Customer Reviews

Griffes: Complete Piano Works, Vol. 1

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The music of Charles Tomlinson Griffes has a place in musicians', and especially pianists', hearts out of all proportion to its quantity. Michael Lewin has recorded the complete piano music of Griffes on two CDs, of which this is the first. On this CD there are relatively familiar works, such as the Roman Sketches and Sonata, alongside yet-to-be published rarities, such as a charming transcription of Offenbach's Barcarolle, and a lovely Chopinesque Prelude dating from the young composer's fifteenth year (he was to die, alas, only two decades later).

Getting these rare Griffes items alone makes this disc worthwhile, particularly at the Naxos price. That being said, the playing itself is somewhat uneven. In the impassioned, ferocious late Sonata Michael Lewin's extroverted style fits the music perfectly; elsewhere, in the more delicate numbers his approach seems frequently outsize and clangorous. Still, this disc provides a lot of rare and beautiful music at a bargain price.

Charles Tomlinson Griffes (1884-1920) was, like Schubert, taken from this world way to early. His impressionist style compositions are a match for, while not necessarily mimicking, Debussy, and his Sonata is an extraordinary piece of unique, forward-looking music. He was also something of a rarity in his time - an American composer of highly original talent. Michael Lewin performs Griffes' music with sensitivity and energy. Naxos produces, when one considers the price, some of the highest quality cds money can buy. I highly recommend this selection to all interested in 20th century piano music.

A compendium of Griffes hits. In his too-short life, Griffes wrote an awful lot of piano music for the simple reasons that, as a thoroughly-trained player, he could, that his publisher, G. Schirmer, was willing to take a chance, and that his duties as a more-than-full-time teacher at the Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York, cut into his composing time. Orchestrating and copying out orchestral parts cost him both time and money. I don't believe he ever made money on any of his orchestral works, although his publisher, of course, made scads. The big work is the Piano Sonata, perhaps his masterpiece -- music so individual that we feel Griffes's loss the more keenly because he died before he could further explore this new musical territory. Griffes, of course, gets labeled as an American Impressionist, but I think that slights him, just as the Impressionist label applies only to some of Debussy. Griffes's Impressionist pieces are finely-made, but they're really at the level of something like "The Dancers of Delphi," rather than "Feux d'artifice" and certainly not "En blanc et noir." Michael Lewin does a good job, as good as anybody I've heard, but I've never heard a pianist give these pieces anything anywhere close to their full due.

I ordered this CD on the basis of a few reviews I read, because it was solo piano music by an American composer, and the fact that it was cheap! Maybe I was just expecting something else, but upon listening to it was dissappointed. I don't see how one can say Griffe's compositions rival Debussy's. The variation of tone and colors are a fraction of the great French composer's audio palette. It is music that attempts to sound impressionistic, which defeats the very purpose of impressionism, which is to sound like nothing mannered at all. It is interesting how Griffe composes within the modern idealogue of the piano as percussive instrument, but maybe this is an opinion I formed only because of Lewin's heavy hands. Lewin certainly bangs hard, and though the tone is bright and full, it verges on clangy. His playing just seems anomalous to the music. More subtle playing and dramatic use of the pedals would have been more suitable for what I had in mind. Like I said, maybe I was just expecting something different. I'm gonna keep listening to it until I figure it out or trade it in.

The interpretation of this great music leaves much to be desired. Inability to play romantic legato, especially in chord sections, constant ignoring pianissimo signs, and inability to play anything in a truly expressive manner - all these add to a very pale interpretation. Choice of tempos is poor. The pianist seems to get excited only in forte passages. Even my Bose system did not help.
Or, maybe it is all the fault of Naxos and their microphones?

The piano music of Griffes is very profound. Since the first Sonata you can hear that something great is coming.

My favourite is the Barcarolle Nuit d'Amour (Track 14)

Very romantic music with excellent performance and recording. Another winner for Naxos