Helen Hopekirk: Piano Music
The Scottish musician Helen Hopekirk (1856–1945), regarded as one of the major concert pianists of her generation, also made a lasting contribution as a piano teacher in Boston after her emigration in 1897. As a composer, she forged an intriguing path by turning to the music of her native country as the wellspring of her creativity: the early pieces can sound like Brahms in the Highlands, and her later works marry Debussyan Impressionism with Hebridean folk-music, to evocative, touching and exhilarating effect.
Gary Steigerwalt, piano
Listen To This Recording:
-
Iona Memories (1902–7)
- Iona Memories: I Wandering
- Iona Memories: II Cronan: A Hushing Song
- Iona Memories: III In the Ruins
- Iona Memories: IV A Twilight Tale
- Romance in A minor
- Serenade in F sharp major
- Five Scottish Folksongs: No. 1 Land o? the Leal
- Five Scottish Folksongs: No. 2 Turn ye to me
- Five Scottish Folksongs: No. 5 Eilidh Bhan
- Sundown
- Serenata Suite: I Maestoso
- Suite for Piano: I Sarabande
- Suite for Piano: II Minuet
- Suite for Piano: III Air
- Waltz in F sharp major
- Two Compositions for Piano: No. 1, Shadows
- Robin Good-Fellow
- Two Tone-Pictures: No. 1, Dance to Your Shadow
- Two Tone-Pictures: No. 2, The Seal-woman’s Sea-joy
Romance in A minor (1885)
Serenade in F sharp major (1891)
Five Scottish Folksongs (1919)
Sundown (1905)
Serenata Suite (1918)
Suite for Piano (1917)
Waltz in F sharp major (c. 1915–20)
Two Compositions for Piano (1924)
Robin Good-Fellow (1922)
Two Tone-Pictures (1929–30)
All First Recordings
MusicWeb International :
‘I have really enjoyed listening to this CD, obviously because of the music but also because the performances and recording are so fine, and are accompanied by an encyclopaedic booklet written by the pianist Gary Steigerwalt and his wife, Dana Muller.’
—Jim Westhead, MusicWeb International
British Music Society :
‘The music is well constructed and thoroughly pianistic […].
Hopekirk’s present champion is the pianist on this disc – Gary Steigerwalt who, in partnership with his wife, Dana Muller, is writing the definitive biography. He is a retired Massachusetts based university music professor and a prize-winning concert pianist; thus the performances are excellent. The 20 page insertbooklet is thoroughly comprehensive.’
—Geoffrey Atkinson, British Music Society
Nineteenth-Century Music Review :
‘Steigerwalt plays with conviction and flair, bringing out melodic and contrapuntal lines and exploiting the rich possibilities of the keyboard, which
Hopekirk herself did so adeptly. […] There is much to commend in this music, and Steigerwalt is a powerful and persuasive advocate.’
—Dorothy de Val, Nineteenth-Century Music Review
Fanfare :
‘The performances by Gary Steigerwalt—who is currently writing what will undoubtedly become the definitive biography of the composer—couldn’t be more committed, skillful, or affectionate, while the program notes written with his wife Dana Muller (who wrote her doctoral dissertation on Hopekirk) are predictably winning and informative. If these devoted first recordings of her piano music can’t spark some interest in this forgotten composer, then nothing will.’
—Jim Svejda, Fanfare
American Record Guide :
‘[Hopekirk] is a discovery worthy of attention . […] The music has a distinguished melodic content, along with a freshness that warms the ears […] All this is extremely well played by the pianist […] fully sympathetic to the music, and currently writing a biography of Hopekirk. Bravo!’
—Alan Becker, American Record Guide
BBC Music Magazine :
‘Toccata Classics has a happy knack for rediscovery, and its CD devoted to the piano music of Helen Hopekirk is a shining example . […] The most attractive works in this collection are in neo-Baroque style: the Suite for Piano and the Serenata Suite. Gary Steigerwalt plays these and everything else with refined expressiveness […].
—Michael Church, BBC Music Magazine