Piano music by Carl Loewe

[Alan Howe]

...from Toccata Classics:
http://www.mdt.co.uk/loewe-carl-piano-music-volume-one-linda-nicholson-toccata-classics.html

[eschiss1]

Here I was just noticing yesterday that there had been only one recording to date of Mazeppa, on what seems to have been a Germany-only? distribution CD of fantasias (mostly) by Loewe on the Ambitus label in 2011- and suddenly, here comes this.  Thanks. (I think the E major sonata has been recorded on cpo? But I don't think I've heard any of these works myself, anyway...)

(I see a book- dissertation?- by John Salmon, "The Piano Sonatas of Carl Loewe", published in 1996, which may be relevant - will have to see what I can find out about that.)

[Alan Howe]

Thank you, Eric. Details of composition dates always seem to be sketchy with Loewe...

[eschiss1]

as with quite a few composers, I guess to be fair...

If it's ambiguous at all, in my unreadable sentence above my "to date" referred to "recording"- there seemed to be only one recording of Mazeppa so far, I mean - and the day after I've first heard of the piece, here's a second... (what was that Punch cartoon? You wait forever for one horseman...)

[Alan Howe]

 

[Alan Howe]

The first piece on the CD, the five-movement Gypsy Sonata, Op.107 of 1847, is a very strange work indeed - original, certainly, but at times almost comic in its use (I'd say over-use) of exotic, gypsy-like material. A better title might be 'Gothic Horror' Sonata. I'm not sure how often I'd want to hear it, to be frank.

I have to say that I wasn't very enamoured of the instrument used by the (highly competent) soloist, Linda Nicholson - a piano by Collard and Collard from 1849-50. Inevitably, the tone is shallow and 'twangy', which is almost certainly authentic, but it just adds to the strangeness - which is probably intentional.

So, not my cuppa tea at all. But there's other music on the CD, so... 

[Alan Howe]

...The Grande Sonate in E major, Op.16 of 1829 is a less strange work than the Gypsy Sonata, but still quite arresting in a Schubert-plus sort of way. I'd describe some of the writing as somewhat naïve, but there are certainly some fetching modulations on offer. Once again, however, I didn't find the piano employed to be at all helpful to the music: to my ears, it trivialises the work. I can't really say I thought very highly of the music overall - how much of this was due to the piano sound, I can't altogether judge. But I'd like to hear it on a modern grand...

[eschiss1]

Has anyone heard the works here that are also on a cpo CD? Better/worse performances, recording, etc. on the cpo? ...

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Eric:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Loewe-Piano-Sonatas-Cord-Garben/dp/B00BVXWNZU/ref=sr_1_1_twi_1_mus?ie=UTF8&qid=1427877760&sr=8-1&keywords=loewe+garben

[Hexameron]

I agree with Alan - the twangy Collard & Collard detracts from the listening experience. The author of the liner notes argues for why Loewe's music is better suited to a period instrument, but I'm unconvinced. The higher registers are grating, resonance is poor, and there's no depth of tone as Alan said. Mazeppa, the best work on this recording, would sound so much better on a modern grand. It's similar in texture and dramatic expression to Schubert's Erlkonig.

The exotic and zany Gypsy Sonata has some interesting moments, but again, it sounds dreadful on the chosen instrument. The Grande Sonate doesn't have distinguished thematic material, but should please those who enjoy pleasant classicism in the vein of Weber and Hummel.

Has anyone heard the works here that are also on a cpo CD? Better/worse performances, recording, etc. on the cpo? ...

I can vouch for the CPO release. The program is superior by including the beautiful Elegique F minor sonata and Le printemps, the latter much praised by Schumann.

[chill319]

But I'd like to hear it on a modern grand...

By coincidence during my lunch break today I played Loewe's opus 16 on a grand. Loewe's rich seventh chords sound quite good on a modern instrument, especially in the first movement development and in the fleet scherzo and finale. Although the music has clearly been written with recourse to a keyboard, it is awkward in a way that, say, Schubert is not. When one first plays Schumann some of his writing can seem awkward, too, but the method in his madness quickly becomes clear. In Loewe's case, there's no method to speak of; it's just awkward -- albeit not fatally so. If the opus 16 must be played on a period instrument, the best one IMHO would be a Graf with brass strings. What a difference brass makes!

[FBerwald]

Does anyone know anything about this composer's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E minor?

[eschiss1]

(He also seems to have written a fair number of oratorios.) (that was all, you can wake up now)
no clue as to the E minor concerto; even the Loewe Gesellschaft page seems to be less useful than it once was, but I assume they would know where his manuscripts are or some of them anyway, and they do have an email address on their page...

[JimL]

It would be truly grand to find the E minor Concerto.  Say...has anybody been able to find the movement headings for the 2nd Symphony?

[Gareth Vaughan]

A quick email enquiry to the Loewe Gesellschaft elicited the fiollowing response:

"Unfortunately, the piano concer E-Dur (major, not minor) hasn't survived.
Nobody knows where the scores are."

I expect they would help you with your enquiry re. the 2nd symphony movts too, Jim.