Composer: Friedrich Gernsheim
Performer: Jens Barnieck
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Toccata
Catalogue: TOCC0206
Release: 2019
Size: 953 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Piano Sonata No. 2 in E flat major
01. I. Allegro molto
02. II. Adagio
03. III. Allegro molto
04. IV. Allegro vivace assai
Piano Sonata No. 3 in D minor
05. I. Adagio molto – Allegro appassionata
06. II. Agitato assai
07. III. Adagio
08. IV. Poco andante – Allegro agitato
Six Preludes, Op. 2
09. No. 1, Un poco lento e sostenuto
10. No. 2, Andante espressivo
11. No. 3, Allegro energico
12. No. 4, Andantino
13. No. 5, Allegretto vivace e leggiero
14. No. 6, Allegro molto agitato
Friedrich Gernsheim (1839–1916), born in Worms, on the Rhine, grew up to be one of the most formidable musicians of his age: composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. Even as a teenager, Gernsheim was attracting attention as a virtuoso-composer, earning comparisons with Mozart. These two early piano sonatas – restored by Jens Barnieck from Gernsheim’s manuscripts – combine youthful freshness with preternatural assuredness, showing awareness of Schumann and anticipating Brahms. By the time of the Six Preludes, written a decade later, Chopin has become the dominant star in Gernsheim’s firmament.