Schubert: Ländler (Selections). Pierre-Laurent Aimard, pianist. Pentatone PTC 5187034.
"Oh, you artists, see how Albrecht Dürer painted a blade of grass, how Schubert composed a little song! Learn that the smallest shall be the greatest; that two colors, three notes, two right-angles and a circle sufficed for the man who found delight as a humble servant of art!"---Carl Nielsen, "The Fullness of Time," Living Music (1953, trans. Reginald Spink Hutchinson)
Confession time: Franz Schubert is my overall favorite composer. The reason partially involves something I've slowly realized over the years. Ralph Vaughan Williams was right: all truly great music has a popular element. (See his tribute to Sibelius, "Sibelius at 90: Greatness and Popularity.") This notion will make some, the composer-theorist/modernist types prominent among them, wrinkle their noses. But for me it's inescapable. Intellectual and complex stuff is *fine*, but there is simply something next-level about music that has both depth (variously defined) AND wide appeal (or at least the potential for wide appeal). I'm squarely against Arnold Schoenberg's claim that if it is art, it is not for all. So what gives music its "popular" element? This can be elusive, but I believe it's much about being rooted in the elemental impulses of song and dance. And if ever there were a composer whose music you could say this for, it's Schubert. From the smallest miniature to the largest chamber work or symphony, Schubert always seemed to have a tune in his heart. When you add to his appealing melodies an equally rich harmonic imagination, the combination is devastating. I don't think there's a note the man wrote that I don't like.
That very much includes his many collections of small dances for piano. Actually, these are some of the first Schubert pieces I ever encountered. When I was young (pre-internet) and beginning to learn about classical music, I walked into the local music shop and bought the first printed collection of piano music by him that I saw. It happened to be the old Schirmer volume of dances, which I have treasured and revisited ever since. Because they're wonderful pieces, full of the hallmarks of his other works: the winning melodies, the adventurous harmonies, the surprising turns of phrase, the alternating joy and sorrow, and the elegance sprinkled over all. For beginners, they're quite as good an introduction to the composer as anything else he wrote, and they require much less time investment.
The selection of dances here is well chosen. Some of my favorites are D. 365/1 (proto-Schumann?), D. 171/10 (proto-Chopin?), D. 735/8 (so much happening within that tiny span!), and D. 969/10 - one of Schubert's trademark bittersweet pieces. Pierre-Laurent Aimard dispatches them all with the requisite sensitivity and wide range of emotions. Moreover, the helping is suitably robust. By my count this release offers 113 dances from across 12 different collections, spanning Schubert's entire career. Which amounts to approximately 67 minutes of music.
After wading through so much symphonic stuff lately, it feels good to drink from the refreshing spring of Schubert's smallest miniatures. I prescribe the same activity for every listener from time to time.
Highly Recommended
No comments:
Post a Comment