Customer Reviews

Sigismund Thalberg: Piano Concerto in F minor

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

 

 

When considering the purchase of this CD it is important to know and understand what this CD is and what it is not. This CD, produced by the budget label Naxos, is a well executed and competently performed rendition of Sigismund Thalbergs's (1812-1871) only piano concerto, and various other piano showpieces. This CD showcases a generous amount of pretty music and more than a few catchy melodies, however this is NOT great music by any stretch of the imagination. Thalberg (pronounced Tal-berg) was Franz Liszt's greatest musical adversary. Equally popular in their own time, they both regularly played to packed audiences and toured throughout Europe. Thalberg in fact was considered by many to be the superior pianist, though history it seems has chosen to overlook that little factoid.

The reason for his lack of recognition today is probably due to the fact that while he may have been the superior pianist, the quality of his work was markedly inferior to the quality of Liszt's. When you compare Thalberg's piano concerto with either of Liszt's, the difference can be heard. On a very fundamental level, Thalberg's concerto is confined, it's very period style work. Ergo it will be popular in its own time, but the minute musical tastes change, the piece will die. Liszt's work does not suffer from this affliction. It is transcendent of time. While Thalberg's concerto is stuck in the romantic era, Liszt's was able to survive changing tastes and go on into our own time.

Also presented on this CD are a few of Thalberg's solo piano works. Preeminent among them is the Souvenirs de Beethoven (Which is over 17 minutes long). And there's not really all that much to be said about either. It's a rather basic piano transcription of Beethoven's 7th. Liszt in fact did his own version of the 7th, which as you can probably expect is superior. The best of the solo piano showpieces presented is without doubt the Canzonette Italienne. It presents the listener with tight composition, and a devilishly catchy melody.

I would now like to reiterate that this is not bad music. It is without doubt the result of a highly skilled performer and a competent if not brilliant composer. Francesco Nicolosi on piano and Andrew Mogrelia leading the Razumovsky Symphony Orchestra do an excellent job in the performance of these works.

While you won't listen to this CD over and over again, you will not dislike it either. The works are all very charming and worth a listen.

Therefore I recommend them

Rembrandt Q. Einstein

Sigismond Thalberg's name in today's view of music history is almost exclusively linked with the great pianistic rivalry he shared with Franz Liszt. But Thalberg's life, influence on the composers around him, and the popularity of his music during his lifetime reveals that he had a far more substantial role in music history. According to Daniel L. Hitchcock, who runs the American Thalberg Society, Thalberg's music, "admittedly more specialized and stylistically limited, is still, as it was then, wholly individual and ingenious--not deserving the neglect it has experienced." This Naxos release explores two major works from Thalberg with some smaller miniatures thrown in for contrast. I feel it deserves five stars for the special first-recorded content and the excellent interpretations given. The performances by the stupendous Francesco Nicolosi, the president of the Thalberg International Study Center, are marvelous and without defects.

Thalberg's Piano Concerto in F minor Op. 5 (written at the age of 18) has, to my knowledge, only been recorded once by the indefatigable Michael Ponti (The Romantic Piano Concerto, Vol.3). I've run a back-to-back listening comparison between the two and I can't really lean towards either, which suggests to me that both renditions have their unique strengths. The Ponti version is certainly distinguished by the orchestra's gusto and Ponti's full-blooded momentum. Nicolosi, though, who has spent more time with Thalberg's music seems more attuned to Thalberg's style. Whereas Ponti works to play louder than the orchestra in a full-blown Romantic abandon, Nicolosi takes a more Classical approach, balancing his immaculate crystalline playing with the dynamics of the orchestra. Apropo of studying with Hummel, Moscheles and Kalkbrenner, Thalberg's piano concerto is startling in its passages of Chopinesque beauty and Hummelian brilliance. While the concerto is not a masterpiece by any means, Thalberg's music is, like Herz or Dreyschock, a wonderful dessert from the concerto repertoire.

The most successful composition on this recording, though, is the fantastically dramatic "Souvenirs de Beethoven," or the Grande Fantaisie on Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. Having heard all of the Naxos and Marco Polo releases of Thalberg's fantasias, I feel this one is his most inventive and rapturous. The introspective Introduction section is almost improvisatory in the way Thalberg tinkers with some of Beethoven's motifs. Following this, Thalberg engages the haunting main theme from the Allegretto of Beethoven's 7th, which sounds just as intense on the piano. Of course, Thalberg takes this music through the usual virtuoso hoops of fancy arpeggios, trills and octave runs. Never, though, is the serious nature of this music compromised for technical effect. The explosive climax towards the end is breathtaking: Thalberg brings in the triumphant first theme from the Finale of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. I think it's more powerful and orchestrally sonorous than even Liszt's transcription of the Finale.

Bottom line: I didn't mention the three miniatures on this recording because they are less important than the epic Souvenirs de Beethoven or the Piano Concerto. The Canzonette Italienne *is* a gem, but the Nocturne and Un Soupir are average. It is with the enchanting Piano Concerto and the titanic Souvenirs de Beethoven in mind that I give this recording five stars. Nicolosi is simply *the* champion of Thalberg's music and his works deserve more attention.

Sigismond Thalberg (1812-1871) is still famous as a rival of Liszt (although they did, apparently, not view themselves as such), and he was surely a superb pianist. He could not match Liszt's compositional skills, however, but his concerto is still a charming and attractive work, well worth the occasional airing (and a sure candidate for the Hyperion Romantic Piano Concerto series). It is an early work, not very original - the companion pieces here are more interesting in that respect - but well-crafted and an excellent vehicle for a virtuousic pianist to show of his or her skills.

Therefore it is a little unfortunate that the performances here are so cautious-sounding. Indeed, the playing sounds for the most time a little flat and uninvolved - there is little of the vitality and energy a work like this so desperately needs, and the whole thing comes across as worthy and forgettable. Interestingly, the solo works come across with much more fire and drama - a little surprising because it doesn't sound as if it is the Razumovsky Symphony Orchestra under Andrew Mogrelia that mainly hangs fire in the concerto. Anyway, the quality of these solo pieces are variable, even if it is all rather charming and easily digested. The sound quality is in fact very good, with a good balance and a fine sense of perspective. Overall, then, this is a worthwhile disc, but I am still waiting for a really satisfactory recording of the concerto.