Franz Bendel celebrates the long, singing lines of a Chopin nocturne in his
Hommage à Chopin (1867), subtitled ‘pièce caractéristique’, the first of three disparate pieces published as Op 111. Without being forewarned, one might just be convinced that it is by Chopin himself. Bohemian-born Bendel (1833–1874) was a Liszt pupil in Weimar, composed symphonies, a piano concerto and much salon music. If he is remembered at all now it is for his once-popular Mozart pastiche
Pastorale variée and the saccharine
Julia’s Arbor at Clarens.
from notes by Jeremy Nicholas © 2010
