Charles Rosen – The Romantic Generation = CHOPIN: Nocturne in B Major, Op. 62, No. 1; Nocturne in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2; Chant Polonaise “My Joys” (arr. Liszt); LISZT: Reminiscences of Don Juan; Die Loreley; SCHUMANN: Davidsbuendlertaenze, Op. 6 – Charles Rosen, piano
Nimbus NI 2559, 73:14 [Distr. by Allegro] ****:
Recorded in 1993 and originally issued by Music Masters in 1995, this recital by Charles Rosen (b. 1927)–a pupil of Moritz Rosenthal and heir to the Liszt tradition–captures him in several quintessential Romantic staples that define the ethos of the period. Curiously, Rosen’s innate classicism often proves “reticent” in permitting the big emotions their due, but his exquisite sense of tonal balance captivates, and he thoroughly understands the Romantic rhetoric. His Chopin B Major Nocturne–a study in chromatic ornaments and delicately trilled filigree–becomes a model of its kind, an intricately poised labyrinth rife with color details. The D-flat Major Nocturne assumes a liquid water-color sonority, facile and inflected with a touch a tragic passion. The Nocturne’s left hand ostinato infiltrates the Chant Polonaise My Joys, one of Chopin mazurka-songs from Op. 74 arranged by Liszt. Bird-like trills and evanescent runs add to the distilled poetry of the occasion.
It was for the Epic LP label that Rosen first inscribed a powerhouse Don Juan Fantasy of Liszt, that composer’s “Reminiscence” of Mozart’s Don Giovanni, utilizing “La ci darem la mano,” the Commendatore’s D Minor music, and the “Champagne Aria” as its major sources of motor energy. Rosen interpolates a chromatic passage from Liszt’s two-piano arrangement–right after the hell-dragging threats in the overture–that well presage elements in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde. The duet between Don Giovanni and Zerlina has all the coy seduction and feigned innocence of the vocal original, the “orchestra” laughing at both parties as they eventually move off together in thirds. The variants that ensue intrude with demonic bouts from the Commendatore. The Champagne Aria proves no less feral, even explosive, and signifies not so much the Don’s virile conquest as the power of Cosmic Justice. The Loreley (1832; rev. 1856) invokes Heine’s Rhine maiden who lures unwary sailors to their deaths, a fantasy-barcarolle of lulling harmonic motion.
Schumann’s 1837 Op. 6–dedicated to the spirit that opposes cultural Philistinism–constitutes a suite of eighteen character-pieces or better yet, “tempi of initiation” into the cult of Romantic personality and psychological dualism. The No. 2 Laendler in B Minor “innig” piece from Eusebius–Schumann’s poetic, “feminine” self–recurs near the end of the suite as a kind of musical ouroboros perceived “from far away.” Florestan tends to favor major keys–G Major, D Major, C Major, E Major–though he, too, can muse in the dark places. Rosen negotiates the knotty metrics of “Etwas hahnbuechen” and “Ungeduldig” with digital aplomb. Sections like Florestan’s “sehr rasch” in D Minor and No. 13 “Wild und lustig” become minor toccatas or showpieces. The “Frisch” from Florestan in C Minor always has an immediate, lusty appeal. The second edition of the work calls for “Lebhaft” at No. 9, which Rosen takes risoluto, aggressively. Florestan’s D Minor Ballade supplies materials for the later C Major Fantasy, Op. 17. With Eusebius’ “Einfach” we enter a microcosm of B Minor and D and E Major for three successive pieces, Florestan and Eusebius cavorting in easy gaiety and musical puns. Eusebius’ grand moment, a nocturne “Zart und singend,” in E-flat Major receives from Rosen a delicate tracery, evocative and piquant. No. 15 “Frisch” plays as an extended Romantic conceit in rolling arpeggios, a clear anticipation of the last movement of the C Major Fantasy, incorporating figures we find in the song “Widmung.” “Mit guten Humor” belongs to the world of Kinderszenen, Op. 15. Rosen takes the two extended, last sections as musical complements, graceful inward thoughts and nostalgic recollections that gravitate to a restful C Major. The Romantic Generation hath its archetypes.
— Gary Lemco
