Pianophilia

Oswin KELLER (German pianist, teacher, composer; 1885-1961;
pupil of Reisenauer, Zöllner, Jadassohn, Homeyer)

Drei Intermezzi op. 8Ballade op. 10 In both works there is a somewhat strange - though interesting - mix
of old-fashioned and sophisticated more modern harmonic language.
Again a case for our musical judges Dr. H. and fleubis??!!

FW190 wrote:

alfor wrote: Hope you understand what I mean (if so, I would be pleased to know the English term):
http://www.matthies-koehn.de/harmoniele ... stand.html

So far as I known the wonderful German term 'Querstand' is called a 'Cross Relation' in those Anglo-Saxon Dialects.

Thanks for this, and to Alfor for his helpful link. This kind of thing appears as we begin to move away from 19th century harmony and into more modern harmony where such cross-relations are really non-functional under traditional harmonic analysis.

Alfor, these Keller pieces are lovely. As I like longer form pieces, the Ballade quickly grabbed my attention and I find it outstanding. Alas, my poor fingers don't like the 10ths, but have had great fun with it and enjoyed the skillful piano writing. I find the harmony little advanced from Wagner's--but there are some differences. This kind of transitional harmony as we move forward into the non-functional harmony of the 20th century is endless fascinating to me. The harmonic developments and the experiments in it by various composers moving forward is a book waiting to be written, but there are so many variables it probably never will be. But the hugely interesting musical finds Alfor keeps making are shedding a lot of light on an obscure period.

Dear Alfred,

I played the Intermezzi first, and found them beautiful, introspective mood pictures, gorgeous piano writing in every way. The Valse-Caprice doesn't seem to quite fit in with this set, (but nonetheless it's very lovely in its own right). As you mentioned, there do seem to be signs of an advanced harmonic language here (or "chord vocabulary" as I sometimes say!). I first saw this in Intermezzo Nr.1 right after the modulation from Ab to C....there is a series of chromatically descending augmented chords which is rather unexpected but effective. Definitely the sign of a composer "marching to the tune of his own drummer," imho!!

But the Intermezzi didn't prepare me for the Ballade, which I am completely in agreement with fleubis about...a truly outstanding piece of piano music!! After a quick glance at the score, I imagined this one to be heavily Brahms-influenced (which perhaps at times it is) but in playing the piece the genius of this composer Keller really comes to light. There are advanced harmonies, replete with major 7th and 11th chords, some chord clustering, altogether extremely original. But in both the Intermezzi and the Ballade Keller never loses emphasis upon the beautiful melodic material. I love the huge and majestic chords found all throughout this piece. What an excellent concert number this would be. Another unknown genius brought to light by Alfor!!

I never cease to marvel at the wealth of super high-quality piano music that is out there. Your talent in uncovering the true "gems" from the vast ocean of scores is simply unparalleled, Alfred. Your daily postings are still one of the highlights of my life. We are all seriously in your debt, not only for sharing these pieces with us, but for the knowledge which these bring in context with the historical development of piano music!

All Best,

Frank (a.k.a. Dr.H)

Dear Frank, dear fleubis,

always a pleasure to read through your intersting comments!
Thank you very much!

Best regards

alfor

Fritz SCHREIBER (Austrian composer, 1895-??; more info welcome!!)
Siebzehn kleine Klavierstücke op. 32Interesting miniatures. Like Keller S. takes traditional harmony as a starting point
to struggle his individual way through the undergrowth of modern music.

Otto NEITZEL (German pianist, composer, conductor and lecturer on music, 1852-1920)
Paysages Anglais
I. Les muguets de Kensington
II. Les Rocs de Clifton
III. Les Vagues de TorquayN. seemed to prefer the genre "virtuoso salon piece", at least in these pieces and in the
"Gavotte-Caprice" op. 25, which I posted previously.

Oswin KELLER

some corrections and additions:
lived 1885-1961 (his career made an excellent start - why did he "disappear"??)
piano compositions (sel.?):
op. 3 piano pieces
op. 7 Walzer
op. 8 Intermezzi
op. 9,2 Walzer
op. 10 Ballade
op. 15 Waldszenen
op. 16 3 piano pieces
op. 18 lyrische Stücke
op. 21 Lieder der Freude
op. 22 Intermezzi
Tonleiterstudien (after Henri Herz?)
Mozart Symph. K 551 arr. piano solo
Liszt Les Preludes arr. piano solo

School of piano playing
Book on piano technique

Editor (Bach, Mozart, Kuhlau, Köhler, Schubert)

Nice collections of minatures with the Schreiber and Neitzel here, Alfor. The Schreiber pieces are especially interesting to play--notice the great care the composer has given with the numerous explicit markings which permeate his score. They are all fun to play but Schreiber breaks out of the traditional figurations while Neitzel stays within them....but there is room for everyone at this party!

Frank's comments on the Keller are right on the mark. I again played through Keller's pieces again after reading Frank's comments, still intrigued. One of the hallmarks of transitional harmony into the 20th century is the treatment of modulation. (When I was young there were thick harmony books just to deal with modulation, but nowadays functional modulation is not really there any more.) Jazz has given us rootless 11th and 13th chords and we have "added tones", diminished 7th chords resolving to almost any key, etc. Anyway, Keller gives the listener a taste of what's to come in a rich harmonic language with his super piano writing and vivid musical ideas.

Let us hope Keller's few remaining pieces can be resurrected. (Thanks for the updated list!)

So Alfor, I don't know how you do it, but your taste in finding rare high quality music to explore is really unequaled.

alfor wrote:Oswin KELLER

some corrections and additions:
lived 1885-1961 (his career made an excellent start - why did he "disappear"??)
piano compositions (sel.?):
op. 3 piano pieces
op. 7 Walzer
op. 8 Intermezzi
op. 9,2 Walzer
op. 10 Ballade
op. 15 Waldszenen
op. 16 3 piano pieces
op. 18 lyrische Stücke
op. 21 Lieder der Freude
op. 22 Intermezzi
Tonleiterstudien (after Henri Herz?)
Mozart Symph. K 551 arr. piano solo
Liszt Les Preludes arr. piano solo

School of piano playing
Book on piano technique

Editor (Bach, Mozart, Kuhlau, Köhler, Schubert)

also transcribed the Schulz-Evler Arabesques for 2 pianos 4 hands- been searching for that for a long time