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Track(s) taken from CDA67606

Le mouvement perpétuel, Op 91 No 3

composer

Philip Martin (piano)
Recording details: October 2006
All Saints' Church, East Finchley, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Martin Compton
Engineered by Julian Millard
Release date: January 2008
Total duration: 4 minutes 39 seconds

Cover artwork: The Reluctant Pianist (detail). William A Breakspeare (1855-1914)
Reproduced by courtesy of Fine Art Photographs, London
 

Reviews

‘Philip Martin proves a strong Herz advocate, displaying a genuine affection for the music and all the requisite flair for the abundant trills, roulades, scales … and repeated left-hand jumps’ (International Record Review)

‘Hyperion continues its invaluable exploration of the piano's highways and byways with this richly enjoyable programme from Philip Martin, focusing on the scintillating output of Viennese child prodigy Henri Herz … the salonesque, radiant charms of the La Cenerentola variations … come tripping off the page in this affectionately sparkling performance from Philip Martin, whose warmly engaging style is a constant source of pleasure throughout’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘Philip Martin sounds like he is enjoying himself, and his technique is fully up to the tasks at hand’ (Fanfare, USA)

‘Herz may not be a great composer, yet his stuff certainly is fun to digest in small doses, especially when you consider Philip Martin's appropriately light and colorful touch, supple finger work, and marvelous sense of dramatic timing … collectors who dote on the rare Romantics need no prodding to acquire this excellently engineered release’ (Classics Today)

‘Martin, fresh from his laudable eight-disc survey of Gottschalk's piano music, tackles these well-programmed works with sensuousness and vitality, capturing the ornately flamboyant allure of the music with great affection’ (Musical Criticism.com)
This is a rarity—Le mouvement perpétuel Op 91 No 3. Not only is the printed music obscure (Martin might well be the first pianist to play this piece in over a century) but the form is far from common in keyboard literature. Its only precedent would seem to be the most famous moto perpetuo for the piano, the final movement of Weber’s Piano Sonata No 1 in C major, Op 24. Mendelssohn wrote a perpetuum mobile for his friend Moscheles in 1826 (his Op 119), clearly modelled on Weber’s, but this was not published until 1873. Alkan, Busoni and Godowsky left us isolated examples, but others are few and far between. So Herz’s note-spinner, though it too is derived from Weber, deserves our attention. It is also a tour de force—and fun.

from notes by Jeremy Nicholas © 2008

Voici une rareté: Le mouvement perpétuel, op. 91 no 3. Ce n’est pas seulement la musique imprimée qui est obscure (Martin pourrait bien être le premier à la jouer en plus d’un siècle), c’est aussi sa forme, exceptionnelle dans la littérature pour clavier. Seul le très fameux moto perpetuo, le mouvement final de la Sonate pour piano no 1 en ut majeur, op. 24 de Weber semble l’avoir précédée. Certes, Mendelssohn écrivit un perpetuum mobile pour son ami Moscheles en 1826 (l’op. 119), clairement modelé sur celui de Weber, mais il fut publié seulement en 1873. Alkan, Busoni et Godowsky nous en laissèrent aussi quelques-uns, mais ce fut à peu près tout. Bien qu’également dérivées de Weber, les notes filées par Herz dans ce véritable tour de force et de drôlerie méritent donc toute notre attention.

extrait des notes rédigées par Jeremy Nicholas © 2008
Français: Hypérion

Diese ist eine echte Rarität: Le mouvement perpétuel op. 91 Nr. 3. Es sind nicht nur die gedruckten Noten, an die man schwer herankommt (Martin ist wahrscheinlich der erste Pianist, der das Stück nach über 100 Jahren spielt), sondern auch die Form ist selten in der Klavierliteratur anzutreffen. Sein einziges Vorbild scheint das bestens bekannte Moto perpetuo für Klavier, der letzte Satz von Webers Klaviersonate Nr. 1 C-Dur op. 24, zu sein. Mendelssohn schrieb 1826 ein Perpetuum mobile für seinen Freund Moscheles, sein op. 119, wobei auch hier Weber eindeutig als Vorbild dient; aber dieses Werk wurde erst 1873 veröffentlicht. Alkan, Busoni und Godowsky hinterließen uns Einzelwerke; aber sonst ist weit und breit kaum etwas zu finden. Deshalb verdient Herz’ Notenschleuder, obwohl auch sie auf Weber zurückgeht, unsere Aufmerksamkeit. Es ist zwar ein Kraftakt, aber es macht Spaß.

aus dem Begleittext von Jeremy Nicholas © 2008
Deutsch: Ludwig Madlener

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