Hyperion Records | Moscheles: Complete Concert Studies

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CDA67394
Archive Service Only

Recording details: April 2003
Charterhouse Hall, Godalming, Surrey, United Kingdom
Produced by Amanda Hurton
Engineered by Arne Akselberg
Release date: November 2003
Total duration: 77 minutes 39 seconds

'...graceful, fluent and engagingly affectionate performances.' (Gramophone)

'Piers Lane's concern is to underline the unexpected meatiness of the piano writing, and he offers lusty, swaggering performances … it's a revelatory recording' (International Piano)

'Il joue ces oeuvres de manière impeccable et soignée, avec un goût exquis, en dosant parfaitement la puissance et le raffinement nécessaires, nous offrant ainsi d'agréables révélations à savourer.' (Répértoire)

'Hyperion furnishes excellent recorded sound in a release of truly generous length, and Henry Roche does a splendid job with the liner notes. Enthusiastically recommended' (Fanfare)

'Lane is the kind of pianist who can make anything sound good. His formidable technique is evident from the opening etude … It is all the better that this recording is engineered well and we have a fine instrument' (American Record Guide)

Ignaz Moscheles (1794-1870)

Complete Concert Studies

Piers Lane (piano)

LISTEN TO ALL EXTRACTS

		Characteristic Studies, Op 95
1		Part 01. No 1: Wrath 'Der Zorn' [2'05]
2		Part 02. No 2: Reconciliation 'Versöhnung' [3'41]
3		Part 03. No 3: Contradiction 'Der Widerspruch' [1'58]
4		Part 04. No 4: Juno [3'02]
5		Part 05. Transition 1: Lentamente [0'11]
6		Part 06. No 5: A Children's Tale 'Ein Kindermärchen' [2'52]
7		Part 07. No 6: Bacchanale [3'02]
8		Part 08. No 7: Affection 'Zärtlichkeit' [6'14]
9		Part 09. No 8: Carnival Scenes 'Alla Napolitana' 'Volksfest-Scenen' [3'29]
10		Part 10. Transition 2: [untitled] [0'13]
11		Part 11. No 9: Moonlight on the Sea-Shore 'Die Mondnacht am See-Gestade' [4'01]
12		Part 12. Transition 3: [untitled] [0'21]
13		Part 13. No 10: Terpsichore [3'19]
14		Part 14. No 11: A Dream 'Der Traum' [6'52]
15		Part 15. Transition 4: [untitled] [0'17]
16		Part 16. No 12: Terror 'Die Angst' [4'02]
		Deux études, Op 98
17		No 1: L'enjouement [3'27]
18		No 2: L'ambition [3'47]
		Deux études, Op 105
19		No 1: Allegro scherzoso [2'59]
20		No 2: Allegro feroce [3'46]
		Quatre grandes études de concert, Op 111
21		No 1: Rêverie et Allégresse [4'24]
22		No 2: Le carrillon [2'59]
23		No 3: Tendresse et Exaltation [4'21]
24		No 4: La Fougue [3'20]
25		Grande étude de concert, Op 126 [2'57]

Given Moscheles contemporary fame it is surprising how much his reputation has faded. He bridged the gap between the Classical and Romantic movements and, though a fine pianist and a sincere and skilled craftsman as a composer, his downfall was surely that his transitional idiom was quickly overshadowed by the Titans of the new Romantic movement such as Chopin, Schumann and Liszt. None of this need concern us now—his music has it’s own worth, as our recordings of his concertos have shown. This CD brings together all his works that could be described as ‘concert studies’ (it excludes the Op 70 set as these are much more didactic in nature). The Op 95 set is probably his greatest solo piano work and the many foretastes of later composers such as Schumann and Brahms reveal the influence that Moscheles had on later generations. Piers Lane does his customary magnificent job in presenting these studies, most of which are premiere recordings.