Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, Frédéric François Chopin, Stephen Hough, Robert Schumann
Performer: Stephen Hough
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Hyperion
Catalogue: CDA67996
Release: 2014
Size: 1.13 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Schumann: Fantasiestücke, Op. 12
01. V. In der Nacht
Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 ‘Moonlight’
02. I. Adagio sostenuto
03. II. Allegretto
04. III. Presto agitato
05. Chopin: Nocturne No. 7 in C sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 1
06. Chopin: Nocturne No. 8 in D flat major, Op. 27 No. 2
07. Hough: Piano Sonata No. 2 ‘notturno luminoso’
Schumann: Carnaval, Op. 9
08. I. Préambule: Quasi maestoso
09. II. Pierrot: Moderato
10. III. Arlequin: Vivo
11. IV. Valse noble: Un poco maestoso
12. V. Eusebius: Adagio
13. VI. Florestan: Passionato
14. VII. Coquette: Vivo
15. VIIIa. Réplique: L’istesso tempo
16. IX. Papillons: Prestissimo
17. X. ASCH–SCHA (Lettres dansantes): Presto
18. XI. Chiarina: Passionato
19. XII. Chopin: Agitato
20. XIII. Estrella: Con affetto
21. XIV. Reconnaissance: Animato
22. XV. Pantalon et Colombine: Presto
23. XVI. Valse allemande: Molto vivace
24. XVII. Paganini (Intermezzo): Presto
25. XVIII. Aveu: Passionato
26. XIX. Promenade: Comodo
27. XX. Pause: Vivo
28. XXI. Marche des Davidsbündler contre les Philistins: Non allegro
This latest recital album by ‘the thinking person’s virtuoso: an extraordinary pianist’ (The New York Times) takes the listener on a journey through that most intense and absorbing of nineteenth-century obsessions, the night. The Romantic night was one without sleep; where experiences are mutated through darkness. Stephen Hough’s thoughtful programming creates a new aural sphere for some of the most celebrated piano works in the repertoire.
Hough begins with Schumann’s troubled, reeling ‘In der Nacht’ from Fantasiestücke, and continues with Beethoven’s ‘Moonlight’ Sonata and Chopin’s two Op 27 Nocturnes.
With Schumann’s Carnaval we eavesdrop on one of the most vibrant parties in the nineteenth-century piano literature, with its panoply of brilliantly etched character sketches depicting both real people—such as Chopin and Paganini—and imaginary ones. Each movement is vividly contrasted; there are moments of unbridled ecstasy, elegant poise and elusive subtlety.
Also included is Stephen Hough’s own Piano Sonata No 2 ‘notturno luminoso’, which he describes as ‘about a different kind of night … the brightness of a brash city in the hours of darkness; the loneliness of pre-morning; sleeplessness and the dull glow of the alarm clock’s unmoving hours; the irrational fears which are only darkened by the harsh glare of a suspended, dusty light bulb’.
This recital by British pianist Stephen Hough is precisely what the title suggests: a collection of “Night Music” for piano. The program features some very familiar pieces including the most famous night piece of all (even if it wasn’t originally intended as such), Beethoven’s Piano Sonata in C sharp minor, Op. 27/2 (“Moonlight”). Robert Schumann’s Carnaval, Op. 9, refers to a night activity, a masked ball, rather than being an evocation of the night itself, and Hough’s reading of these portraits are distinctly on the reflective side. In fact, taken individually, Hough’s performances may be too restrained for some listeners, but the cumulative effect has the kind of spell he intends. Another unusual feature of the album is the presence of a work by Hough himself, the Piano Sonata No. 2 (“notturno luminoso”). In spite of what the subtitle might suggest, this is not a neo-Romantic nocturne but a nervous, somewhat jangling evocation of a city that never sleeps. It pulls off the trick so few contemporary compositions manage, that of holding its own in the company of Beethoven and Schumann, and it’s a nice touch in a recital that updates the virtuoso concert of the 19th century in some fresh ways. Hyperion’s engineering, accomplished at the Wyastone Estate concert hall, is very much attuned to Hough’s artistic aims.