDI172 

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The compositions performed on this CD are from the end of the nineteenth century, or more precisely, from the period between 1891 and 1895.  At that time is was a common practice to write other versions and transcriptions of a composition with different instrumentation, sometimes suggested by the publishers themselves.  Without the modern means of musical diffusion, publishers used salons in private homes for the popularization of these compositions.  Here music was performed in the presence of a circle of friends.

On 11 April 1891, the "Dumky" Trio was performed for the first time in Prague.  It was the last composition Dvorak wrote for this sort of chamber ensemble.  This masterpiece of  Dvorak's musical maturity is subdivided into six movements, or "dumka", where meditative and nostalgic solos alternate with impetuous folk-like episodes.

Two years later, in 1893, Dvorak sent a copy of the trio from New York to the publisher Simrock (the drafts of which were corrected by Brahms) together with the four-hands piano version.  Both scores were published the following year.  In the practice of transcribing for other chamber music formations, it was often the composers themselves who transcribed the original composition, and sometimes with the addition of one or more instruments.  On other occasions the original compositions were transcribed by other composers aquainted with or even unrelated to the composer.

According to the offical catalogue of works by Dvorak, he transcribed only three chamber works for four-hands piano: String quartet, Op. 27, String quintet No. 2 in G major and the Dumky Trio.  In addition, there are the transcriptions of symphonies No. 7, 8 and 9, of other orchestral compositions and, of course, of the two series of Slavic Dances, well-known in both the piano and orchestral versions.  

Another composition which was transcribed was the Quintet Op. 1 by Ernst von Dohnanyi.  It was composed in 1895, when the composer was 17, and it received widespread success, including praise by Brahms, who organized a performance of this composition in Vienna in the same year.  It was transcribed for four-hands piano by the Dutch composer Jan Brandts Buys, and published by Doblinger in 1902.  The two composers met each other in 1893, and in 1899 they both competed for the Bosendorf Scholarship where they performed their own compositions (Dohnanyi won first prize, Jan Buys won second).  From the start of the twentieth century, B. Buys was dedicated to transcribing for piano and for four-hands piano for the publishers Universal and Doblinger.  His transcriptions include the four-hands piano transcriptions of the String Quartet, Op. 7, the Serenata for String Trio, Op. 10, and the Suite for Orchestra, Op. 19 by  Dohnanyi.  The transcription of the latter composition is extremely pianistic, even if it is dense and complex for the continuous weaving of the voices, and far from the impervious writing which often accompanies transcriptions from larger instrumental ensembles.

Reviews

Although transcriptions for piano four hands were prevalent in the 19th century as a valid method of disseminating music, the thought of listening to a whole disc of transcriptions was both puzzling and intriguing. In a world where hearing repertoire in its original form, whether on disc or at concerts, is hardly a problem, the obvious question is, what is the point? Naxos, it is true, has issued a series of similar transcriptions that, from my retail experience at least, hardly set the world alight. There is no doubting the fact that this is an enjoyable way to spend an hour. The Duo Pianistico Palmas (the brother and sister duo of Cristina and Luca Palmas) is highly talented and unfailingly musical. The recording, made in 2007 in Chiesa di S Apollinaire, Lonigo, is expert. The “Dumky” comes in Dvorák’s own transcription. There are moments of real delicacy here (try the closing moments of the first movement, for example, or the latter stages of the second), and the duo makes the most of the extroversion that concludes the first movement. Contrasts are vital to this piece, and the Duo Pianistico Plamas ensures that we are in no doubt of this. Textures are often stunningly well judged, as are tempos and agogics. There is a stack of recordings of the original, of course. The Beaux Arts Trio recorded a version of it in 2004 (Warner 21492)— I was lucky enough to hear the group live in this piece at the Wigmore Hall in January of that year, and it was one of the most memorable chamber performances I have come across of anything; for a more authentically Czech experience, the Suk Piano Trio on Supraphon has yet to be surpassed. Dohnányi’s Piano Quintet, op. 1, is an early work, composed in 1895 (when the composer was a mere 17 years old). Brahms, no less, was an admirer of this work. The transcriber on this occasion is the Dutch composer Jan Brandts Buys. Buys specialized in transcriptions for piano four hands. The present transcription was published in 1902. The liner notes make tantalizing mention of a transcription of Dohnányi’s Suite for Orchestra, op. 19. The first movement of the Quintet emerges as a tightly controlled structural marvel. This performance, certainly, always knows where it is going and revels in projecting the internal energy of the music. The mysteriously shifting Scherzo emerges well. If, in the slow movement, the omission of the lush sounds of the strings becomes obvious, the beautifully flowing finale is perhaps a little more forgiving in this respect. The grandeur of the closing pages emerges almost intact, too. Again, there are excellent versions when it comes to the original. This time the Schubert Ensemble of London on Hyperion and Schiff with the Takács Quartet on Decca head the list. On its own terms, though, the Duo Pianistico Palmas has issued an altogether creditable disc that will surely provide much enjoyment.

Colin Clarke

R. Schumann 

Quintet op. 44 transcription by Clara Schumann

Quartet op. 47 transcription by R. Brahms

La Bottega Discantica Milan, BDI219

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In The Man Without Qualities, Walter and Clarisse are presented to the reader performing a four-hands piano duet: Ode to Joy.  This scene must have been commonplace in middle-class homes between the 19th and 20th centuries where there was sure to be a piano: a symbol of cultural identity. It was a place for gathering and socializing and, why not, also for dalliances and marital affairs.  Through the piano, new salon music was presented, as well as piano reductions for two or four hands of great symphonic works which had perhaps been heard only once, or had not been heard at all.  It is not by chance that Schumann chose Liszt's piano reduction for his famous analysis of Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique, when he presented the German public with a new standard for the Romantic symphony.  Almost all of the great musical masterpieces of the 19th century existed in a piano version.  These were sometimes honest efforts, by obscure composers, or reelaborations with their own unique importance, and possible alternative versions of the original.  In fact, Schumann stated that Liszt's reduction should have been considered an independent work for the precision with which it had been written, and that from then on, one could have made certain reflections on the possible symphonic treatment of the piano(!).

Just how widespread the practice of transcribing had become is illustrated by the several versions of Schumann's Quintet Op. 44 and Quartet op. 47 for four-hands piano that exist.  And the story of these authoritative examples (recorded here together for the first time) is as intricate as it is engrossing. Clara was particularly fond of the Quintet, and  both she and Robert had thought about a possible four-hands piano reduction to more easily popularize this work among German music lovers.  Between the end of 1854 and the beginning of 1855, Brahms fulfilled this desire, together with the piano reduction of the Quartet Op. 47.  Schumann was still alive, and only a year earlier he had written the famous article Neue Bahnen (New Paths) in which he hailed the unknown young composer from Hamburg as a rising star of the new music.  It is certain that the transcription, besides  being a homage to the venerated Maestro (and to the even more venerated Clara), was a way for Brahms to deepen his knowledge of composing chamber music, and to understand the intricacies of balance between the strings and the piano.  In 1855 he had only written the first version of the Trio Op. 8 (if we do not consider the Trio in A major to be spurious).  Furthermore, his thorough knowledge of Schumann's chamber music masterpieces must have been fundamental for his following works, starting from the great fioritura of 1861 (Op. 25, 26 and the Quintet Op. 34)

But let us proceed with the details of this story.  Brahms himself wrote in a letter to Joachim that during one of Clara's tours in Ostend, he had thought of surprising her for her birthday: I thought of turning her old wish into reality, so I transcribed Schumann's Quintet for four hands piano.  I secretly took the the manuscript from the cupboard so she wouldn't suspect anything, and I dove right into it as if it were a pair of dark blue eyes.  But it did not go as planned, and his version was rejected by Breitkopf & Härtel for its extreme difficulty.  A few years later Clara herself composed another version, probably starting from Brahms' reduction.  In fact, she wrote a letter to Härtel (25 Oct. 1857) stating: I had already mentioned to you that I wanted to simplify the reduction of the Quintet by my husband.  I have completed it, but it was difficult not to distort the original composition.  Brahms' reduction disappeared (we do have another example for piano solo of the Scherzo).  The piano version of the Quartet followed a different route.  It too remained unpublished for a long time because the publisher Henze had published another transcription by Carl Reinecke, and he therefore owned the rights.  Strangely, when the publisher Arnold bought Brahms' version of Op. 47, the rights had not yet expired, and only a rough draft had been written, which could not be put for sale.  Finally, but not until 1887, Brahms' transcription was officially published by a publisher in Berlin, Fürstner.  Lastly, we should remember that there is another version of the Quartet written by August Horn, a composer known mostly for his innumerable piano transcriptions of classical and romantic works.

The two piano reductions recorded here, by two great composers whose biographies are inextricably connected to Schumann, are obviously very precise, except for two curious oversights.  In fact, Clara repeats a bar in the Finale, and Brahms leaves out four bars.  But both "incorrect" versions are still in some way plausible, and we have chosen to record the published version.  Besides this, one should note the great attention given to the piano writing, sometimes at the cost of forcing the two pianists to cross hands where the overlapping of registers does not allow any other solution.  But as often occurs, necessity is the mother of invention and it leads to brilliant solutions which sometimes add a touch of originality.  In the first movement of the Quintet, for example, Clara moves the responses of the viola up an octave in the beautiful duet with the cello which characterizes the second theme, giving more emphasis to the musical expression.  In the beginning of the Andante cantabile of Op. 47, to give space to the famous cello theme, Brahms moves the anxious violin and viola figure up an octave, giving the passage new emphasis and still more expressiveness.

What strikes the listener most of all is the attention the two illustrious transcribers give to the instrumental colour.  First of all, certain octave doublings (above and below) gives more depth or brilliance to certain passages, like the effect of 16' or 4' stops on the organ.  But even more important is the precision given to the pedal marks, especially in passages where the original work proposes special timbres.  For example, both pedals are explicitly indicated by Clara in the final chord of the Marcia of Op. 44 (given to the harmonics of the strings in the original composition).  Even Brahms gives very detailed indications at the beginning of the Coda of the third movement of the Quartet where there is an admirable and transparent development of various layers of sound above a cello pedal.  Again, we are reminded of what Schumann wrote about Liszt's reduction of the Symphonie Fantastique: This art of interpretation, the multi-faceted range of touch that it requires, the efficient use of the pedal, the clear weaving of the individual parts, the rearrangement of the instrumentation, in short, the knowledge of the means and of the many secrets which the piano still hides - all this can only be the work of a great composer, of a genius of interpretation.

by Gabrio Taglietti

Reviews

 In the nineteenth century, it was commonplace to find a piano in the homes of upper-class, of educated, of middle-class, and of musically-inclined families. Access to classical music performance, however, was impeded for all by limitations in transportation and by absence of electronic technology. Thus, the practice of piano reduction (or transcription) of symphonic and chamber works became common not only to popularize such music but also just to make it available in some accessible form. Such piano reductions were made by both lesser and greater musicians, and by many in-between. For reductions that were better served by two pianos, the practical compromise was four hands at one piano. Here we have four-hands piano reductions of two of Robert Schumann’s greatest chamber works by one illustrious pianist – Clara, his wife – and by another illustrious pianist and even more illustrious composer – Brahms, his friend. These chamber works, both of which are in EI, were composed almost in succession (opus 44 for the Quintet and opus 47 for the Quartet). They offer a rewarding and an instructive experience in transcription for piano four-hands. The rewarding experience is that of a different sound of familiar material, and the instructive experience is that of an insightful look at familiar part-structure in a different light. Both the reward and the instruction are the creations of two master transcribers. I hear Brahms’ result as more creative than Clara Schumann’s. I mean this solely as a comparative statement, with no absolute judgment intended. The Palmas Duo, the brother-and-sister team of Cristina and Luca Palmas, was formed in 1998. They both studied in San Marino (the “independent” Republic that is part of Italy) and have performed together and separately throughout Europe. In the performances onthis disc, they display excellent musicianship in terms of dynamics and phrasing, with meticulous attention to the partwriting so important in these two chamber works. This CD is certainly one to have for its uniqueness of musical material and its excellent performance qualities.

Burton Rothleder