Thomas D.A. Tellefsen is best known for his relationship with
Chopin. After studying with Chopin for several years in Paris,
the two became friends, notably after they both left France
for England following the 1848 revolution, and up until Chopin’s
death in 1849. After this, Tellefsen had a certain success in
Paris as a pianist and interpreter of Chopin’s music,
as well as a performer of his own works.
Chopin’s influence is clear enough in many of these piece
but Norwegian folk themes also put in an appearance. One can
make a link between Tellefsen and Grieg’s piano music,
where many of the latter’s Lyric Pieces recall Tellefsen’s
style.
Like Chopin’s music, these works are, for the most part,
individual pieces, with the exception of the early C minor sonata.
There are nocturnes and mazurkas, etudes and waltzes. The music
is delightfully lyrical, in the true classical romantic tradition,
yet there is little call for virtuosity. Tellefsen’s music
is well enough known that there are two other complete recordings
of his piano music - one by Einar Steen-Nøkleberg on
Simax, and another by Malgorzata Jaworska on Acte Préalable.
Nevertheless, Tellefsen was no Chopin, and while the music is
enjoyable, it is far from that of Tellefsen’s master.
This disc is what 2L Records calls a Pure Audio Blu-ray. It
contains nearly three and a half hours of music on a single
disc in DTS HD MA 96kHz/24bit 5.1 and LPCM 192kHz/24bit stereo
formats. Using the mShuttle technology, it is possible to access
the contents of the disc over a network, and copy the files
in FLAC 96kHz, WAV or MP3 format.Much to my chagrin, when I
copied the WAV files, they were named in a way that provided
no information as to the title of each track; each one is just
named with the album number and a track number. It would be
a lot more useful if 2L put the track name in the file name,
so the files, which cannot contain tags, can at least provide
some information about what they contain. The FLAC and MP3 files
are properly equiped with complete meta data.
While this is pleasant music, it seems to all sound alike after
a while. Tellefsen’s output is a good example of what
Chopin’s disciples were capable of. It may especially
interest amateur pianists who wish to learn some new music of
the 19th century that is not overly demanding.
Kirk McElhearn
Kirk McElhearn writes about more than just music on his blog
Kirkville.
Track listing
Four Mazurkas, op. 1 - A major [2:29]; A minor [2:31]; E minor
[1:44]; A major [1:24]
Nocturne no. 1 in F major, op. 2 [4:07]
Four Mazurkas, op. 3 - G minor [1:34]; G major [2:00]; B flat
major [1:33]; F sharp minor [3:15]
Three Valses brillantes, op. 5 - A flat major [2:52]; G major
[1:16]; E minor [3:52]
Tarentelle in E flat major, op. 6 [3:10]
Élégie in F minor, op. 7 [6:18]
Huldredansen (Dance of the Hulders) in G minor, op. 9 [2:43]
Adagio et Rondo in B minor, op. 10 [9:22]
Nocturne no. 2 in E major, op. 11 [3:39]
Thème original et Fantaisie in B flat minor, op. 12 [8:27]
Sonata in C minor, op. 13 - Allegro moderato [6:33]; Adagio
[5:34]; Rondo. Vivace [2:58]
Six Mazurkas, op. 14 - D minor [3:07]; G major [1:23]; F minor
[3:46]; F major [2:19]; D major [2:12]; C minor [2:08]
Feuillets d’Album, op. 16 - Allegro moderato in B flat
major [1:26]; Lento in A flat major [2:49]; Marche funèbre
in C minor [5:53]
Nocturne no. 3 in G minor, op. 17 [4:23]
Grande Polonaise in C sharp minor, op. 18 [7:04]
Allegretto in A major, op. 20 [2:58]
Toccata in F major, op. 22 [7:46]
La Petite Mendiante in E minor, op. 23 [2:03]
Grande Mazurka in B flat major, op. 24 [3:56]
Grande Étude in C sharp minor, op. 25 [3:06]
Bruraslaatten (Bridal Tune) in D major, op. 26 [3:08]
Valse in D flat major, op. 27 [3:27]
Ballade in C minor, op. 28 [4:34]
Marche Triomphale in E flat major, op. 29 [5:04]
Grande Valse no. 5 in F major, op. 30 no. 1 [3:28]; no. 6 in
F minor, op. 30 no. 2 [3:33]
Mazurka/Polskdans in A major, op. 33 [4:05]
Au travers d’un songe in A flat major, op. 34 [2:47]
Capriccio appassionato in B minor, op. 36 [4:37]
Impromptu in G minor, op. 38 [3:26]
Nocturne no. 4 in G flat major, op. 39 [5:04]
Walhallafesten (The Walhalla Feast) in G minor, op. 40 [3:52]
Mélodies écossaises in A major, op. 42 [7:46]
Excercice en sixtes in E major, op. 43 [2:29]
Pavane de la Reine Elisabeth in C sharp minor, op. 44 [5:34]
Valse in A major without opus number [3:03]
Jørgen Larsen (piano) 
[198:00] 