Zdeněk Fibich - Moods, Impressions & Souvenirs (William Howard)

Information

Composer: Zdeněk Fibich

• (01) from Moods, Op. 41 Part I
• (12) from Impressions, Op. 41 Part II
• (31) from Souvenirs, Op. 41 Part IV

William Howard, piano
Date: 1995
Label: Chandos
https://www.chandos.net/products/catalogue/CHAN%209381

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Review

Not all art is immortal. Nor should it be. Although all art is the inspired creation of a moment, not all moments are eternal. Some moments are transitory and some art embodies those evanescent moments, and when those moments are gone, the art is evaporates.

The Moods, Impressions & Reminiscences of Zdenek Fibich have gone and his art has evaporated. While some listeners might argue that Fibich's symphonic works are his more ambitious and more substantial works, others would insist that they are merely longer and louder works. But few listeners would argue that Fibich's piano miniatures, the musical diaries of his erotic life, are monuments meant for the ages. As William Howard demonstrates in this fine 1995 Chandos recording, Fibich's Moods, Impressions & Reminiscences enshrine experiences that are ecstatic, despairing, sensual, sentimental, and sometimes very, very sexy, but they are rather intimate. Chopin's piano miniatures have all the same qualities of Fibich's, but Chopin's music transcends the transitory for the eternal because it incarnates rather than embodies its evanescent moments. Fibich's music is music of an erotic moment, music meant for instant gratification and not to last longer than the moment that inspired it. By the mid-'90s, Chandos' sound had mellowed, losing its hard edge and gaining weight and depth.

-- James Leonard, AllMusic

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Zdeněk Fibich (21 December 1850 – 15 October 1900) was a Czech composer of classical music. Fibich studied piano with Ignaz Moscheles and composition with Salomon Jadassohn and Ernst Richter. Fibich is far less known than either Dvořák or Smetana, partly because during the rise of Czech nationalism, he was living within the Habsburg Empire. Fibich's instrumental works were generally written in the vein of the German romantics. The bulk of his operas are in Czech, although many are based on non-Czech sources. In his chamber music, Fibich makes use of Bohemian folk melodies and dance rhythms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zden%C4%9Bk_Fibich

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William Howard is established as one of Britain’s leading pianists, enjoying a career that has taken him to over 40 different countries. His performing life consists of solo recitals, concerto performances, guest appearances with chamber ensembles and instrumentalists. In 1983 he founded the Schubert Ensemble, with which he performed for the full 35 years of the Ensemble’s existence. As soloist and chamber musician he can be heard on over 40 CDs, released by Chandos, Hyperion, ASV, NMC, Collins Classics, Black Box, Champs Hill, Nimbus and Orchid Classics.
https://www.williamhoward.co.uk/

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