Manfred Reuthe’s recital
of 20th century piano music
is an interesting selection starting
with the relatively well-known Milhaud
and early Messiaen; concluding with
Ravel’s popular epitaph for the First
World War, and for his mother, Le
Tombeau de Couperin. However, he
lacks the lightness of touch to give
the rhythmic vivacity and ethereal atmosphere
required by these impressionistic pieces.
Whilst many European
composers were looking east for a taste
of exoticism, and to the past for their
models of music (neo-classicism), Milhaud
went west, and south, and spent the
years of the First World War in Brazil.
His piano suite, also made into an orchestral
version, Saudades do Brazil has
twelve movements, all named after districts
in Rio de Janeiro. The excellent sleeve
notes suggest that Milhaud’s work:
‘Though based on
European traditions… is far from
being imitative – it is truly innovatory
as it vitalizes the traditions of
the Old World by adding new imagination
and sensuousness.’
Like Ravel, Milhaud
used dance forms as a starting point.
However, he didn’t draw upon Brazilian
folk music, just the rhythms. Overall
he gives an impression of Brazil but,
in these performances at least, is little
more than a picture postcard – a feeling
intensified by the brevity of the dances.
The limits of Reuthe’s
technique is apparent in the Prelude
to Ravel’s suite where, although the
notes seem to be all there, they are
rushed to a mush and the ethereal magic
of Ravel’s music is lost. Similarly,
in the following movement, the rhythm
seems to clutter the notes rather than
create flow. This doesn’t seem to be
helped by the recording that makes the
piano sound quite harsh in the upper
registers. The finale, the Toccata,
is disjointed though the Minuet has
some poetry.
The Messiaen, early
pieces from 1928-29 when he was studying
with Dukas, are obviously indebted to
Debussy, and offer an interesting contrast
to Messiaen’s later ‘birdsong’ works
(the first prelude is called ‘The Dove’).
Like Debussy’s Preludes, they require
a pianist to play more than the notes
to capture the special sonorities and
impressionistic atmosphere. For me Reuthe
doesn’t manage this ‘trick’.
Overall, on paper an
interesting recital that doesn’t catch
‘fire’ and can only be recommended for
those looking for this particular combination
of works on one disc.
Nick Lacey
Manfred Reuthe (piano) 
