Romantic Discoveries Recordings

Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 9
Piano Sonata no. 2 “Nordic”, op. 75 • Die Harzreise, op. 77 • Galante Musik, op. 109 • Aus vergangenen Tagen – Ballade, op. 49 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD119

Total time: 76 minutes 46 seconds

1. Piano Sonata no. 2 in F major, op. 75 “Nordische”
i. Un poco sostenuto – Un poco allegro ii. Adagio mesto – In the dark, heavy tone of a Nordic Ballade iii. Poco allegro agitato
“I caught sight of a picture: a rainbow, less glaring than the sun, shines in subdued light; but it should only sparkle and never serve as a bridge to fate, for this only emerges from the human breast.” – – Friedrich Hebbel

2. The Harz Journey (after Heinrich Heine), op. 77
i. Ilsefälle ii. Goslar iii. Mountain Tale iv. Witches’ Ride v. Evening bells of the herd vi. Procession of the Gnomes vii. The last Sunday

3. Galant Music, six pieces, op. 109
i. Praeludium – Un poco Allegretto, quasi Andantino mosso ii. Sarabande – Tempo lento e solenne della Sarabanda iii. Gavotte – Tempo di Gavotta, molto moderato – Musette I iv. Gigue – Vivo v. Menuet – Tempo di Minuetto (Allegro moderato) – Musette II vi. Rigaudon – Vivo e giocoso

4. From bygone days – Ballade, op. 49

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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Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 8
Bali, op. 116 • Ilsenberger Sonata (Piano Sonata no. 11), op. 150 • Silhouetten, op. 47 • Modern Dance Suite, op. 115 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD118

Total time: 77 minutes 42 seconds

1. Bali – Visions and pictures from the Far East, op. 116 (34:59)
i. Solitary Rice-Field ii. Idyllic Landscape iii. Temple fanned by the morning-breeze iv. Procession of Sacrificers v. Dead calm at noon vi. Adinda’s Dance vii. Cockfight viii. Nocturne (Duet in the night) ix. The Porters’ March x. The Waterfall

2. Ilsenburger Sonate (Piano Sonata no. 11), op. 150 (13:08)
i. Allegretto espressivo ii. Burgmusik – Moderato alla marcia iii. Allegro con spirito

3. Silhouettes; enjoyable musical pictures after words by Theodor Storm, op. 47 (13:05)
i. Präludium – Enjoy your work! – Moderato ii. Allemande – Flowers at the window – Molto moderato e tranquillo iii. Courante – The little grandmother – Moderato iv. Sarabande – The love letter – Sostenuto v. Basso ostinato – Autumn sunshine – Sostenuto, in modo malinconico vi. Arietta – The little demoiselle – Andantino grazioso ed amoroso vii. Siciliano – Italian landscape – Molto moderato viii. Scherzino-Canon – The goat team – Vivace, ma non troppo ix. Menuett – A dainty little dancer – Tempo di Minuetto x. Rigaudon – The gallant French – Marcato e giocoso

4. Moderne Tanzsuite, op. 115 (16:21)
i. Blues – The minims fairly slow ii. Valse Boston – Tempo di Boston – With a graceful and weary elegance iii. Tempo di Charleston – Allegro moderato alla burla – With grotesque humour iv. Tango – Tempo di Tango (Andante patetico ed elegiaco) v. Negertanz – Negro Dance – Giocoso con spirito e sempre ben accentuato – With a childlike and naive gaiety
“The attentive reader will now ask: ‘And how do you feel about jazz and new music?’ I want to answer him openly and honestly. I am not so foolish and so narrow-minded as to reject jazz and new music indignantly or wringing my hands. Because I myself have a Modern Dance Suite in forms of jazz and a whole series of tangoes, and I myself have written piano pieces such as the ‘Werfthämmer’, the ‘Spuk am Fleet’ in the Hamburg cycle, the ‘Hahnenkampf’ in the Bali cycle, and those get very close to contemporary music. So I’m neither an ‘old, calcified reactionary’ nor a ‘dumb envy’. I also recognize jazz as a ‘new art’, I give it full justification as a lifestyle and dance style of modern youth, I often find it extremely amusing, and I am also happy about its influence on German symphonic music, which is often so frighteningly frozen in rhythm […]” – Walter Niemann – Mein Leben fürs Klavier, Rückblicke und Ausblicke (1952)

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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Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 7
Piano Sonata no. 6, op. 98 no. 1 • Piano Sonata no. 7, op. 98 no. 2 • Sonatina “Voices of Autumn”, op. 103 • Deutsche Ländler und Reigen, op. 26 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD117

Total time: 68 minutes 6 seconds

1. Piano Sonata no. 6 in D major, op. 98 no. 1 (18:42)
i. Un poco Allegretto ii. Larghetto alla Barcarola – In schwüler Mittagstille auf dem Wasser zu singen iii. Moderato ed amabile

2. Piano Sonata no. 7 in E minor, op. 98 no. 2 (14:55)
i. Molto moderato ed espressivo ii. Andantino con Variazioni

3. Sonatina “Stimmen des Herbstes”, op. 103 (10:48)
i. Un poco Andantino ii. Fughetta. Un poco Andante tranquillo e malinconico iii. Molto sostenuto e tranquillo (after “The Fall of the Leafe” by Martin Peerson (c.1571-1650) and the Dies Irae)

4. German Country Dances, op. 26 (23:34)
i. At Boppard on the Rhine ii. Idyl by the Lake of Constance iii. Vienna of Old iv. Suabian Highland Dance v. Slow Tyrolienne vi. In Sleswic-Holstein vii. Bavarian Country-Wake viii. In the Thuringian Forest ix. Westfalian Rustic Dance x. In the Black Forest

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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Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 6
Impressions, op. 112 • Rokoko Suite, op. 148 • Eine kleine Wassermusik, op. 32 • Ein Bergidyll, op. 100 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD116

Total time: 67 minutes 40 seconds

1. Impressionen, six pieces for piano, op. 112 (36:24)
i. Morning Voices ii. Estival Melancholy iii. The Hour of Dusk iv. Love’s Plainting (Grief and Death of Tiny Tse-Fung) v. Carillon (Legend in the manner of an old Dutch Carillon) vi. Gardens in Spring
Introductory Remarks:
‘The “Impressions”, inspirations conceived from Nature or from incidents of human life, originate partly in poems of the German leader of Impressionism, Stefan George, partly in those of Else Bergmann, a poetess belonging to George’s sphere. In character and colouring these “Impressions” correspond with the poems entitled “Morning Voices” (1), “Estival Melancholy” (2), “The Hour of Dusk” (3), and “Gardens in Spring” (6). They are selected from two collections of lyrical poems published by Stefan George under the title of “Der Teppich des Lebens” and “Lieder von Traum und Tod” (“Life’s variegated Tissue” and “Songs of Dream and Death”). The rest, “Tse-Fung” (4) and “Beghina” (5) are poems of Else Bergmann. The pictures of Nature traced by Stefan George do not want any explanation. As to the two poems of E. Bergmann, we may be allowed to add, that Tse-Fung is the name of a young Chinese princess who, on the point of marrying an old mandarin, feels the impossibility to forget her young lover and kills herself, overwhelmed by an invincible melancholy. No. 5 wants to evoke before us the sweet form of a young beguine, who after cruel deceptions finds peace in a beguinage, in Amsterdam, leading there a life of pious resignation and godliness – quite a legendary life. This may be all necessary to be known by him who wishes to conceive the sense of these musical poems.” Walter Niemann

2. Rokoko, Ballet Suite for piano, op. 148a (12:53)
i. Gavotte – Brocade jacket and full-bottomed wig ii. Air – Flute-playing satyr iii. Ballet – Dance of nymphs and dryads iv. Gigue – Little cupids v. Rigaudon en Rondeau – The cavalier and the marquise
“Da standen wir im Grün und in der Sonne und mitten im verwilderten Rokoko ” – Wilhelm Raabe

3. A little water music; three poetic pieces of Dortmund, op. 32 (7:45)
i. The Wiesenbach ii. Along the forest stream iii. The little waterfall

4. Ein Bergidyll; Variations on a shepherd’s tune, op. 100 (10:31)
“From the mysterious pine darkness of the Harz Forest I step onto a high, free mountain path. The blue sea and the mountain tops surround me in serious, melancholic beauty. Over there, on the bare slope, the flock grazes, and the shepherd blows a simple tune.” – Walter Niemann

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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Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 5
Piano Sonata no. 3 “Elegiac”, op. 83 • From Watteau’s Era, op. 18 • The House with the Golden Scales, op. 145 • Summer night on the river, op. 45 • Messplatz – At the Fair, op. 127 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD115

Total time: 63 minutes 45 seconds

1. Piano Sonata no. 3 in D minor, op. 83 “Elegische” (28:25)
i. Moderato e serioso ii. Scherzo fantastico – Allegro marcato iii. Aria – Un poco sostenuto e doloroso – Larghetto languido iv. Un poco Allegro, ma non troppo

2. Aus Watteau’s Zeit – Rococo-Gavotte, op. 18 (5:59)

3. Das Haus zur goldenen Waage – 1618. Miniature Suite in the olden style for piano or harpsichord, op. 145 (11:38)
i. Allemande -Poco Andantino ii. Courante – Allegro scherzando iii. Sarabande – Andante molto espressivo e tenuto iv. Gigue – Vivace
“As escort:
‘The House of the Golden Scales’ stands near the Dom in old Frankfurt and its magic fascination leads us straight back to the 17th century and shows us the dwelling house and business premises of a wealthy Dutch merchant. Such a house, indeed, may be seen in all old German towns, as symbolic of a time in which side by side with the bitter affliction of the thirty years’ war in Germany the highest mental and artistic productiveness flourished.” – Walter Niemann (The House with the Golden Scales was destroyed by Allied bombing on 22 March 1944.)

4. Sommernacht am Flusse (Barkarole), op. 45 (5:07)

5. Messplatz – At the Fair, op. 127 (12:25)
i. Bavarian Highlanders ii. The Dutch Waffle Stall iii. Sylvia, the Fortune-Teller iv. Hot Little Sausages! v. The Viennese Pony School vi. The Car Merry-Go-Round vii. Hippodrome viii. The Black Savages ix. The Palace of Illusions x. The Punch and Judy Show xi. The Silhouette Photographer xii. The Flying American Devil

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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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

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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Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 3
Hamburg, op. 107 • Variations on a Sarabande by Froberger, op. 168 • Fantasies in the Bremen Ratskeller, op. 113 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD113

Total time: 73 minutes 43 seconds

1. Hamburg – a cycle of thirteen character-pieces, op. 107 (34:55)
i. The Harbour – Forging in the Dockyard ii. Ghosts – Night on the Fleet iii. The Old Home – Once upon a time… iv. A Dispute – between three stockbrokers v. Sailors – Norwegians weighing anchor vi. A.D. 1600 – The Pavan of His Reverence the Senator vii. Brahms – The house where he was born viii. Old Michael – St. Michael’s Church ix. A Barrel Organ – grotesquely out of tune x. The Lantern – Childrens’ dance xi. St. Pauli – Tango xii. Moonlight – on the Alster xiii. Hymn – Outlook
“This work is not only intended to appeal to people born and bred in Hamburg, nor to those well acquainted with the place, but also to any others who can appreciate an attempt at a “Characteristic Picture” of a large City, such as Hamburg, through the medium of a musical composition. The term “Characteristic Picture” describes at once the design and form of the work, which consists of a series of pieces chosen with an eye to their suitability to express, as nearly as is possible in music, the character of Hamburg’s manifold beauties, its great historic and artistic past, and some of its artistic features, or as we used to say: with a view to topography, history and folklore. The Composer’s aim was to produce as homogeneous a musical portrayal of Hamburg life as possible, and he hopes that, since love for his native city guided his pen, he may to some extent have succeeded in his purpose.” – Walter Niemann, Foreword

2. Variations on a Sarabande by Johann Jacob Froberger (1616-67), op. 168 (11:42)

3. Phantasien im Bremer Ratskeller, a cycle after Wilhelm Hauff, op 113 (27:01)
i. Ill Humour ii. Rainy Night iii. Bacchus’ Procession iv. Old Rose’s Saraband (about 1600) v. Roland the Giant vi. Old Song (about 1500) vii. The Twelve Apostles viii. How the Devil takes the Old Cellarer ix. The Morning (The Awakening – It is striking six – Finale)

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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Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 2
Pompeii, op. 48 • Suite after words by Hermann Hesse, op. 71 • The Magic Book, op. 92 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD112

Total time: 68 minutes 36 seconds

1. Pompeji – ten piano pieces, op 48 (25:11)
i. Bright Summer Morning – Prelude ii. The Egyptian Priests go to the Temple of Isis – Solemn March iii. Cupid and the Butterfly – Scherzino iv. Roses for the Beloved – Romanze v. A Sicilian tells the Fishermen Fairy Tales – Intermezzo vi. Pastoral Poem – Eclogue vii. The Saga (Witch) of Vesuvius – Ballade viii. Evening on the Campanian Sea – Barcarolle ix. Dance of the Nereids x. Before the Statue of the Sphinx – Nocturne

2. Suite after words by Hermann Hesse, op 71 (new, revised edition) (16:52)
i. Präludium – Un poco vivace ii. Scherzino – Vivacissimo iii. Arietta – Poco Adagio iv. In moto perpetuo – Vivo, ma non troppo
“From the lighted windows of the garden house came piano music. It flowed weakly, muffled, through the red curtains of the open windows, together with the warm glow of the lights, and flew joyfully and lightly over the wide stone steps of the park entrance, over roses and jasmine. Becoming very light and quiet, the graceful music flew sideways through the twilight roundabout and over the park paths into the deeper darkness of the beech thicket. There the yellowest bars with the fluttering last waves of the floral scent scattered gently and swaying apart, lost themselves in the blackness of the massive foliage, in the mildly transparent blue moon of the sky, in the loose, undisturbed, swaying calm of the warm night.” Hermann Hesse, June Night.

3. Das Magische Buch; six phantasmagoria, op. 92 (26:28)
i. Kolibri – Hummingbird ii. The Coral Tree iii. On the banks of the Sacred Ganges iv. Caravan in the Desert v. Sacred Dance in Elysium vi. The Silver Cascade

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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Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 1
Gartenmusik, op. 117 • Kleine Suite, op. 102 • Kleine Marburger Sonate, op. 162 • Transcription of Handel’s Pastoral Symphony • Two Sonatinas, op. 152 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD111

Total time: 66 minutes 15 seconds

1. Gartenmusik, after a text by Oscar Wilde, op 117 (14:27)
i. Allegretto moderato ed amabile ii. Andante tenuto e molto tranquillo iii. Moderato e liquido

2. Kleine Suite (Suite miniature), op 102 (15:44)
i. Praeludium ii. Tempo di Minuetto iii. Tempo di Tango iv. Elegia v. Alla Marcia fantastica vi. Basso ostinato vii. Postludium

3. Kleine Marburger Sonate (Piano Sonata no. 12), op 162 (15:45)
i. Allegro amabile ii. Poco adagio notturnale iii. Moderato con moto – Im behaglichen Wanderton

4. George Frederick Handel (1685-1759): Pastoral Symphony from “Messiah” transcribed for piano by Walter Niemann (2:45)

5. Sonatine op 152 no. 1 “Forest Music” (10:04)
i. Moderato espressivo – Easy going and graciously ii. Short Ballad – Andantino mosso iii. Rondino – Allegro non troppo, ma con anima – With good humour

6. Sonatine op 152 no 2 “Country Music” (7:18)
i. Poco allegretto giocoso e rusticale ii. Alla Musette – Allegretto moderato iii. Alla Giga – Vivo e giocoso

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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Piano Music of Heller Nicholls (1874-1939), Cuthbert Harris (1870-1932) and Ernest Austin (1874-1947)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD110

Total time: 70 minutes 6 seconds.

(WILLIAM) HELLER NICHOLLS
1. Alsatian Echoes (9:52)
i. The Old Gateway ii. In the Cathedral iii. Flight of Storks iv. La belle ville Strasbourg – Alsatian Melody v. Mont St. Odile
2. Evesham Vale: Suite for pianoforte (12:23)
i. The Abbey Tower ii. On the Avon iii. Plum Pickers’ Dance iv. Apple Blossoms v. A Walk in the Fields
3. Changing Moods (4:45)
4. In the Wood; three pieces (7:56)
i. Swaying Trees ii. Night iii. Running Water

CUTHBERT HARRIS
5. Poetic Pictures (11:34)
i. Memories ii. The Wreck iii. The Angelus iv. Evening Shadows v. An Old Minster vi. Prelude
6. Moonlight (3:05)
7. Five Impressions for pianoforte (8:36)
i. The Sea ii. In a Swiss Valley at Night iii. The Faun iv. The Setting Sun v. In Shady Woodlands
8. Toccatina (2:07)

ERNEST AUSTIN
9. English Pastorals, op. 43 (9:27)
i.In Sun-Lit Forest Glades ii. A Quiet Valley iii. Sunset Harmonies iv. On the Hilltops

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