Pianophilia

Intermezzo (alternative scan):

Darius MILHAUD
SUITE
pour le piano

Alfred, I've always thought that Milhaud suite to be a curious "intermezzo" indeed, as I have never quite gotten a handle on his piano music.

fleubis wrote:Alfred, I've always thought that Milhaud suite to be a curious "intermezzo" indeed, as I have never quite gotten a handle on his piano music.

Imho it is among M.'s better works. Has something in common with Roussel's suite op. 14. Ok, there is the characteristic bland (?) diatonicism and some polytonality, but well-crafted. Perhaps you have to immerse totally in the atmosphere of southern France, to really love M.'s music.

Frederic CHOPIN
Valses part B (edited by Stefan Askenase)

Many thanks for the penultimate volume of the Valses, Alfred. Strangely, I find some of his editing close to what I've been playing for quite sometime, so the valses are really intersting to me.

So.....I need to visit the south of France and get some atmosphere......hmmmm...closest I'll get this year is Bruges as I start my river trip up the Rhine in about 3 months time....maybe I can soak up some color by being at least geographically closer than being on the wrong side of the pond. I was not familiar with Roussel's suite op. 14, so I rushed to ISMLP and found it. The Roussel piece is much more pianistic to my admittedly tainted ears. Roussel's harmonic world is more consistent that Milhaud's which seems all over the map to me. Guess I just like Milhau's orchesteral music a lot better than his piano music, even though I've been trying to like it for years.

Hermann ZILCHER (1881-1948)
Cadenzas for Mozart's Piano Cto. K. 467 Interesting Cadenzas by a composer-pianist.

audio:
ROUSSEL Suite op. 14
played by
Alain RAES

Quite right, Alfred, the Zilcher cadenzas are very nice and well though out to be consistent with the piece.

Also thanks for the Roussel recording of Op.14 suite which I played through last nite. Lots of nice moments in it.

Hermann ZILCHER
Klavierskizzen op. 26 Dedicated to his two eldest children. Late-romantic. Only for gifted children!

The Zilcher sketches are a pleasant diversion from the more challenging pieces....nice harmonies. Going on vacation for 2 weeks without computer - I will have a lot to catch up on when I return Thanks, Alfred.

alfor wrote:Frederic CHOPIN
Valses part B (edited by Stefan Askenase)

Chopin Valses (ed. Askenase) B.pdf

Askenase was an amazing interpreter, for sure - bravo for highlighting this pianist in the line of Liszt - Sauer !!