Romantic Discoveries Recordings

Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 18
Voices of the Wood, op. 184 • Bunte Lampions, op. 186 • Valse-Impromptu, op. 183 • The Spring Morning, op. 167 • Ciacona – The Church Window, op. 169 • Pavane and Gavotte, op. 108 • Three Poetical Waltzes op 182 • Christmas Bells, op 129 • Präludium, Menuett and Capriccio, op. 133 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD128

Total time: 78 minutes 53 seconds

1. Waldweben, op. 184 (4:16)

2. Coloured Lanterns; 12 little pictures from old China (inspired by A. Gervais’ “A doctor experiences China”), op. 186 (20:03)
i. Merry journey in the sedan chair ii. Garden in the evening iii. The stumbling lantern-bearer iv. Fog over the city v. Inn vi. Curved roofs vii. Twilight viii. Rickshaw coolies in the rain ix. Distant voices of the city by night x. Theatre xi. Junks xii. Farewell to China

3. Valse-Impromptu, op. 183 (2:54)

4. Der Frühlingsmorgen, eight little flower-pieces, op. 167 (13:32)
i. Tulip ii. Violet iii. Daffodil iv. Pansy v. Hyacinth vi. Liverwort vii. Wallflower viii. Cowslip
“Fragrant in pure blue, the early red melted like silver And the garden was already glowing sunnier with coloured ropes” – Johann Heinrich Voss

5. Ciacona – Das Kirchenfenster, op. 169 (5:04)
“…pure church windows in which the colours of the rainbow have become images of saints” – Felix Timmermanns, Das schöne Lier

6. Pavane and Gavotte, op. 108 (7:52)
i. Pavane (In memory of my parents) – Un poco largamente lamentoso ii. Gavotte

7. Drei poetische Waltzer, op. 182 (7:44)
i. Blue Syringa ii. Coloured Asters iii. Vetches and Convulvulus

8. Weihnachtsglocken (Christmas Bells); little variations on an English air by Matthew Camidge (1795), op. 129 (5:30)

9. Präludium, Menuett and Capriccio, op. 133 (11:39)
i. Präludium (Allegro marcato) ii. Menuett (Tempo di minuetto) – Musette (Poco più mosso) iii. Capriccio (Allegro non troppo, ma marcato)

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.