Sonatina nostalgica (Hough) - from CDA68455 - Hyperion Records

Reviews

‘Sir Stephen Hough is a genuine polymath. Not just the finest British classical pianist since Clifford Curzon, who I heard live often, but also a published and award-winning writer and composer … finely accompanied by The Hallé under Sir Mark Elder, this is a piece I would love to hear in the concert hall, not just on my CD system. And it’s approachable enough both in terms of the quality of its melodic content and the skill of its orchestration to justify that … a major achievement’ (The Mail on Sunday)

‘[Hough] writes tonally (and polytonally, on occasion), with a sweetness that’s balanced by welcome bursts of sharp acidity. And while his music often displays a strong French accent, there’s something about the cinematic quality of this score that’s deliciously over the top. I’ve often lamented the fact that Korngold never wrote a piano concerto; in his own individual way, Hough has come close to filling that void for me. And of course he plays it with sharply focused clarity, rhythmic verve and seemingly unflappable elegance, while Mark Elder has the Hallé provide warm, vividly coloured support … in all three works, the richness of Hough’s ideas and their working out handsomely repays repeated listening. Now, will some enterprising director please have Hough write a film score? If this Concerto is any indication, he’s a natural’ (Gramophone)

‘Delectable … flourishes and fireworks, an imposing cadenza, Viennese waltzes, calorie-rich twists and turns, contortions suggesting Korngold or Richard Strauss: they all find a place in this 20-minute creation, performed with shiny panache by its creator and the Hallé orchestra conducted by Mark Elder. Other musical worlds visited include Copland-style Americana and a little cool jazz, whipped into the mix by a composer-pianist with a magpie mind and a mischievous grin’ (The Times)

‘This concerto proves not only an ideal vehicle for Hough’s protean pianism (not to mention exemplary support from Mark Elder and the Hallé), but a challenging yet entertaining proposition for other pianists … I would wager that Hough plays all of this music to the composer’s satisfaction’ (International Piano)

‘It’s a heady mix, triumphantly executed. We’re presented with a rich set of evocations, which seem to flash by (the whole piece is just over twenty minutes in length). The cleverness and invention in the writing is evident but unshowy and crucially Hough somehow manages his Proustian tugs on our real or imagined memories without serving up layers of pastiche … ee has fine collaborators in Mark Elder and the Hallé, the dialogue between orchestra and piano in the middle section variations in particular being a real delight. With a fair wind, I think this could become the popular work it deserves to be. There are performances coming up in the UK, the USA and Australia in the next few months, so it seems well set … I’ve listened to little else all week’ (MusicWeb International)

‘C’est dire qu’on passe un moment agréable, tantôt distancié, tantôt jubilatoire, dans ces trois mouvements enchaînés, en compagnie de l’Orchestre Hallé, capté en concert’ (ConcertoNet, Canada)

‘It isn’t always the case that a composer is the ideal proponent in performance of their own music, but like Rachmaninoff and Godowsky, Hough has such limitless command of the piano and the vast canvas it offers, that he meets and even surpasses the challenges he has set. The strength of his partnership with Sir Mark Elder and The Hallé is strongly in evidence throughout … this album serves as a cherishable portrait of a much-loved and often enigmatic figure, whilst also being so much more than that. It is a gift of genuinely fresh and engaging music, played with both sensitivity and aplomb by both pianist and orchestra, and afforded superb recorded sound’ (Presto Classical)» More

‘Stephen Hough is already well known to us as a virtuoso pianist, and this album gives us a broad picture of his compositional style: in a late Romantic vein, but with enough harmonic twists and turns to make it his own. The highlight is his Piano Concerto, which can stand toe to toe with any number of modern piano concertos, including those of Prokofiev’ (WFMT, USA)

Introduction
English
Korean
Nihongo

My little Sonatina nostalgica, lasting under five minutes, was written for my friend (and fellow Gordon Green student) Philip Fowke in celebration of his seventieth birthday. It is ‘nostalgic’ on three levels: firstly, it was commissioned by my old school, Chetham’s; secondly, it deliberately utilizes a romantic musical language of yesteryear; but most importantly it evokes literal homesickness for the places of our youth, in this case the little ‘sonatina’ village of Lymm in Cheshire.

The road from Danebank: Danebank was a grand country house which gave its name to today’s Dane Bank Road. Along and about this road are places resonant with memories for me, not least the nursing home where my mother lived her final years. By happy coincidence some of Philip Fowke’s forebears, the Watkin family, lived at … Danebank.

The bench by the Dam: Lymm Dam is the picturesque source of the village, a calm lake whose surface reflects mature trees and the handsome steeple of the parish church. I had a bench installed there commemorating my parents. Drive a few miles down the road and you’ll find the birthplace of John Ireland, whose musical shadow falls over this pastoral movement.

A gathering at the Cross: Lymm Cross is a monument at the heart of the village and this movement is an affectionate tribute to the countless friends and family members who have gathered for parties and dinners and carol-singing within striking distance of its crumbling sandstone structure over many years.

The first movement is in ABA form and is made up of two contrasting but equally lyrical motifs. A dotted-rhythm gesture appears in the final bar and becomes the theme of the second movement. The finale plays with these three ideas, tossing them around in a spirit of celebration.

5분이 채 못 되는 아담한 작품인 ‘소나티나 노스탈지카 Sonatina nostalgica’는 내 친구이자 나와 마찬가지로 고든 그린 Gordon Green 교수의 문하생이었던 필립 포크 Philip Fowke의 70세 생일을 축하하기 위해서 쓴 곡이다. 작품은 세 가지 측면에서 ‘향수’를 불러일으키는데, 우선 내 모교인 채텀 음악원의 위촉으로 썼고, 두 번째로는 의도적으로 낭만적인 옛 음악 언어를 활용했다. 그리고 가장 중요하게는 문자 그대로 젊은 시절의 장소, 그러니까 이 경우에는 체셔의 림에 있는 작은 ‘소나티나’ 마을을 향한 향수를 불러일으킨다는 점이다.

I 데인뱅크로부터 난 길 The road from Danebank 데인뱅크 Danebank는 웅장한 시골 저택으로, 지금의 데인뱅크 로드는 이 저택에서 연유한 이름이다. 이 길과 그 주변에는 어머니가 말년을 보낸 양로원을 비롯해서 추억이 깃든 장소가 많다. 기분 좋은 우연의 일치로, 필립 포크의 조상인 왓킨 가문도 데인뱅크에 살았다.

II 림 둑에 있는 벤치 The bench by the Dam 림 둑 Lymm Dam은 그림같이 아름다운 마을의 수원水源으로, 무성한 아름드리나무와 교구 성당의 멋진 첨탑이 수면에 비치는 잔잔한 호수다. 그곳에는 부모님을 기념해서 내가 설치한 벤치도 있다. 또 거기서 길을 따라 차를 타고 몇 마일만 가면 존 아일랜드 John Ireland의 생가가 있는데, 2악장의 목가적인 음악에는 그의 그림자가 드리워져 있다.

III 교차로에서의 만남 A gathering at the Cross 림 크로스 Lymm Cross는 마을의 중심에 있는 기념비다. 3악장은 이 무너져 가는 사암 구조물에서 아주 가까운 거리에서 파티나 만찬에 가려고, 또 캐롤을 부르려고 모였던 친구와 친지들에게 바치는 애정 어린 헌사다.

1악장은 ABA 형식이며, 서로 대조적이지만 모두 서정적인 두 개의 주제로 이루어졌다. 악장 마지막 마디에 등장하는 부점 리듬의 음형이 2악장 주제가 된다. 마지막 악장에서는 앞서 등장한 세 가지 주제가 어우러지며 축제의 느낌을 자아낸다.

5分の長さもない小さなソナティナ・ノスタルジカは、友人の（そしてゴードン・グリーンの弟子仲間だった）フィリップ・フォークの70歳の誕生日を祝って書いたものである。これは、３つのレヴェルで「ノスタルジック」である。まず、チータムにある私の出身校の委嘱で書いたこと、第2に、昔のロマンティックな音楽言語を意図的に利用していること、しかしいちばん重要なのは、私たちの若かった頃の場所 — この場合はチェシャーの小さな「ソナティナ」的な村リム — へのホームシックを文字通り喚起していることである。

I 「デインバンクから延びる道」：デインバンクは、今日のデイン・バンク・ロードの名称のもとになった、広大なカントリー・ハウスである。沿道やその周囲には、私の思い出と共鳴する場所がいくつかあるが、なにより私の母が最後の数年を過ごしたナーシング・ホーム〔高齢者施設〕はそうである。うれしい偶然の一致で、フィリップ・フォークの先祖であるワトキン家の人々も… デインバンクに住んでいたのだった。

II 「ダムのそばのベンチ」：リム・ダムは、村の中の絵画のように美しい場所で、その静かな水面が紅葉した木々や教会区教会の立派な尖塔を映し出す。私はそこに、両親の思い出にベンチをひとつ設置してもらった。道を数マイル進んでいくと、ジョン・アイアランドの生誕地があるが、その音楽の影が、この牧歌的な楽章にかかっているのである。

III 「十字架の下の集い」：リム・クロスは、この村の中心部にある記念碑で、この楽章は、無数の友人たちや家族への愛情を込めたトリビュートである。彼らは長年にわたって、ぼろぼろに崩れる砂岩の構造物に驚くほど近づいて集まり、パーティーを開き、ディナーを楽しみ、キャロルを歌ってきたのである。

第1楽章はA-B-Aの形式で、2つの対称的な、しかし同様に叙情的なモティーフで構成されている。最終小節で付点リズムの動きが現れ、これが第2楽章の主題になる。フィナーレは、これらの3つの楽想と戯れ、祝祭の精神でこれらをやり取りする。

Other albums featuring this work

Hough: Piano Concerto, Sonatina & Partita - Vinyl Edition

Sir Stephen Hough (piano)

LPA68455

The premiere recording of Stephen Hough’s piano concerto, recorded by the pianist with The Hallé under Sir Mark Elder, makes its prompt appearance on vinyl. Its subtitle ‘The world of yesterday’ deliberately places the work in a broader context of ...» More

Recording details: June 2024
St Silas the Martyr, Kentish Town, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Rachel Smith
Engineered by Ben Connellan
Release date: March 2025
Total duration: 4 minutes 58 seconds

Cover artwork: Calendar page for September (1903) by Wilhelm List (1864-1918)
akg-images / brandstaetter images