Werner Heinrich Schmitt: Piano Works, Chamber Music and Songs

7 reviews for Werner Heinrich Schmitt: Piano Works, Chamber Music and Songs

1. Fanfare :

   ‘The reader is offered here an engaging recital of vocal, solo piano, and chamber music by a newcomer, albeit a very worthy one, to the pages of Fanfare. While his music is quite tonal, he has created a very personal style that successfully juxtaposes moods of captivating introspection with those of considerable drama. This quality is evident from the very opening strains of a song cycle, Four Songs on Poems of Hermann Hesse, […]. The scoring is unusual and highly effective as it undergirds the mezzo-soprano with a piano quintet, sometimes restricting the accompaniment solely to either the string quartet or piano but employing the full ensemble for the powerful climactic points. […]

   In these song settings, Schmitt has allowed the poem being set to dictate the structure of the music, a device I find most effective. The first of the cycles was written at the request of the singer, Anke Vondung, who brilliantly brings both cycles to life here. […] Her ability to float higher notes is particularly impressive, and her vocal production is nothing short of glorious at every dynamic level. […]

   In each of these pieces, the composer proves himself a master of effective piano writing, even in the simplest passages. They all sound very pianistic, and I expect other pianists will take them up: they must be as rewarding to perform as they are to listen to. Their style is quite consistent within the ambit of neo-Romanticism, perhaps even a bit more so than the chamber and vocal works. […]

   Aria (1998), a work for cello and piano, has the cello spinning out a lovely melody elaborated by quick gestures in the upper register of the piano. The effect is truly about as gorgeous as music gets. Volo (1998), for clarinet and piano, is quite playful, but includes a lovely and somber interior panel. The work is an utter delight to the point that any clarinetist who hears it will immediately want to add it to his or her repertory. […]

   Schmitt’s artistry in the piano parts proves him an exponent of the first rank on his chosen instrument. His colleagues on piano, cello, and clarinet are likewise masters of their respective instruments, and these performances are exquisitely satisfying. There are not many composers who are entirely self-taught who have achieved the impressive results of Werner Heinrich Schmitt. Any reader who desires to hear music that is at once tonal, profound, and original will be well advised to acquire this Toccata release. Nothing less than total enjoyment will ensue.’

   —David DeBoor Canfield, Fanfare

2. Fanfare :

   ‘[Schmitt’s music is] rich, expressive, and highly communicative music. […]

   Vondung is superb, mesmerizing in her traversal of Schmitt’s wide-ranging and intense settings. The Clara Schumann Quartet and pianist Christoph Berner are expert collaborators in the Hesse cycle. The composer is the gifted pianist in Memoriae and all the remaining works. […]

   All of these works are melodic, texturally rich, and brimming with rhapsodic exuberance. […] . I greatly enjoyed this recital. Werner Heinrich Schmitt is a gifted composer whose works command and deserve attention. Recommended.’

   —Ken Meltzer, Fanfare

3. Fanfare :

   ‘This is impressive. […] The four Hesse Lieder, which open this CD, suggest nothing less than a German Britten, but with a more romantic spirit. With those songs, you are drawn into a program that is most gratifying. […]

   The Aria for cello and piano is very affecting, and Volo for clarinet and piano, less introspective than much of the other music on this program, is music that soars. Soloists Adami and Valotta are excellent.

   It is not surprising that Schmitt composes idiomatically for the piano. […] mezzo-soprano Anke Vondung sings these two sets with a glorious voice and emotional involvement […].

   Do give this new CD a listen and show your support for an honest-to-God composer who deserves it.’

   —Raymond Tuttle, Fanfare

4. Fanfare :

   ‘Mannheim-born Werner Heinrich Schmitt’s music is wide-ranging and fascinating. […]

   Schmitt’s settings [of Hermann Hesse] are flexible and sensitive; the intriguing scoring for voice, piano, and string quartet means the composer can add myriad colors, as well as inter-stanza (and even inter-line) instrumental passages of great beauty. […] Mezzo soloist Anke Vondung, who also commissioned the work, performs as if born to sing this music. She captures the anxiety of the second song, “Komm mit,” an invitation to rush “seven long miles” on a “red steed,” the animal vividly evoked on strings. The textures that launch “Wollust” (Desire) are extraordinary; the same anxiety is transformed into urgency and even, then, proto-ecstasy (cruelly curtailed, it turns out). The final song, “Blauer Schmetterling” (Blue Butterfly), is of the utmost beauty, and palpably in the key of B♭ Minor. […]

   Vondung is stunning in her delivery [in Memoriae]. […]

   Etude for piano of 2022, [is] performed superbly by the composer. […]

   Schmitt is, unsurprisingly, his own best advocate [in Aria]. […]

   [In 14 Variations on “Es geht ein dunkle Wolk herein”], the move from one to the other is marked and actually carries a sense of excitement. Where will Schmitt take his material? Certainly, the cloud of the title is an inspiration for the music’s journey. The sheer inventiveness is terrific: if you are looking for a starting point, an “in” into Schmitt’s world, I would suggest beginning with this piece. […]

   Schmitt’s inventive music is eminently worth our time, and one hopes for more recordings soon.’

   —Colin Clarke, Fanfare

5. Fanfare :

   ‘Both song cycles are sung by Anke Vondung, an excellent mezzo-soprano with quite clear diction who effectively projects the texts.

   […] the sound quality is consistent and excellent throughout. If you’re a fan of German late Romanticism and wish for some more music in that style, this disc is for you.’

   —Mark Gabrish Conlan, Fanfare

6. Fanfare :

   … the entire [Memoriae] is moving, especially as performed by Vondung and the composer. The music ranges from intimacy to outbursts of passion, all of it convincingly held together. […]

   This release serves well the purpose of introducing Werner Heinrich Schmitt to a wider audience. I hope that there are more volumes to come in the series. I enjoyed these works as an echo of late Romanticism meeting early modernism, offering attractive elements of both. All the performances are effective and committed, and the recorded sound, despite a wide variety of session dates and venues, is consistently clean and well balanced. Besides Schmitt’s helpful commentary, Toccata provides full texts and translations of the vocal numbers.’

   —Henry Fogel, Fanfare

7. Fanfare :

   ‘This sampling of his music reveals a substantial and talented composer of considerable substance, particularly in the two moving song cycles that bookend this album. The sensitivity and resourcefulness of Schmitt’s aural imagination are confirmed in the chamber and piano pieces heard here. Some are infused with joy, others with sorrow, but they all speak a musical language that aims to speak to the listener directly. […]

   The opening track, the first of songs setting poetry of Hermann Hesse for mezzo-soprano and piano quintet, really grabbed my attention with its lush harmonies and sweep. It is beautifully and passionately sung by the singer who commissioned it, and it was a great way to whet the appetite for more of Schmitt’s music. […] {Anke Vondung} is magnificent in these songs. […]

   Recommended particularly for the vocal selections.’

   —Keith R. Fisher, Fanfare