Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 4
The White House, op. 80 • Piano Sonata no. 4 “Franconian”, op. 88 • Little variations on an old Irish folk song, op. 146 • The Cheery Music-Master, op. 123 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD114
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Total time: 66 minutes 13 seconds
1. Das weisse Haus (Herman Bang) a cycle of twelve small character pieces for piano, op. 80 (23:56)
Spring: i. Once upon a time…ii. Childrens’ games in the garden iii. The girl with the golden hair || Summer: iv. The old aunts come to visit v. Summer evening vi. Roses in the garden house || Autumn: vii. Last escort viii. The grape harvest ix. Ghosts || Winter: x. Shepherds’ music for Christmas xi. Winter twilight xii. Puppet theatre
“Weisses Haus, du weisses Haus meiner Kindheit” – Herman Bang
2. Kleine Sonate (Piano Sonata no. 4, “Fränkische”), op. 88 (15:29)
i. Amabile, ma moderato con moto (In deutscher Waldesseligkeit) ii. Tempo di Minuetto lento ed un poco solenne iii. Vivo e giocoso
3. Little Variations on an old Irish folk song (Lilliburlero by Henry Purcell (1659-95)), op. 146 (5:52)
4. Der Lustige Musikmeister, 23* Kinderstücke in progressive order, op. 123 (20:48)
i. The ice cream seller ii. The policeman directs the traffic iii. Crash! There lies the soup-tureen iv. Happy Anna v. Baby learns to walk vi. Pietro plays the bagpipe vii. Weekend in the country viii. The male-voice quartet sings a serenade for Father ix. School is out! x. The little flower-sellers xi. Annemarie’s new hat xii. The little lift boy xiii. Let’s play “Visitors”! xiv. Uncle Theo repairs his car xv. The first cigarette xvi. Come, give me a swing! xvii. Susanna learns the Tango xviii. Console me! xix. Who will win the race? xx. The bath on Saturday night xxi. The two clowns xxii. The scamp xxiii. The neon signs
*The cycle formerly consisted of 24 pieces, however the New Edition of 1939 omitted the original fourteenth piece.
Our thanks go to Nicolo Figowy and Steffen Herrmann for their generous loan of scores.
Walter Niemann was regarded in 1927 as “the most important living piano composer who knows how to make music from the piano in a subtle and colorful way, although he often enters the field of salon music” (H. Abert, Illustrated Music Lexicon). This most sensitive and introverted master of the piano devoted his life to composition and musical scholarship, also performing his music in concerts and radio broadcasts. Niemann’s vast output for the piano is only now starting to become more widely known. Although his style is generally unashamedly conservative, he was one of the very few German composers to explore Impressionism in music, and this also reflected a fascination with the Far East. Elsewhere, Niemann’s imagination takes us from much Baroque recreation to large-scale epic sonatas, Schumannesque miniatures and even the exploration of early jazz styles. His understanding of the capabilities of the piano was complete, and his works include both collections for young pianists and mature works that exploit the full range of pianistic effect and make significant demands on the performer.
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