First of all let us
compare three great composers who specialised
in writing music for the piano: Rachmaninov,
Scharwenka and Enrique Granados.
Every music listener
knows that Rachmaninov wrote a considerable
body of works. Some of these, like the
Preludes, are extremely common
in recital rooms. Others such as the
2nd Piano Sonata in
its various revisions are often heard.
Most of the other works, with the exception
of some of the juvenilia, feature in
recital programmes across the western
musical world.
Now if we think about
Scharwenka, who also wrote a vast amount
of piano music the story is completely
different. I doubt one music lover in
a hundred would be able to name a singe
piece this talented Polish composer
wrote. A few may have listened to one
or other of his pianoforte concerti,
but typically the instrumental works
are a closed book.
When we come to Enrique
Granados the situation is a different
one again. He is famed for one work
- the deservedly renowned Goyescas.
It is true to say that some of the Danzas
espanolas were the works that brought
him his initial popularity; however
these are still relatively little known-with
four exceptions. Goyescas pushes
most of his other music into the background
where it has remained for a considerable
time.
If we look at the Archiv
CD website we find some 290 recordings
of this composer's music listed as being
on CD. But straight away we find that
one of the most famous of the Danzas
españolas for Piano, Op. 37:
no 5, Andaluza is represented
with 107 recordings. Four more of these
dances account for another 102 hits
whilst the beautiful Le maja de Goya
from Goyescas has 25 hits. This
totals 234 recordings of six works.
The remaining 56 are spread thinly about
the rest of his oeuvre.
The maths are finished.
But my point is that Granados reputation
rests firmly on two works - the Goyescas
and (a handful of) the Spanish
Dances.
So it is with great
faith that Naxos have embarked on what
will eventually become the complete
piano works of this composer. I say
this with a degree of concern. I believe
that people divide into two basic musical
minds. Those, with a trainspotting mentality
(I include myself here) that want all
the works of a composer or writer and
those who are content with only the
purple passages. The failing of the
first characteristic is that we have
to wade through a lot of second and
even third rate rubbish to find the
hidden gems. However the other character
trait usually misses these gems unless
pointed out by someone else with more
encyclopaedic knowledge.
This being said I must
admit that this CD surprised me. I wondered
about how good bad or indifferent some
of these small and often seemingly inconsequential
pieces would be. I felt that perhaps
we were scraping the bottom of the Granados
barrel. I need not have worried. Although
there is little in the way of masterpieces
in the grand sense here, or ground breaking
pianistic technique, each one of these
36 tracks are charming, pleasant, well
written and technically competent. They
are a pleasure to listen to.
I will mention a few
of the works on this CD.
One of the joys of
this recording is the fact that the
'easy' pieces are recorded as well as
a number of technically more complex
and difficult numbers.
The 6 Estudios expresivios
en forma de piezas faciles, DLR IV:5.1
[Six Expressive Studies in the Form
of Simple Pieces] are a good example
of music that is not beyond the competence
of most pianists. Yet these are not
patronising practice pieces. They are
well constructed numbers that test the
interpretive skills of even the most
experienced pianist.
Riva explores more
student material in the Bocetos:
Coleccion de Obras faciles, DLR IV:10
['Sketches' A Collection of Simple
Pieces]. I hasten to point out that
they are not too simple! They come complete
with 'poetic' titles - The Hunters
Call, The Fairy and the Child
and The Afternoon Bell. They
are joy to listen to and make a nice
foil to the more complex Goyescas
or Spanish Dances.
The 7 Estudios,
DLR IV:4 [Seven Studies] are not
dated. They are attractive works that
certainly do not sound like 'mere' teaching
material. They range in difficulty from
'elementary to moderately difficult.'
Yet like all these kinds of works, the
'easy' ones are often hardest to 'pull
off.' Riva manages to present these
didactic pieces as a complete work of
art in its own right.
The Cartas de amor:
Valses intimos, DLR VII:6 were composed
as an engagement present for the composer's
fiancée, Amparo Gal Llovera.
These are four very simple, but extremely
effective waltzes. Of course the English
title of the work is Love Letter's
Intimate Waltzes. And intimacy is
certainly the operative word. They are
quite short, although I notice the programme
notes give the wrong duration. They
are played with a perfectly stated innocence.
Perhaps my favourite
piece is the La Gondola - Escena
poética. This was deemed
to be a lost work, but fortunately a
copy turned up in 2001. A flavour of
the work is provided in the text appended
to the music- 'A tranquil night, moonlight
night, Venice sleeps while the lover's
gondola crosses the silver lake.'
The programme notes
are excellent; they are detailed and
instructive. It is quite clear that
not only is Douglas Riva a fine exponent
of Granados but is also a scholar. Of
course Riva has played a major role
as assistant director in the publication
of the critical edition of the Complete
Works for Piano of Enrique Granados
which is published by Editorial Boileau.
The director was in fact the redoubtable
Alicia de Larrocha.
The sound of this CD
is excellent and matches the superb
playing by Riva. Not every piece on
this CD is an undiscovered masterpiece.
However, virtually all of this music
is attractive and interesting; some
of it is truly beautiful. None of it
deserves the neglect that has been its
lot for the last century or so. What
Douglas Riva has done for us is to give
us the opportunity to judge a vast part
of the Granados oeuvre for ourselves.
We can decide what is timeless and what
is ephemeral. I do not suppose that
recital promoters will programme many
of these newly rediscovered works. I
expect that the same Spanish Dances
and extracts from the Goyescas
will continue to reign supreme. But
now there is no excuse. We have our
musical lives enriched by this in depth
exploration of one of the greatest of
composers for the piano of the early
twentieth century.
However there is one
health warning. Do not listen to this
CD from track one to the end. Pick out
the individual works and enjoy them
one at a time! Then the true charm of
Granados skill will become obvious.
John France
Douglas
Riva, piano 