Composer: Heinrich von Herzogenberg
Performer: Caroline Clemmow, Anthony Goldstone, Goldstone and Clemmow
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Toccata
Catalogue: TOCC0010
Release: 2005
Size: 235 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Theme and Variations, Op. 13
01. Theme: Langsam, innig
02. Variation 1: Bewegter
03. Variation 2: In gleichem Tempo
04. Variation 3: Ziemlich langsam
05. Variation 4: Rasch
06. Variation 5: Sehr langsam
07. Variation 6: Etwas bewegt
08. Variation 7: Langsam
09. Variation 8: Sehr rasch
10. Variation 9: Majestatisch
Allotria, Book 1, Op. 33
11. No. 1: Allegro
12. No. 2: Allegretto
13. No. 3: Allegro agitato
Variations on a Theme of Brahms, Op. 23
14. I. Andante – Adagio – Con moto – Allegro – L’istesso tempo – Poco meno mosso, ma agitato
15. II. Allegretto – Lento appassionato
16. III. Allegretto – Meno mosso
Waltzes, Op. 53
17. Waltz No. 1: Allegro commodo
18. Waltz No. 2: L’istesso tempo
19. Waltz No. 3: Agitato e grazioso
20. Waltz No. 4: Tempo I
21. Waltz No. 5: Poco maestoso
22. Waltz No. 6: L’istesso tempo
Variations on the Minuet from Mozart’s Don Juan, Op. 58
23. Thema: Moderato
24. Variation 1: Allegro
25. Variation 2: Poco meno mosso
26. Variation 3: Allegretto
27. Variation 4: Allegro enegrico
28. Variation 5: Andantino
29. Variation 6: Allegro
30. Variation 7: Scherzando
31. Variation 8: Larghetto
32. Variation 9: Vivace
33. Variation 10: Largo
34. Variation 11: Poco adagio
Capriccio, Op. 107
35. I. Grazioso
36. II. Allegretto
37. III. Andante
38. IV. Vivace
39. V. Agitato
40. VI. Moderato
Heinrich von Herzogenberg (1843–1900), though a highly respected figure in his own time, has only recently begun to be rediscovered as a gifted and immediately communicative composer. His music, like that of his hero, Brahms, offers an effortless flow of beautiful melody – and, as also with Brahms, behind the apparently serious demeanour there lurks plenty of rhythmic pep and an easy-going sense of fun.
A small and enthusiastic following exists for the late nineteenth century composer Heinrich von Herzogenberg, but it’s hard to call the handful of recordings of his music made since the 1990s sufficient for a full-fledged revival. It seems, too, that the greatest interest in Herzogenberg’s works is found in Germany, and few artists of international repute have taken up this neglected composer’s cause. Anthony Goldstone’s and Caroline Clemmow’s 2005 release on Toccata Classics provides a rare sample of Herzogenberg’s output for piano duet and solo piano, and four of the works receive their world premieres here. Yet for all the hype surrounding this album, it seems lightweight and less of a revelation than its promoters claim. Much has been made of Herzogenberg’s affinity for the music of Schumann and Brahms, and there are more than superficial resemblances to the former in the Theme and Variations, Op. 13, and obvious mimicry of the latter in the Variations on a Theme of Brahms, Op. 23. However, such ready comparisons to one’s contemporaries are usually regarded as a sign of weakness, since an independent identity is what we seek in great composers, and anything less usually indicates mediocrity. Herzogenberg is better than that, certainly in terms of his craft and invention; but his reliance on the styles and techniques of two famous masters puts him at a disadvantage. We hear these works as clever copies, or as curiosities, but always with an ear to whom Herzogenberg is emulating, without getting much of a sense of his own originality. One hopes that such a quirky suite as Allotria, Op. 33, Book I might reveal glimpses of an odd personality, or that the Waltzes, Op. 53, might be light and frothy enough to resemble no one in particular. Yet even here, and despite occasional passages of ingenuity, Herzogenberg’s imitations are apparent and frustratingly slavish. Unless one feels that Schumann and Brahms did not write enough music of their own and that a clone is needed, this disc will be a bit of a letdown. Goldstone and Clemmow deliver entertaining performances that are also heartfelt, and Toccata has served up a fine production with pleasantly resonant sound, so the Herzogenberg coterie can at least revel in a fine recording that does him justice.