Marcel Mihalovici: Piano Music
The ‘École de Paris’ was a group of composers from central and eastern Europe who made the French capital their home in the 1920s and ’30s. One of their number was the Romanian Marcel Mihalovici, born in Bucharest in 1898 and based in Paris from 1919 until his death in 1985 – one of the most significant of twentieth-century composers who has yet to receive the recognition he deserves. This first album dedicated to his piano music traces his stylistic evolution, the early blend of French insouciance, echoes of eastern European folk-music and Neo-Classical contrapuntal clarity gradually taking a tougher turn and blending Bartók and Bach. It ends with a monumental passacaglia for the left hand alone, one of the most daunting summits of the piano literature.
Matthew Rubenstein, piano
All Except * First recordings
Listen To This Recording:
-
Sonatine, Op. 11 (1922-23)
- I Allegro moderato
- II Andante semplice
- III Toccata (Vivace)
- No. 1 Con eleganza
- No. 2 Mosso
- No. 3 Andantino e misterioso
- No. 4 Allegro furioso
- Theme: Poco lento (tempo di passacaglia)
- Var. 1: Un poco più mosso
- Var. 2: Andante, non troppo
- Var. 3: Allegro ben ritmato
- Var. 4: Allegro giusto
- Var. 5: Lento sostenuto
- Var. 6: Leggiero, con moto
- Var. 7: Andantino
- Var. 8: Allegretto capriccioso, ma molto ritmato
- Var. 9: Molto vivace
- Fugue: Grave, più tosto moderato
- No. 1 Andantino
- No. 2 Allegro
- No. 3 Lento
- No. 4 Allegro
- I Allegretto piacevole
- II Lento improvisando – e sempre con un sentimento assai barocco
- III Allegro giacoso
- Theme: Grave – Mesto
- Var. 1
- Var. 2
- Var. 3 Semplice
- Var. 4 Espressivo – sognando
- Var. 5 Più mosso
- Var. 6
- Var. 7 Tranquilo
- Var. 8
- Var. 9 Lento senza alcuna espressione
- Var. 10 Più animato
- Var. 11 Mosso subito – virtuoso
- Var. 12 Lento subito
- Var. 13 Stesso
- Var. 14 Vivo (con virtuosità)
- Var. 15 Meno
- Var. 16 Moderato pensieroso
- Var. 17 Calmo, sempre pensieroso
- Var. 18 Liberamente – quasi una cadenza
Quatre Caprices, Op. 29 (1928)
Ricercari, Op. 46 (1941)*
Quatre Pastorales, Op. 62 (1950)
Sonate, Op. 90 (1964)*
Passacaille (pour la main gauche), Op. 105 (1975)
MusicWeb International :
‘Excellently recorded, this is yet another in Toccata’s superior explorations of seldom-explored elements of the repertoire. Mihalovici’s piano music can be a slightly harder nut to crack than his friend Harsányi’s but it’s a nut very well worth cracking. Try it and see.’
—Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International
Classics Today :
‘[…] Matthew Rubenstein makes the best possible case for Mihalovici. He plays with the utmost care, character, rhythmic élan, and timbral variety. Just sample the pianist’s staggeringly precise leaps and unsplintering, well-defined chord work in the Passacaille for left hand, and you’ll hear what I mean. Rubenstein’s piano also benefits from superb engineering. […]
Writer Lukas Nëf’s passionate advocacy on behalf of this composer is everywhere evident his extensive and cogently analytical annotations, prefaced by Charles Timbrell’s touching personal remembrances of the composer and his pianist wife Monique Haas.’
—Jed Distler, Classics Today
Arcana.FM :
‘Does it all work?
It does, not least because Mihalovici is clearly a master at combining different stylistic facets that are more than the sum of their influences. Matthew Rubinstein evidently appreciates this with interpretations of methodical attention to detail, allied to playing of undoubted panache.
Is it recommended?
It is, given that only two pieces had been earlier recorded with only Ricercari easily available. Spaciously defined sound from the fabled Jesus-Christus-Kirche, and detailed notes by Lukas Näf. Hopefully, recordings of Mihalovici’s orchestral and chamber music will prove feasible.’
—Richard Whitehouse, Arcana.FM
Suplimentul de cultura :
‘Exegeza unei muzici rarisim explorate și un portret în filigran magistral interpretat. […]
Între Sonatina op. 11 (1922) și Passacaille op. 105 (1975), albumul magistral interpretat de Matt Rubenstein este exegeza unei muzici rarisim explorate și un portret Mihalovici în filigran. […]
Iat-o, în interpretarea lui Matthew Rubenstein, căruia îi mulțumesc pentru acest disc și cu care mi-aș dori un interviu în viitorul apropiat.’
English translation:
‘The exegesis of a rarely explored music and a filigree portrait masterfully performed. […]
Between Sonatina op. 11 (1922) and Passacaille op. 105 (1975), the masterful album performed by Matt Rubenstein is the exegesis of a rarely explored music and a filigree portrait of Mihalovici. […]
Here it is, performed by Matthew Rubenstein, to whom I thank for this disc and with whom I would like an interview in the near future.’
—Suplimentul de cultura
The New Listener :
‘Wir haben mit der CD also auch die geraffte Darstellung eines Künstlerlebens vor uns. […]
Matthew Rubenstein ist den Stücken Mihalovicis ein sorgfältig ans Werk gehender Sachwalter. Er meistert alle technischen Herausforderungen und gibt den Werken durch fein abgestufte Dynamik und variantenreichen Anschlag ein scharfes klangliches Profil, das die Vielschichtigkeit der Musik deutlich werden lässt. Die Produktion wird abgerundet durch ein außerordentlich umfangreiches Beiheft, bestehend aus einer kurzen persönlichen Erinnerung des Pianisten Charles Timbrell an Marcel Mihalovici und Monique Haas, und eine ebenso ausführliche wie hilfreiche Beschreibung sämtlicher eingespielter Werke durch Lukas Näf. Für die Rezeption Mihalovicis ist diese Veröffentlichung ein großer Gewinn. Möge sie weiteren den Weg weisen!’
English translatin:
‘With this CD, we also have before us a condensed portrayal of an artist’s life. […]
Matthew Rubenstein is a meticulous custodian of Mihalovici’s pieces. He masters all the technical challenges and, through finely nuanced dynamics and varied touch, gives the works a sharp sonic profile that clearly reveals the music’s complexity. The production is rounded off by an exceptionally comprehensive booklet, consisting of a short personal reminiscence by pianist Charles Timbrell of Marcel Mihalovici and Monique Haas, and an equally detailed and helpful description of all the recorded works by Lukas Näf. This release is a great asset for the reception of Mihalovici’s music. May it pave the way for others!’
—Norbert Florian Schuck, The New Listener