Various Composers - 'Nocturne' Piano encores [Oppitz]

This is one of the very best piano solo compilation discs i have in my collection, a great and varied selection of things, varied selection of composers too, and Oppitz finds his way off the beaten track, into some less well known pieces, but no Schubert or Brahms?, also the title of the disc 'Nocturne', i really don't understand how that fits in with some of the pieces, nevertheless it's not the title i listened to, really enjoyed this today, this disc appeared in my Blog three years ago [24th May 2012].

Gerhard Oppitz is German, he's now 62, this disc was recorded in 1993, the booklet cover shows a black & white portrait of Oppitz [by Alfred Steffen], caught as a silhouette on the left side, great use of a lot of black, and yet a white background to bring out the contrast, the lettering could have been better, but all round a wonderful finished product.

On this listen i loved track 12 the most, Faure's Noctune 4, this originally got me into Faure's solo piano music, it's the best thing on the disc, and probably Faure's best Nocturne, in a blind test i feel you could slip it into a set of Chopin's Nocturnes and nobody would notice!, maybe a cross between Chopin's 4 and 8, a simple enough tune i guess, but a beautiful one too, the 'theme' is restated i guess an octave higher in the right hand [0:59+] with great effect, but then comes a huge middle section [1:57+], which is a lot more interesting than the opening, with some tender moments, the music falls down the keyboard, the left hand produces a lovely accompanying rhythm, the Nocturne is in E Flat Major, but changes to E Flat Minor, you can feel the dip into the sadness / melancholy, the right hand producing the sound of tolling of bells, but like Chopin his nocturnes are not all gentle, there's stormy central episodes, and so it is here, the music develops into something a bit more angry [3:02+], some great use of loud notes high in the treble, the music reaches some impassioned climaxes as some points [4:10-4:35], i love the way Faure quietens down the music ready for the transition back to the opening [5:14+], but it's not a simple restatement and end, Faure adds a sort of coda of sorts onto the end, and there's i guess this sort of epilogue [6:45+], at the very end there's this melody gently rumbled in the bass [7:53-8:03], a great end to a really ingenious piece of piano music.

Here's Nathan Chim playing Faure's Nocturne 4 on YouTube.

Faure - Piano Trio [Beaux Arts Trio]

What an unashamedly little gem Faure's Piano Trio is!, i remember well the day i 'discovered' it, on a walk to Church [17th February 2013], there the first movement truly impressed me, Faure has an underrated way with Chamber music, makes me want to check out his String Quartet too.

The Beaux Arts Trio were active for 53 years, they split up in 2008, this disc was recorded in 1988, the front cover of the booklet shows a superb photograph [by Christian Steiner], a portrait of the trio showing all three instruments, the dark background adds to the highlighting of the faces, look at the lovely browns of that cello!.

So like i said, it was the first movement Allegro that really wowed me, the Piano Trio was a late work for Faure, composed in 1923, maybe a couple of years before he died, and that late Autumn of his life has a feel for the same in this work, Faure got more away from 'nice tunes', and more into the ethereal 'feel' of things, which can be witnessed in his solo piano music, that's not to say that there's a lack of tunes to this work, but i find it hard to whistle late Faure, it sticks in the memory, but i think Faure was mastering the use of rhythms and structure more, there's some great architecture in his music, the first movement is Allegro, but then added 'ma non troppo' = but not too [fast], and that's a key notation, it just wouldn't work if A Trio just zoomed through the piece, there needs to be poise too, i love the way the piano has this superb rippling effect throughout the beginning, while the violin / cello play the melody, and when the piano gets to play a tune itself, it's a stunning little number [1:01-1:21], there's some individual notes that are off the usual highway, and it's these singular notes that really make Faure what he is, there's one early on [1:03], now that's truly inspired, love the way the instruments weave and overlap each other, but basically it's a dialogue between piano and strings, as the movement progresses it has a tendency to get more louder and complex, and it end i guess on a sort of forte.

Here's the Beaux Arts Trio playing the first movement on YouTube.

Faure - Piano Trio [Beaux Arts Trio] 

Now this was a lovely surprise, the Piano Quartet 1 i know fairly well, but this is only the second time i've ever listened to Faure's Piano Trio, and really the first time i've seriously taken note, and what a revelation it is, full of those wry musical ideas that it seems only he can compose, it's only a 21 minute work, but the first movement is a beaut, if it made such a great impression on an early listen, think what it will do ten listens down the road, of course it's only the second time i've listened to this disc, at first i had reservations, as i'm a 'completist', and Faure's Piano Quartets obviously deserve to be issued as a set, i dislike bits of works issued over separate discs, but this doesn't bother me as much as it used to, this is a wonderful delve into some of the most sublime music of Faure.

The Beaux Arts Trio 1955-2008 are one of the most original Piano Trios to have graced the concert circuit, as well as record all the main repertoire on Philips, a model for all other subsequent Trios to emulate, they made this recording in 1988, the front cover picture [by Christian Steiner] is a superb shot of the trio, showing all three instruments, the reddish browns of the strings make a wonderful colour, and the trio are nicely posed, a great visual idea.

It was the first movement that really caught my ear, it transported me away to those wistful moments of i don't know what, but Faure can so much transport you to another world / time, he has such an individual soundworld, the piece starts off as a dialogue between cello and piano, before the violin joins in, it's the piano that seems to fuel the melody and ideas, and there's just the most exquisite tune that the piano plays [1:00-1:21], using the most delicious accidental [1:03], how tunes can hang on one note, and transform the whole piece, sounding like some of his solo piano music, 

Here's the Trio Enescu playing the first movement on YouTube.

Faure - 13 Nocturnes [Jalbert] 

It was only less than i week ago that i played Jean-Philippe Collard's version of these 13 Nocturnes [21st October 2012], and it's enlightening comparing the two, as well as having a double dose of these pieces in quick succession, there were certain lesser known numbers that are really starting to seep into my heart, especially 6 & 12, Faure's Nocturnes are nowhere known as much as Chopin's, it really does take constant listening over many years to really get to know them properly, and also a number of different versions to truly appreciate the different things you can do with these pieces, i played this disc a year ago, and wrote about the experience in my Blog [17th October 2011]. 

David Jalbert is Canadian, he recorded this disc in 2005, 

Faure - 13 Nocturnes [Collard] 

Faure's piano works are certainly underestimated, if you look at his composition titles, he's certainly a Chopin copyist, and certainly Faure gives Chopin a run for his money with his 13 Nocturnes, against Chopin's 21, of course Chopin wins ultimately, but some of Faure's works would grace Chopin's output, especially his early Nocturnes, his later Nocturnes are more subtle, they don't give up their gems so easily, but if you listen carefully they're still there, and this is a nice two box set, again another one of these fatbox sets, a great way to delve into Faure's piano output. 

Jean-Philippe Collard is French, born in 1948, he recorded these pieces in 1973 when he was 25, considering the age of the recording, these sound fantastic, these box sets in EMI's rouge et noir series are fantastic, and the front cover photograph [by Jacques Sarrat], is absolutely fantastic, a simple enough portrait, but superbly in focus, and high quality, well lit, using a dark background it makes Collard really stand out, and the pose is great too, the lettering is coloured differently, which differentiates things nicely, and even the logo adds that perfect finishing touch.

The Nocturnes i enjoyed the most were 1-2 & 4, and even though probably 4 is my favourite, this time around it was the Nocturne One that really impressed me,. 

Here's Faure's Nocturne One being played on YouTube.

Various Composers - Piano Nocturnes [Oppitz] 

An intriguingly titled disc, 'noctune' suggests a recital of Chopin sound-alikes, but rather the theme is probably more 'the night', as some pieces are far from gentle, it's good to have a nice variety, 13 pieces and 13 Composers, working vaguely from earliest composed to latest, a generous 77 minutes of music, ranging from nearly 3 minutes to over 9 minutes, but no Brahms, Prokofiev or Schubert, i like these 'compilations', a disc full of only one Composer can stretch the quality of certain Composers, but it's easy to accommodate the less obvious if you only choose one piece, and it's ideal to play on 'random', never quite knowing what you're going to get next.

Gerhard Oppitz is German, now 59, he recorded this disc in 1993, the front cover photograph [by Alfred Steffen] is excellent, a stunning black and white portrait, especially notable for its deep blacks in the darker end of the spectrum, nice sharp enough picture, and the face caught superbly in one half light, and the other dark, nicely going with the theme of night / day, the left eye is not altogether blacked out, and a nice highlight gives an impression in the gloom, a great visual statement.

Tracks 1, 4-6, 8-9 & 11-13 were the highlights, with track 12, Faure's Nocturne 4 as the standout track, like a Chopin Nocturne, and yet more towards composed by Satie than anyone Polish, there's a gentle simplicity to the piece, 

Here's Faure's Fourth Nocturne being played on YouTube.

Faure - Piano Quartet 1 [Beaux Arts Trio]

It's a shame that the Beaux Arts Trio didn't bring the two Faure Piano Quartets onto one disc, it would have been so much more the logical coupling, but i must admit that the Piano Trio is a lovely work also, i feel that Faure is somewhat of a neglected Composer, seems to be such a long way behind Ravel and Debussy, and yet his Chamber Music is a delight, very individual, and this is a nice disc highlighting two lovely works. 

The Beaux Arts Trio were formed in 1955, and finished in 2008, over 50 years together, only the Pianist Manahem Pressler has been with the Trio the whole time, they recorded this disc in 1988, i like the booklet front cover [by Christian Steiner], a picture that captures all three of the instruments of the Trio, nice dark background which highlights the faces, and the lettering well positioned. 

Wow i enjoyed this, esecially the second movement, somehow i get the feeling Faure took the lead from both Ravel And Debussy's String Quartets, the second movement of each are full of pizzicato, and that's what he uses here, it's a very playful movement, the almost mechanical 'beat' of the opening pizzicato strings are lovely and sonorous [0:00-0:06], and when the piano enters [0:06-0:14], it's with a gorgeous rippling effect, the strings alternate with bowing the tune, and then pizzicato in the background as the piano plays the tune [0:00-0:31], a great first half minute, it sets the tone for the whole movement, 

Here's the second movement being played on YouTube.

Faure - Piano Music [Roge]

Faure's piano music is a grower, it takes time to get into his soundworld, he initially copied the style of Chopin, and with Nocturnes, Impromptus, and Barcarolles, you can see that he's composing in the genre of the master, but later Faure became his own man, his works reach up to over op 120, yet on this disc we have only early Faure, the latest piece is Op44, composed in 1886, yet Faure continued composing until 1924!, so roughly the first third of Faure's composing life, it's his most melodic period, and Roge gives us a nice selection, but don't be fooled into thinking that this is a representative selection of his whole life.

Pascal Roge is French, now 60 years old, being French he has mainly concentrated on the French repertoire, he made this recording in 1989, the recording is a bit blunted, and the front cover [photo by Steve Wallace] is hard to work out what the photographer was trying to portray, certainly of ferns, at first looks like in the snow, but it's so ambiguous, a better picture could have been chosen.

On this recording it's the Nocturnes i really enjoyed, especially 1-2 & 4, the Fourth is a favourite of mine, since hearing it on a Gerhard Oppitz recital disc, but this time listening i was drawn to Nocturne 2, 

Here's Eriko Ogura playing the Second Nocturne on YouTube.