Gerard Schurmann: Music for Violin and Piano
The Anglo-Dutch composer Gerard Schurmann, born in the East Indies in 1924 and based in the USA since 1981, first made his mark in Britain in the 1940s and '50s, as a pianist and composer, particularly of chamber music and, later, of film scores. His concert output is intense, passionate, tightly argued and charged with energy, but also infused with lyricism, as these four pieces demonstrate.
Alyssa Park, violin
Mikhail Korzhev, piano
Listen To This Recording:
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Duo for Violin and Piano (1982t83)
- I. Intrada: Lento appassionato
- II. Ditirambo: Allegro molto
- III. Notturno: Adagio tranquillo ed espressivo
- IV. Burlesca: Presto
- V. Alba: Largo
- Theme – Tranquillo
- Variation 1 – Poco animato
- Variation 2 – Tempo come primo
- Variation 3 – Allegro molto
- Variation 4 – Presto
- Variation 5 – Andante cantabile
- Variation 6 – Moderato
- Variation 7 – Con moto
- Variation 8 – Vivace
- Variation 9 – Moderato
- Variation 10 – Allegro
- I. Andante con moto
- II. Arietta
- III. Allegro
- IV. Moderato
- I. Cumulonimbus: Maestoso
- II. Summer Rain: Allegro capriccioso
- III. Becalmed: Lento, calmo ed espressivo
- IV. Undersun: Allegro maestoso – Presto
Leotaurus: Theme and Variations for Piano (1974t75)
Autumn Leaves for Violin and Piano (2007)
Contrasts for Piano (1972t73)
The Guardian :
‘This Toccata collection of works for violin and piano and piano alone, neatly played by Alyssa Park and Mikhail Korzhev, is a reminder of the craftsmanship that characterises Schurmann’s music, and of his slightly brittle Stravinskyan style. Both the solo piano cycles, the theme and variations of Leotaurus and Contrasts, come from the mid-1970s, before Schurmann’s move across the Atlantic, while the Duo, the biggest, most impressive score here, was the first thing he composed after he settled in Los Angeles, and Autumn Leaves dates from 2007.’
—Andrew Clements, The Guardian
Fanfare Magazine :
‘While only tonal in a highly attenuated sense, Schurmann’s musical language never leaves listeners without clearly identifiable musical processes upon which to fasten their attention, and music so involving tends to pass very quickly — Schurmann’s certainly does. In Park’s and Korzhev’s poetic yet strong-minded performances, captured in clear recorded sound, the music reveals a great deal of fancy despite its rigor, and its shifting moods should provide a beguiling hour for almost any listener.’
—Robert Maxham, Fanfare Magazine
MusicWeb International :
‘Outstanding performances are allied to finely judged recordings, and a predictably first class booklet note. The results are hugely satisfying.’
—Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International
Tempo :
‘It seems unbelievable that such distinguished music (some of it composed 40 years ago) should have had to wait until now to be committed to disc: all are première recordings. The recording not only indicates that the artistes have risen to the technical and interpretive challenges posed by these works, but discovered in concert presentations that this music (which is not only highly individual but contemporary in outlook) directly communicates with an ‘immediate warm response’ both during and after performance. Quite an achievement.’
—Tim Mottershead, Tempo February 2013