(++++) PIANO POWERS

Chopin: Piano Concerto No. 2; Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni”; Rondo à la Krakowiak. Abbey Simon, piano; Hamburg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Heribert Beissel. Vox. $18.99.

Paul Chihara: Concerto-Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra; Bagatelles (Twice Seven Haiku for Piano); Four Reveries on Beethoven; Ami for piano four hands. Quynh Nguyen and Rieko Aizawa, piano; London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Stephen Barlow. Naxos. $13.99.

     Newcomers to classical music, who quickly learn of Chopin’s importance as a composer for the piano, are often surprised to discover that he completed only six works for piano and orchestra. That is actually testimony to Chopin’s determined dedication to the piano for its own sake (and his own sake): he simply was not interested in the sort of showmanship often associated with piano-and-orchestra combinations. Nor was he much concerned with the intricacies of orchestration: Chopin’s orchestral parts for the combination works are less than exemplary. However, when first making his mark as a performer, Chopin did understand that he could draw audiences in with appealing piano-and-orchestra pieces, and accordingly he wrote a small number of them in his youth – and all of them have remained popular ever since. The poised, elegant performances by Abbey Simon (1920-2019) with the Hamburg Symphony Orchestra under Heribert Beissel (1933-2021), released in the 1970s, were always among the most attractive versions of these works, and now they are available again in first-rate digital remasterings on the Vox label. The second of the two Simon/Beissel CDs includes Chopin’s second piano concerto (second to be published, that is: it was written first) and two extended concert pieces packed with tunefulness and elegance, and showing the many ways in which Chopin keeps the piano dominant while still allowing it to merge and contrast with other instruments. These performances are in an older, refined and sophisticated style that fits the music exceptionally well, allowing plenty of opportunities for pianistic grace as well as fireworks when appropriate. The second (1829) concerto, in F minor, is especially noteworthy for its lovely central Larghetto, which became instantly popular when the work was first performed, and Simon and Beissel do a particularly good job of exploring its beauties without overdoing attempts to give it more emotional depth than it possesses. The very early 1827 Variations on “Là ci darem la mano” from Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” (Chopin’s Op. 2) are utterly charming, as is the original operatic aria – and Chopin cleverly withholds a full statement of Mozart’s music until almost one-third of the way through the piece, thereby increasing audience anticipation and setting up a series of thoroughly delightful musical explorations for the remainder of the work. As for the 1828 Rondo à la Krakowiak, it is one of Chopin’s explorations of Polish folk music, thoroughly uplifted to concert-hall status and played by Simon with considerable élan. The sound of this 1972 recording is warm and well-balanced, the digital remastering is sensitive to the care with which the original was produced, and the overall aural world fits the performers’ thoughtfully Romantic approach to the material well. Even more than half a century after these readings were created, they retain their power in exploring the intricacies of Chopin’s limited contribution to piano-and-orchestra creations.

     Many other composers have put their own imprimatur on pieces for this instrumental combination, and interest in it has continued into the 21^st century. Some of the contrasts with Chopin’s approach can be quite intriguing to hear – for instance, by listening to the Concerto-Fantasy for Piano and Orchestra (2019-2021) by Paul Chihara (born 1938). Composed for Quynh Nguyen, who is the soloist on the world première recording of the work on the Naxos label, this four-movement piece opens surprisingly with a Dolce Cantabile section in which the solo violin, not the piano, is front-and-center. That sets the stage for a work that is pleasantly old-fashioned in its adherence to tonality and insistent in its lyricism from start to finish, even when – as in the second movement, Interlude – the rhythms are distinctly jazzy. While Chopin constantly finds ways to accentuate the piano’s dominance in his piano-and-orchestra works, Chihara in Concerto-Fantasy is often at pains to downplay the centrality of the solo instrument, or at least to present it on an equal footing with others (as in the third-movement Scherzo, where the interplay with percussion makes it quite clear that the piano is itself a percussion instrument). Although the Concerto-Fantasy draws to an extent on traditional Vietnamese music, it does not sound “exotic” but comes across as a well-balanced exploration of piano-and-orchestra sound worlds, both where they overlap and where they differ. It contrasts interestingly with the three remaining pieces on the disc, which do not include orchestra. Bagatelles (Twice Seven Haiku for Piano) is a 2010-2011 work that, as the title indicates, is a set of 14 very short solo-piano pieces, all with evocative titles. Several of them incorporate contemporary techniques, such as the percussive strike in No. 2, Drinking song for kittens, and the rhythms of No. 7, Hip hop farmer. But others are pure lyricism, such as No. 4, Frankie and Annie; or an intriguing combination of Impressionism and traditional form, such as No. 6, Misty fugue; or an interesting look at older music, notably No. 8, Hommage aux trois B’s (Bach, Brahms, Bolcom) and No. 12, Kleine Toccata. Nguyen plays all these brief works as if they are little gems, with the result that that is exactly what they sound like. There is a touch of Chopin in them here and there – and a touch of Debussy, a hint of Gershwin, and tidbits of other composers as well. But the combination style of the Bagatelles is uniquely Chihara’s. Somewhat similar explorations and sensibilities are present in Four Reveries on Beethoven (2021), each of which is longer than any of the Bagatelles and all of which share the miniatures’ willingness to accept older styles and reinterpret them for the 21^st century. There is a bit of ragtime in No. 1 (RAG 109), a hint of the sylvan in No. 2 (Pastorale), some forthright drama in No. 3 (Storm), and considerable delicacy and gentleness in No. 4 (Sayonara). The CD concludes with the five-movement Ami (2008) for piano four hands, in which Nguyen is joined by Rieko Aizawa. This work’s movements are about the length of those in Four Reveries on Beethoven, and they show yet again Chihara’s willingness to echo other composers, incorporate some of their sounds and techniques into his own work, add his personal sensibilities to the mixture, and produce pleasantly accessible music of no great depth but considerable listening enjoyment. The third movement of Ami, called Pascal Rag, is especially bright and bouncy, contrasting well both with the second, Love Song, and with the fourth, Aka Tombo. Chihara’s handling of piano-and-orchestra material and piano-without-orchestra material is not directly comparable to Chopin’s, but there are enough parallels of sensibility and instrumental effects between the two composers to show that two centuries after Chopin’s time, there is still much to be said for – and through – the piano, whether on its own or as part of a larger musical canvas.