Customer Reviews

César Franck: Piano Music

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It's always difficult to play Franck's two masterpieces, "Prelude, Choral et Fugue" and "Prelude, Aria et Finale", since it is not intended to show off a pianist's virtuosity even though technical demands on him/her are still very heavy. Mr. Hough plays these pieces very nicely. His technique is exceptional (For example, listen to his "Finale". Martellato playing is astonishing.). Also I heard his deep affection to these pieces. However, the best is "Troisieme Chorale" by his own transcription. Even though there are many transcriptions for this Franck's swan song, Mr. Hough's transcription seems to be the most well-written. He utilizes a wide range of keyboards in order it to sound like organ, yet plays this really pianistically. In my personal opinion, this can be sitting next to Bach-Busoni's Chacconne in the history of transcriptions for piano, if Mr. Hough allows to publish this.

The pianism of Stephen Hough is stunning. So said a music magazine - I agree. The music is superb, the playing is superb. Hough's transcription of the 3rd chorale left me speechless - the loud, meaty chords at the beginning have more notes in them than I thought it was possible to play all at once! This is a brilliant recording.

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Concur with the above reviewers.

This is a superb disc on one of the best of the "micro-brewed" classical labels, the British label Hyperion.

Hough's performances are excellent; the recording, quite good.

The piano music of Franck of course is stunning--the first piano music out of Belgium/France to rival Beethoven's.

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Prélude, fugue et variation

Ciccolini (1969)

i. 04'21 ii. 03'15 iii. 03'10--TT: 10'46

Crossely (1993)

i. 05'23 ii. 03'07 iii. 04'15--TT: 12'45

Frohnmeyer (1999)

-------------------------------------TT: 10'57

Paley (1994)

i. 04'52 ii. 03'12 iii. 04'06--TT: 12'10

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Prélude, choral et fugue

Ciccolini (1969)

i. 06'12 ii. 05'40 iii. 06'31--TT: 18'23

Crossely (1993)

i. 05'50 ii. 06'59 iii. 08'25--TT: 21'14

Hough (1996)

i. 04'55 ii. 06'33 iii. 06'54--TT: 18'22

Paley (1994)

i. 04'44 ii. 05'42 iii. 07'22--TT: 17'48

Wass (1998)

i. 04'57 ii. 06'36 iii. 07'34--TT: 19'08

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Prélude, aria et final

Ciccolini (1969)

i. 10'23 ii. 06'35 iii. 06'10--TT: 22'59

Crossely (1993)

i. 09'35 ii. 06'39 iii. 07'05--TT: 23'19

Hough (1996)

i. 08'08 ii. 05'21 iii. 06'14--TT: 19'43

Wass (1998)

i. 07'46 ii. 06'33 iii. 06'57--TT: 21'16

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For those that listen to classical piano music this recording is indispensable. On two grounds: at his best (Prelude/aria/fugue, and the Troisieme Choral), Franck approaches Bach in his implacable, peremptory use of figured bass; and Beethoven in his creation of 'inevitable' music, by which I mean he enlists our unconscious intuition of where he's going, to wonderful effect. He had apparently a sad life mostly. So what! This is glorious music anyway. And in Hough he's found a great kindred spirit, and the organ-ization of the 'troisieme' is technically magical as well. This is one of maybe 20 musical recordings I return to over and over. Get it, life's too short.

When I discovered music of Cesar Franck not that long ago, I got mesmerized by it immediately, not only as a listener, but even more as a piano player. It touched me thoroughly. Who can get bored by those endless spiral-like modulations? I think this CD is a great collection particularly for those who seek new horizons in music. Even though this music is written in 19th century, it's not Liszt, Beethoven, or Tchaikovsky. It's cosmic if you wish. It's sad though the CD lacks a piece that's hard to find anyway: piano version of Prelude, Fugue and Variations in b-mol. Originally written for organ and not demanding technically at all, it's like a cute baby of Franck's - tender and unique.

I could talk more...

There isn't exactly a multitude of Franck piano music on the market. When every new up and coming virtuoso has to again plague us with another Chopin or Liszt sonata, it's refreshing to have a real virtuoso tackle material that is not intented merely for display but is of a more religious, spiritual character. I am talking first and foremost about Franck's Prelude, Choral, and Fugue. As described by one critic in the liner notes, this is the most serious and profound piece of piano music written by a French composer in the 19th Century. I can't claim to have heard every piano piece written by a Frenchman in that span of 100 years but I can't imagine anything on the level of this haunting music.

There is Georges Bizet's Chromatique Variations that Glenn Gould earnestly championed and he made a celebrated recording of it but beyond that I'm not coming up with any ideas. If anyone knows any profound piano music by French composers written in the 19th Century, leave me a comment with your suggestions. I don't consider Chopin to be French, so don't mention him.

Stephen Hough is a serious virtuoso as evidenced by many recordings he has made for Hyperion and Virgin Classics. There have been celebrated recordings of the Prelude, Choral, and Fugue from such masters as Sviatoslav Richter but Hough has the great benefit of modern, digital sound. It is a fabulous performance on par with any ever made and surpassing most. The other big piece Prelude, Aria, and Fugue also gets a ravishing interpretation. The slighter encore type pieces all come off well even though they are in no way memorable. Hough also transcribes three chorals for organ to the piano medium and they work because he is a skilled pianist. The biggest surprise for me was the early and substantial Grand Caprice, which was written in Franck's young man days, a virtuoso piece clearly influenced by Liszt. It is a work spanning more than 13 minutes and it sustains it's length with memorable melodic content which is joyous in nature. I very much enjoyed this Franck CD and it is a marvelous addition to any collection of Romantic piano music. The Penguin Guide called it a most distinguished record indeed. I couldn't agree more.