Pianist Daniel Gortler's recent recording of Edvard Grieg's "Lyric Pieces"

 

Edvard Grieg's "Lyric Pieces" for piano were written between 1867 and 1901, the sixty-six pieces published in ten books. Somewhat suggestive of Robert Schumann's piano cycles (but without their feverish intensity) they reflect Grieg's rich world of fantasy, of empathy and also the folk music of his native Norway. Indeed, Grieg has imbued these Romantic miniatures with an aura and pianistic approach that are uniquely his. American-Israeli pianist Daniel Gortler recently recorded a selection of the pieces, the line-up of which being of his own choosing and not conforming to the order in which they were written.

 

Gortler addresses the melodic shaping, the ample realm of changing harmonies and the essence of each musical vignette with insight and conviction. Enlisting his signature sensitive pianistic touch and whistle-clean finger dexterity, the artist probes the many mood pieces - "Arietta" Op.12/3, "Berceuse" Op.38/1, for example; they emerge lyrical, introspective, wistful and highly personal in character. In his reading of "Vanished Days" Op.57/1, Gortler's playing is rich in textural and emotional content, nostalgic and so very touching. Then there are pieces evoking the world of nature - the vivid, effervescent, many-directional movement of water in "Brooklet" Op. 62/4, the descriptive fluttering of tiny wings in "Butterfly" Op.43/1 ending in the blink of any eye,  little hops of the endearing "Little Bird" Op.43/4, the piece's quirky ornaments produced with meticulous precision. In "To the Spring", Gortler conveys Grieg's sense of wonder and joy inspired by the arrival of spring. As to items describing the day's end, Notturno Op.54/4, with its chromatic moments, reflects some waves of unrest, compared to the composer's sense of peace, tranquillity and intimacy in "Summer's Eve" Op.71/2. We are reminded of Grieg's folk heritage, here and there in  glimpses, but more specifically in "Norwegian Dance" Op.47/4, its drone and modal melody evoking the character of the early fiddle, and in the appealing simplicity of the "Peasant's Song". The whimsical "March of the Dwarfs" (Trolls), conjures up the boisterous imaginary inhabitants of the Jotunheimen mountains. Bristling with mischief, precise fingerwork and the effects of strategic timing, Gortler's performance of "Puck" Op.71/3 reminds us that the fairy world is not all goodness and generosity. (In Scandinavia, Puck is portrayed as a Norse demon, indeed, sometimes associated with the devil.) Not only did Schumann write a piano piece entitled "Gade", his third piano trio was also dedicated to Niels Wilhelm Gade, a close family friend. Grieg, in the "Lyric Pieces" pays tribute to the same Danish composer/conductor, who had been a major influence on him in his early years. "Gade" Op.57/2 is a light-hearted, spirited piece.

 

A true master of the miniature, Daniel Gortler captures the moods and characterization, the Nordic flavour, the fairytale magic, the nature scenes and, above all, the refined emotions expressed in the "Lyric Pieces" heard in this recording. Offering rich and subtle expression to Grieg's “poetic diary”, his playing is delicate, polished and transparent, inviting the composer's character and personality to shine through the content of each small, finely-formed musical sketch. 

 

Grieg "Lyric Pieces" (Prospero Classical) was recorded (2021, 2022) at the Jerusalem Music Centre on a Steinway grand piano. Daniel Gortler is a Steinway artist.

Daniel Gortler (www.schubertiade.co.il)

 

 

Tenor Daniel Johannsen in a new two-CD set of Schubert's "Die schöne Müllerin": CD1 with Christoph Hammer (fortepiano);CD2 in Tom Randle's setting for tenor and string quartet

 

 

At the beginning of the 19th century, the intelligentsia and the bourgeoisie of German-speaking countries were much occupied with their love of nature. Rising economic activity and growing wealth allowed for the leisure time necessary to enjoy their passion for the outdoors, for country walks and even for long journeys on foot. "Die schöne Müllerin" (The Fair Maid of the Mill) Op.2, D.795, Franz Schubert's setting of poems of Wilhelm Müller, celebrates the influence of nature on man's emotions, but with added dimensions of a storyline. The first of Schubert's two seminal song cycles (preceding the "Winterreise"), it is usually performed by a pianist and a solo singer, the vocal part falling within the range of the tenor (or soprano) voice. Transposed to a lower range, however, it can also be sung by other voices, a precedent established by Schubert himself.  Actually, Müller's first large-scale poem cycle originated from a literary parlour game taking place in 1816, where the poet joined friends at the home of a German privy councillor to create a "Liederspiel" (a narrative play told in poetry and song), the subject of which was the folk story of a false-hearted miller maiden moving between various suitors. Müller eventually completed the cycle of poems, combining the roles of gardener and miller into a single character and telling the entire story from the miller's point of view. Schubert came across the poems in late 1822. Wishing to create songs on a grand emotional scope, the composer was drawn to this cycle; it occupied him much in 1823. Publishing "Die schöne Müllerin" D.795 in Vienna in August 1824, Franz Schubert chose twenty of the poems, creating one of the first song cycles in music history. Sadly, Müller, who had claimed that his poems "lead but half a life, a paper existence of black-and-white, until music breathes life into them ..."  probably died unaware of the fact that Schubert had put this poem cycle to music.

 

In Schubert's time, the singer would have been joined by a fortepianist. In this 2-disc recording for the hänssler Classic label (2023), the first disc presents Austrian tenor Daniel Johannsen performing the song cycle with fortepianist Christoph Hammer (Germany). In the second disc, we hear Johannsen singing "Die schöne Müllerin" with the Alinde Quartett (2022) in a groundbreaking setting by renowned US-born composer/conductor/tenor Tom Randle 

 

With much focus on the music of Schubert, Johannsen and Hammer have collaborated frequently, both in live performance and in recordings. Their reading of "Die schöne Müllerin" addresses each and every aspect of the cycle as the narrative thread unfolds - the miller's naivety, expressed with artfully-stylised folksiness, outbursts of ecstatic exuberance of love, together with the deep tragedy of the events which unfold in their full intensity. The two artists conjointly highlight the sheer beauty of Schubert's melodic shaping, the composer's economic but striking use of dissonances and the constant duality reflected in rapid changes between major and minor. Nature, in all its splendour, emerges fresh and enticing as it reflects the miller's emotional state throughout. Hammer's playing is buoyant and articulate as he and Johannsen communicate hand-in-glove at each turn of phrase of the Müller text, with the murmuring brook and the turning of the mill wheel the most constant and symbolic backdrop elements to the diegesis. Playing on an original fortepiano by Conrad Graf, Hammer displays its warmth of sound, the delicacy and emotional and dramatic variety offered by this instrument and of his own musical palette. Instead of bowing to restraint (a quality so often attributed to the fortepiano), Hammer invites the instrument's capacity for expressive freedom and considerable carrying power to serve the music and words. With the direct action of the small hammers on the strings and the natural decay in the mechanism, there is space between the notes, rendering clarity of delivery. Johannsen, engaging his wonderfully distinct diction and meticulously-defined phrasing, unveils the gestures and meaning of each song, his richness and radiance of timbre, his fine vocal and interpretational skills giving expression to the emotions and meaning (camouflaged and otherwise) present in each song. The result of superb teamwork, Johannsen and Hammer's performance is precise in detail and subtle, indeed, a convincing, gripping and moving interpretation.

 

And to the Tom Randle setting. Remaining faithful to Schubert's text and concept, Randle underscores key words and creates fine contrasts between intimate, jubilant and vehement moments. Translating the fuller, more dramatic keyboard textures into the string quartet medium, Randle adds extra melodic lines, "comments" and some doubling. There is much delicacy and beauty both in the setting and in the Alinde Quartett's superbly eloquent, attentive playing. Daniel Johannsen relates- and reacts to the string players and to Randle's spectrum of references. The adaptation is profound and it is indeed very Schubert. I personally missed the fortepiano textures when it came to certain associations, especially those of the mechanical, pounding mill-wheels and the burbling brook, keyboard timbres so intrinsic and unique to the work. Still, Randle's transcription is refined, intelligent and aesthetically appealing. It asks to be listened to again and again.

 

Recorded in Grafrath (CD 1) and Ratingen (CD 2), Germany, the sound quality is lush and convincing.

Tom Randle@tomrandle

Christoph Hammer (kulturhaus.lu)