Romantic Discoveries Recordings

Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 23
Before the forest smithy • Six Rondinettos, op. 130 • The Yellow Tango • From a little city, op. 154 • Variations on an old English minuet, op. 118 no. 1 • Masks, op. 59 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD133

Total time: 60 minutes 48 seconds

1. Vor der Waldschmiede (published 1907) (3:50)

2. Six Rondinettos, op. 130 (8:47)
i. Amabile con moto, in modo pastorale ii. Allegro alla caccia ii. Moderato con moto e un poco malinconico iv. Amabile con moto v. Giocoso con moto vi. Allegro liquido

3, Der gelbe Tango (1933) (3:55)

4. Aus einer kleinen Stadt, op. 154 (after Wilhelm Raabe’s “Das Horn von Wanza”) (10:34)
i. The little city ii. The old gate iii. The peasant jug iv. Dance in the old patrician house (17th century) v. The worthies in the “Great Bear” vi. The little river in front of the city vii. Night and watchman’s call

5. Variations on an old English minuet (Theme (Minuet) from Sonata VIII by Thomas Augustine Arne (1710-78)), op. 118 no. 1 (7:07)

6. Masken, a cycle of twenty little character pieces, op. 59 (26:21)
i. Praeludium in Schumann’s style ii. Chinese Mandarin iii. Coquette iv. The Spanish Woman v. Johann Strauss vi. Louis XIV vii. Russian Folk Dances viii. The Timid One ix. German Girls x. Winter xi. Tarantella dance xii. Debussy xiii. The Jolly Dutch Gentleman xiv. The Black Larva xv. Grieg xvi. Biedermeier xvii. The Irascible One xviii. The Swiss Milkmaid xix. Italian Pipers xx. To End

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.