Composer: Carl Czerny
Performer: Emanuele Delucchi
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Piano Classics
Release: 2021
Size: 2.14 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Der Pianist Im Klassischen Style, Op. 856
01. I. Prelude in C Major. Allegretto
02. II. Fugue in C Major. Allegro Moderato E Maestoso
03. III. Prelude in A Minor. Allegro Animato
04. IV. Fugue in A Minor. Allegro Moderato
05. V. Prelude in F Major. Andante Cantabile
06. VI. Fugue in F Major. Allegro
07. VII. Prelude in D Minor. Allegro Agitato
08. VIII. Fugue in D Minor. Andante Con Moto
09. IX. Prelude in B-Flat Major. Andante Tranquillo
10. X. Fugue in B-Flat Major. Allegro Con Spirito
11. XI. Prelude in G Minor. Allegro Serioso
12. XII. Fugue in G Minor. Moderato
13. XIII. Prelude in E-Flat Major. Andante Moderato
14. XIV. Fugue in E-Flat Major. Allegro
15. XV. Prelude in C Minor. Vivace Affettuoso
16. XVI. Fugue in C Minor. Andante Serioso, Ma Con Moto
17. XVII. Prelude in A-Flat Major. Allegretto Espressivo E Cantabile
18. XVIII. Fugue in A-Flat Major. Allegro Risoluto
19. XIX. Prelude in F Minor. Molto Allegro E Agitato
20. XX. Fugue in F Minor. Lento Moderato Ed Espressivo
21. XXI. Prelude in D-Flat Major. Allegro Moderato E Tranquillo
22. XXII. Fugue in D-Flat Major. Allegro Commodo
23. XXIII. Prelude in B-Flat Minor. Andante Sostenuto Con Espressione
24. XXIV. Fugue in B-Flat Minor. Andante Cantabile, Mesto Ed Espressivo
25. XXV. Prelude in G-Flat Major. Allegro Con Fuoco
26. XXVI. Fugue in G-Flat Major. Allegro Vivace Giocoso
27. XXVII. Prelude in E-Flat Minor. Allegro Vivace
28. XXVIII. Fugue in E-Flat Minor. Allegro Moderato Ma Energico
29. XXIX. Prelude in B Major. Allegro Vivace
30. XXX. Fugue in B Major. Moderato E Maestoso
31. XXXI. Prelude in G-Sharp Minor. Adagio Melancolico
32. XXXII. Fugue in A-Flat Minor. Allegro Veloce
33. XXXIII. Prelude in E Major. Andante Sostenuto Cantando
34. XXXIV. Fugue in E Major. Molto Vivace E Con Allegrezza
35. XXXV. Prelude in C-Sharp Minor. Allegro Vivace Affettuoso
36. XXXVI. Fugue in C-Sharp Minor. Andante Serioso
37. XXXVII. Prelude in A Major. Allegro Commodo Vivace
38. XXXVIII. Fugue in A Major. Allegro Risoluto
39. XXXIX. Prelude in F-Sharp Minor. Allegro
40. XL. Fugue in F-Sharp Minor. Allegro Vivace
41. XLI. Prelude in D Major. Andante Serioso
42. XLII. Fugue in D Major. Allegro Risoluto Ed Energico
43. XLIII. Prelude in B Minor. Allegretto Affettuoso
44. XLIV. Fugue in B Minor. Andante Cantabile, Poco Moto
45. XLV. Prelude in G Major. Moderato
46. XLVI. Fugue in G Major. Allegro Commodo Ma Deciso
47. XLVII. Prelude in E Minor. Allegro Vivace
48. XLVIII. Fugue in E Minor. Lento Espressivo
A little-known “Well-Tempered Clavier” for the 19th century in a superbly engineered new version. Long known as Beethoven’s pupil, Liszt’s teacher and the bane of countless piano students ever since as the prolific author of exercises and studies which have won foundational status in their importance for piano technique, Carl Czerny (1791-1858) is finally gaining recognition as a composer in his own right. During the 19th century, while his pupils were still alive to play them, his concertos still enjoyed a measure of familiarity and success, but Czerny’s sheer industry obscured his creative achievements: where should a listener start with a catalogue of opus numbers into the four figures?
Czerny’s Op. 856 contains 48 Preludes and Fugues in all major and minor keys. The interest that Czerny nurtured for the fugue, especially regarding the piano, unquestionably derived from his familiarity with Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, a collection that was widely admired at the time and closely studied by the youthful Carl during the period of his early lessons with his father, himself a pianist and teacher. The importance that Czerny attributed to a genre that was actually beginning to lose favor among audiences also relates to the fact that the Well-Tempered Clavier had likewise been fundamental for Beethoven, who was shortly to become Czerny’s teacher and in due course also his friend.
These Preludes and Fugues are the Romantic’s answer to an obsolete form, imbuing the formal counterpoint with many new pianistic devices of Czerny’s own invention. They are also as good a place to start as any, especially for anyone familiar with their obvious inspiration in the Old Testament of contrapuntal technique assembled by Bach across two volumes of The Well-Tempered Clavier. Czerny would hardly claim to live up to the Leipzig master’s probing depths of expression or originality of melodic inspiration, but his set nonetheless boasts pleasures of its own, starting with the C major Prelude which puts a rhapsodic gloss on Bach’s immortal introduction. And as early as the A minor Fugue we find a subject of notable individuality as well as the craft on Czerny’s part to carry off a five-minute fugue of many grave beauties. There are more contemporary contrapuntal devices on show, too, such as the interludes of the fugues in No. 14 and No. 22. Overall the composer takes pains to integrate the principles of High-Baroque counterpoint with the “galant” style that preceded the Biedermeier in the early decades of the 19th century, making this a collection at once in and outside its time.In 2017 Emanuele Delucchi gave the first known performance of Czerny’s Op. 856 in modern times, and this is only the second recording. Born in 1987 and based in Milan, he specialises in the super-virtuoso repertoire of the late-19th century, recording much-admired albums of music by Alkan, Godowsky and d’Albert. This is his fifth album for Piano Classics.