Moritz Moszkowski - Piano Works (Etsuko Hirose)

Information

Composer: Moritz Moszkowski

1. Valse, Op. 34, No. 1
2. Hoffmanns Erzählungen: Barcarole
3. Zephyr, Op. 57, No. 4
4. Liebeswalzer, Op. 57, No. 5
5. Isoldes Tod: Schluss Szene aus Tristan und Isolde
6. Étude, Op. 72, No. 13
7. Zwiegesang (Duo), Op. 52, No. 3
8. Die Jungleurin, Op. 52, No. 4
9. En Automne, Op. 36, No. 4
10. Etincelles, Op. 36, No. 6
11. Polonaise, Op. 17, No. 1
12. Guitare, Op. 45, No. 2
13. Caprice Espagnole, Op. 37
14. Carmen: Chanson bohème

Etsuko Hirose, piano

Date: 2020

Label: Danacord

https://www.danacord.dk/frmsets/records/866-r.html

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Review

Paderewski famously said of Moszkowski that ‘after Chopin, [he] best understands how to write for the piano, and his writing embraces the whole gamut of piano technique’. Moszkowski has rather fallen out of fashion, being tonal, graceful, tuneful and undemanding, but Paderewski knew of what he spoke and few pianist-composers of the day rivalled Moszkowski for elegance and charm when it came to writing for the piano.

He has always had his champions – pianists of a certain temperament and skill who cherry-picked their favourites. And it is the recordings by some great names against which Etsuko Hirose must be measured. She is obviously an extremely good pianist with great fingers, and her selection of pieces, almost a ‘Best of Moszkowski’, is an excellent one. But there are problems, firstly with the recorded piano sound: a well-regulated but plummily voiced, closely miked Bechstein in the empty acoustic of the Église Évangélique Saint-Marcel, Paris, and capturing the occasional pedal action (you can almost hear the felt on the hammers). With this and Hirose’s tendency to over-pedal, the essential crispness and delicacy of Moszkowski’s writing is compromised. She gives the impression of wanting to interpret the music and to invest it with a profundity it does not support.

It is an alternative view of the composer, if you will; but listen to the urbane Arthur de Greef in 1929 playing the Valse in E (APR, 7/14) which begins Hirose’s CD, the amazing Ilana Vered in the Op 72 Studies, ‘Guitare’, ‘En automne’ and ‘Étincelles’ – despite the Baldwin piano – on a Connoisseur LP (nla but available on YouTube), and either Josef Hofmann or Stephen Hough in the Caprice espagnole and you will immediately hear what to my mind is the echt Moszkowski.

These comparisons notwithstanding, if anyone wants to get to know this composer’s unique voice, other than Seta Tanyel’s three-volume survey originally for Collins and reissued on Helios, Hirose’s is a rare example of a CD dedicated exclusively to Moszkowski’s solo works – and that is something.

-- Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2020/Mar/Moszkowski_piano_DACOCD866.htm

https://www.amazon.com/Piano-Works-Etsuko-Hirose/dp/B084WLBV3K

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Moritz Moszkowski (23 August 1854 – 4 March 1925) was a German-Jewish composer, pianist, and teacher of Polish descent on his paternal side. Although less known today, Moszkowski was well respected and popular during the late nineteenth century. Among his teachers are Eduard Franck, Friedrich Kiel, and Theodor Kullak. Moszkowski was quite prolific, composing over two hundred small-scale piano pieces, which brought him much popularity. He also wrote larger scale works including two Piano Concertos, a Violin Concerto, three orchestral suites, and a symphonic poem.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moritz_Moszkowski

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Etsuko Hirose (born 1979 in Nagoya) is a Japanese classical pianist. She studied at the École Normale de Musique de Paris with Germaine Mounier, then at the Conservatoire de Paris with Bruno Rigutto and Nicholas Angelich. In 1997, she won first prize in the Martha Argerich competition, which launched her solo career. Since 2008, she has been living in France and regularly returns to Japan to give recitals. Her performances are regularly broadcast, notably on Arte, France 3, France Musique, Radio Classique, and the NHK. She has recorded numerous discs for Denon, Mirare, Warner and Piano21.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etsuko_Hirose

https://www.etsukohirose.com/

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