PIANO CLASSICS

Franz Schubert’s ‘Ständchen’ (‘A serenade’) was originally a lied for solo voice and piano. Composed in 1826, it is a setting of the ‘song’ in Act 2, Scene 3 of Shakespeare’s Cymbeline. Evoking the coming of morning, the song begins: “Hark, hark, the lark at heaven’s gate sings, / and Phoebus ‘gins arise, / His steeds to water at those springs / on chalic’d flowers that lies”. Franz Liszt arranged Schubert’s ‘Ständchen’ for solo piano in 1838, including it as “Ständchen von Shakespeare” in his 12 Lieder von Franz Schubert. 

Another arrangement of vocal music, J. S. Bach’s ‘Die Seele ruht in Jesu Händen’ (‘The soul rests in Jesus’ hands’) was originally composed as an aria for his Cantata BWV 127. Written for a service on Estomihi (the Sunday before Lent), it is performed here in a transcription by the distinguished English-born American pianist and teacher, Harold Bauer.   

Liszt’s arrangement of Robert Schuman’s ‘Widmung’ (‘dedication’) for his ‘Liebeslied’ (or ‘Love Song’) preserves the lyrical emotion of the original while adding his own pianistic virtuosity. Gifted to his fiancé Clara as a wedding present, Schuman’s song is expanded and transformed; whereas Schuman’s ‘Widmung’ ends quietly, Liszt’s ‘Liebeslied’ finishes with a final pianistic flurry.  

Schubert wrote eight Impromptus, published in two sets of four – the first set (op. 90) was published during the composer’s lifetime, the second was published posthumously as Op. 142. Composed in 1827, the Four Impromptus Op. 90 D. 899 are a cornerstone of the piano repertoire. The first, in C minor, blends elements of sonata, variation, and through-composed structures. The second Impromptu in E♭ major is a swift ‘moto perpetuo’ with a ternary (or ABA) form. The third is a flowing and meditative piece in G♭ major, characterized by long melodic lines, while the fourth and final Impromptu, in A♭ major, is characterized by cascading arpeggios and a chordal response. 

Like Liszt, Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov was a virtuoso pianist as well as a composer. Widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day, Rachmaninov’s pianistic talents can be heard in his writing for the instrument. The Ten Preludes, Op. 23, composed in 1901 and 1903, is part of a full suite of 24 preludes in all the major and minor keys. The Prelude in D Major is No. 4 in the collection. Marked andante cantabile (moderate and flowing with a lyrical quality), the short composition is in ternary form with an opening theme, developed in a middle section, returning at the end. Also performed is the Prelude in G Sharp minor Op.32 No.12. Among the composer’s most atmospheric pieces for piano, opening right-hand arpeggios fall across a distinctly Russian melody. The Prelude in G Major Op.32 No.5 is the most famous of the set, with its march-like outer sections contrasted by a more lyrical middle section. Rachmaninov himself had huge hands – stretching a 13th (an octave plus a 6th, or from middle C to a high A) – so would have had no difficulty bringing out the melody in the inner voice of the middle section.  

Rachmaninov’s set of Six moments musicaux were composed when he was just 23 years old. Keen to demonstrate his mastery of musical forms, as well as his virtuosity as a pianist, the third movement (in B minor) is the emotional heart of the set with a brooding melody played low on the piano, under wide, open chords. The 5 Morceaux de fantaisie (or ‘fantasy pieces’) were composed when Rachmaninov was younger still (aged 19) in 1892 and are dedicated to Anton Arensky, Rachmaninov’s harmony teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. The opening Elegy consists of gentle arpeggios and a deeply melancholic melody. 

Hildegard von Bingen was a 12th-century abbess and polymath, active as a composer, writer, and mystic. Her piece ‘O frondens virga’ (‘O blossoming branch’) was composed as a psalm antiphon for the Virgin Mary. It is performed here in an arrangement by the pianist, Marie-Luise Hinrichs.  

Giacomo Puccini’s ‘Piccolo Valzer’ (‘Little Waltz’) was published in 1894. The inspiration for the work was said to be the rocking of a boat on Lake Massaciuccoli, where Puccini loved to go fishing. It was subsequently re-elaborated by the composer and became one of the best-known opera arias, Musetta’s solo ‘Quando me n’vo’ in La Bohème. 

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s ‘Deep River’ was written in 1904 as part of the composer’s 24 Negro Spirituals. Coleridge-Taylor is reported to have said of the collection: “what Brahms has done for the Hungarian folk music, Dvorak for the Bohemian, and Grieg for the Norwegian, I have tried to do for these Negro Melodies”. 

Margaret Bonds arranged over fifty African-American spirituals for various instruments. The piano work ‘Troubled Water’ is based on the spiritual ‘Wade in the Water’ which was associated with Songs of the Underground Railroad, work songs used by slaves in the nineteenth century to share coded information for escape. Beginning with energetic, syncopated rhythms in the left hand, leading into the recognizable theme in the spiritual, the piece then thickens, with Bonds weaving in jazz-inspired sonorities.