Xaver Scharwenka - Piano Music Vol. 4 (Seta Tanyel)

Information

Composer: Xaver Scharwenka

• (01-04) Four Polish Dances, Op. 47
• (05-06) Zwei Klavierstücke, Op. 65
• (07-12) Six Waltzes, Op. 28
• (13-26) Variations on a theme by C H, Op. 57
• (27-29) Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 86
• (30-31) Zwei Erzählungen am Klavier 'Legends', Op. 5

Seta Tanyel, piano
Date: 1995
Label: Hyperion (Originally issued on Collins14742)
https://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDH55134

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Review

Volume 4 continues Seta Tanyel’s delightful odyssey through the piano works (including concertos and chamber music) of Xaver Scharwenka, as always an intriguing mix of the conventional and exploratory. Chopin’s spirit may hover over the Polish Dances (all four are mazurkas), Brahms over the Waltzes and Schumann over large sections of Opp. 5, 57 and 86, with terms such as langsam-innig or langsam und zart telling their own affectionate tale. Yet by the time Scharwenka reached his Drei Klavierstucke, Op. 86 he felt increasingly free of the past; able to venture into a greater harmonic subtlety, modulatory ease and cunning. The “Nocturne” is more impressionistic than Chopinesque and, after the sprightly “Serenade”, “Marchen” blossoms into considerable expressive richness. The Variations on a Theme by C. H., too, increase in interest and although Vars. 9 and 11 are haunted by Schumann’s Faschingsschwank aus Wien and Davidsbundlertanze respectively, they transform their bias into music of a special distinction and freshness. So, far from scraping the barrel there is much here to surprise and enliven, even if there is nothing as immediately attractive as the Eglantine Waltz and Valse-Caprice (Vol. 1, 9/92); both sufficiently charming to entice even the least susceptible dancer on to the ballroom floor.

Once again Seta Tanyel’s performances are beyond reproach. Strong, sensitive and stylish (her rubato is elegant and subtle rather than heavily personalized or affected) she is warmly sympathetic to treasures and trifles alike. And now I would dearly love to hear her in other, more mainstream repertoire. The recordings, while closer than before, are excellent.

-- Bryce Morrison, Gramophone

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Xaver Scharwenka (6 January 1850 – 8 December 1924) was a German-Polish pianist, composer and teacher of Bohemian-Polish descent. As a pianist, he was a renowned interpreter of the music of Frédéric Chopin and was praised for the beauty of his tone. Scharwenka's own compositions include an opera (Mataswintha), a symphony, four piano concertos, chamber music (all with piano part) and numerous piano pieces. His piano idiom somewhat resembles Schumann and Rachmaninoff. He was the brother of Philipp Scharwenka (1847–1917), who was also a composer and teacher of music.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xaver_Scharwenka

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Born in Istanbul of Armenian parentage, Seta Tanyel studied at the Vienna Hochschule für Musik with Dieter Weber and Bruno Seidlhofer, and in London with Louis Kentner. She was a major prizewinner at the 1973 Beethoven Competition and the 1974 Arthur Rubinstein Competition. Acclaimed as much for her distinguished performances of the core repertoire as for her consistent championing of the works of lesser-known composers, Tanyel has excited much attention from audiences around the world. She has received countless critical accolades for her recordings on the Chandos, Collins Classics and Hyperion labels.
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/a.asp?a=A140

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