"Dussek settled in two places in turn, both capital cities and major cultural centres: Paris and London. He arrived in Paris in 1786 and remained there till 1789, when he left in the midst of the turmoil produced by the Revolution, his departure motivated by a justified fear that his close contact with Marie Antoinette could have fatal consequences. Like so many fugitives from the political upheaval in France, he headed for London - but returned to Paris again for the last five years of his life. Dussek spent a full ten years in London, making it the longest period he stayed in any one place. And it didn't take him long to become established as one of the city's most prominent musical personalities. It was here that the four piano sonatas on this disc were written. Dussek's op. 31 consisting of a single sonata framed by two piano trios - appeared in 1795 while op. 35 was published in 1797.
"If Dussek's biography seems to belong more in the 19th century than the 18th, the same is true of his music in many respects. Permeated as they are by heroism and triumphant antitheses, don't the first movements of the C minor and G major sonatas recall the music of Beethoven's middle period? Yet Beethoven had only just published his earliest piano sonatas, op. 2, in 1796, so Dussek can scarcely have been familiar with them. And isn't the first movement of the B-flat sonata reminiscent of Schubert in its rhapsodic approach to sonata form and its fondness for colourful modulations instead of thematic development? Yet 1797 was the year of Schubert's birth! Other features of Dussek's music point even farther into the future: a specific 'salon tone' especially evident in the last movements of op. 31/2, op. 35/1 and op. 34/2 with their hint of Bohemian folk music, takes us into the world of John Field and Chopin, both of whom were to delight Parisian high society with their Polish mazurkas some decades hence. Incidentally, one cannot help but wonder at this stage whether the Paris correspondent of the Leipzig 'Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung,' whose obituary on Dussek is quoted at the beginning of this text, was right to claim Dussek as a German composer without elaborating. For the fact is that the above-mentioned 'salon tone' actually originated in Paris or London rather than in Vienna; and moreover, surprising as it may seem, Vienna was the only major European music centre that the widely traveled virtuoso never visited. We also find a certain casualness about Dussek's compositions which is by no means typically German: consecutive fifths that could easily have been avoided are left as they are, and thematic recapitulations are often robbed of some of their clarity by minor inconsistencies that one can assume to be accidental. I have taken the liberty of doing a little retouching here and there, as I am obviously more pedantic about such matters than the composer... I am also to blame for another alteration to the original: the two movements of the B-flat sonata seem to me to have such a similar rhythm that I have been so bold as to add a brief improvised introduction before the second movement for the sake of variety. Dussek's piano writing is creative in the extreme. In comparison with the clear transparency of pre-1800 Viennese Piano music, Dussek seems altogether modern in the expansive virtuosity and full-voiced character of his writing. We have here a good example of the mutual influence of instrument and perform-er/composer on one another: the pianos of English manufacture that Dussek expressly preferred do indeed allow a much more 'modern' and expansive manner of playing than their Viennese counterparts. Both Dussek's and Clementi's music show clearly the deliberate exploitation of the potential of English pianos. Thus I was particularly fortunate to have the chance to use Jérôme Hantaï's wonderful Broadwood grand for this recording. I should like to offer special thanks to him and also to Christopher Clarke, who restored the instrument and looked after tuning etc. during the recording sessions. I very much hope that the attractive sound of the historic piano will more than compensate the listener for one or two mechanical noises that can be heard in the background.
"Dussek left London in a hurry in 1800, as much to flee his creditors as to abandon his conjugal obligations. He made a provisional home in Hamburg, from where he undertook several concert tours to enable him to live in the extravagant style to which he was accustomed. But he was no longer a youngster, and longed for a regular, comfortable position. In 1804 he got to know Louis Ferdinand, Prince of Prussia, who engaged him both as music teacher and as musical director. The two of them evidently got on famously, with colleague Louis Spohr shaking his head over nightly bacchanalian 'orgies' (sic!)... This indulgent idyll came to an abrupt end, however, when the Prince fell in the Battle of Saalfeld in 1806. Dussek gave him a moving memorial in his 'Élegie Harmonique', the first notes of which quote the 'Consummatum est' from Haydn's 'Seven Last Words.' - Once again compelled to look elsewhere, Dussek eventually made his way to Paris, in the service of Talleyrand. He knew the city well, having spent several years there when younger, although he had moved to London ahead of the Revolution. That explains 'Le Retour À Paris' - though there is another title too. Joseph Woelfl had written a 'Ne Plus Ultra' sonata, which he saw as the last word in technical difficulty. Dussek accepted the challenge and came back with a twinkle in his eye and 'Plus Ultra.' True enough, I had to do quite a bit of practising on the outer movements... But the work has high musical ambitions too: it must be one of the earliest examples of the great romantic sonata. To end at the beginning: recitals began at that time with free prelude playing. Written down after the event, the result is something like the 'Fantasia and Fugue' in F minor, dedicated to his friend J. B. Cramer. The Fugue should be perceived more as an improvisational essay in free-ranging modulation (like most of his contemporaries' piano fugues) rather than polyphonic exaltation. Father Bach would have been amused by it at best..." (Andreas Staier, tr. Clive R. Williams; J. & M. Berridge. From the liner notes.)
Performer: Andreas Staier
1.1. Piano Sonata In B-Flat Major, Op. 35 No. 1: I. Allegro Moderato E Maestoso
1.2. Piano Sonata In B-Flat Major, Op. 35 No. 1: II. Introduzione
1.3. Piano Sonata In B-Flat Major, Op. 35 No. 1: III. Finale. Allegro Non Troppo Con Spirito
1.4. Piano Sonata In G Major, Op. 35 No. 2: I. Allegro
1.5. Piano Sonata In G Major, Op. 35 No. 2: II. Rondo. Molto Allegro Con Espressione
1.6. Piano Sonata In C Minor, Op. 35 No. 3: I. Allegro Agitato Assai
1.7. Piano Sonata In C Minor, Op. 35 No. 3: II. Adagio Patetico Ed Espressivo
1.8. Piano Sonata In C Minor, Op. 35 No. 3: III. Intermezzo. Presto
1.9. Piano Sonata In C Minor, Op. 35 No. 3: IV. Finale. Allegro Molto
1.10. Piano Sonata In D Major, Op. 31 No. 2: I. Allegro Non Tanto
1.11. Piano Sonata In D Major, Op. 31 No. 2: II. Adagio Con Espressione
1.12. Piano Sonata In D Major, Op. 31 No. 2: III. Pastorale. Allegro Non Troppo
2.1. Fantasia & Fugue, Op. 55: Fantasia
2.2. Fantasia & Fugue, Op. 55: Fugue
2.3. Piano Sonata, Op. 64 'Le Retour À Paris': Allegro Non Troppo Ed Espressivo
2.4. Piano Sonata, Op. 64 'Le Retour À Paris': Molto Adagio Con Anima Ed Espressione
2.5. Piano Sonata, Op. 64 'Le Retour À Paris': Tempo Di Minuetto - Scherzo Quasi Allegro - Trio
2.6. Piano Sonata, Op. 64 'Le Retour À Paris': Finale - Scherzo (Allegro Con Spirito)
2.7. Piano Sonata In F-Sharp Minor, Op. 61 'Elégie Harmonique': Lento Patetico - Tempo Agitato
2.8. Piano Sonata In F-Sharp Minor, Op. 61 'Elégie Harmonique': Tempo Vivace E Con Fuoco Quasi Presto
No comments:
Post a Comment