Friedrich Gernsheim: Piano Music Volume Two
Friedrich Gernsheim (1839–1916), born in Worms, on the Rhine, grew up to be one of the most formidable musicians of his age: composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. Even as a teenager, Gernsheim was attracting attention as a virtuoso-composer, earning comparisons with Mozart. The works here document the emergence of his own musical personality, from an early sonata, which has a Mozartian opening and a Beethovenian slow movement, via a dalliance with Schumann, until he reaches a mature style comparable to Brahms in its emotional range and depth.
Jens Barnieck, piano
Listen To This Recording:
-
Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor (1853)
- I Allegro agitato
- II Adagio
- III Finale: Allegro assai
- Adagio – Vivace ed agitato – Adagio
- Vivace e con brio
- No. 1 Idyll: Lento e sostenuto
- No. 2 Capriccio: Allegro agitato
- No. 3 Legende: Andante molto espressivo
- No. 4 Impromptu: Allegretto grazioso e giocoso
- Fantasie in G minor, Op. 27
- Geschwind-Marsch in C major
Romanze in F sharp major, Op. 15 (publ. 1869)
Capriccio in E minor (publ. 1883)
Vier Klavierstücke, Op. 61 (1895)
Fantasie in G minor, Op. 27 (publ. 1872)
Geschwind-Marsch in C major (1845 or 1846)
FIRST RECORDINGS
WTJU :
‘Barnieck’s performances are just as satisfying as they were with volume one of this series.
Gernsheim began composing around the time of Mendelssohn and continued through the era of Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler. Barnieck adjusts his playing accordingly. […]
There’s plenty of original material here to satisfy the listener. Well, at least this listener. I’m looking forward to auditioning volume three.’
—Ralph Graves, WTJU