These are the famous
– or if you’re a piano student, notorious
- Kuhlau Sonatinas. They do tend to
be churned out come examination time
though that’s not to say that they’re
arid examples, though it is to say that
contemporary publishers did have more
than one eye on the market for instructional
material. They have plenty of up and
down scalar writing and they do make
demands on the technique though less
so on matters of interpretive intimacy.
Kulhau showed in his vocal works that
he’d lent an ear to Schubert and there
are hints that those influences had
seeped into his piano writing. That
said, it’s true to say that if they
had it’s more like the piano writing
of the Violin Sonatas (or Sonatinas)
than the bigger solo piano works.
The abiding influence
however is Mozart’s. There are some
surprises along the way, such as the
lively clop of the Allegro Scherzando
that ends the G major, Op.20 No.2 and
the Alla Polacca that gives such free
rein for display in the F major from
the same set. It also gives opportunities
to impress with pomposo left hand articulation
though I doubt any student could begin
to match Erik Fessel at such points.
The Andantino of Op.88 No.1 is explicitly
and attractively vocal, with its strong
right hand melody line and simple, supportive
left. The Alla Polacca finale (again)
of the F major Op.55 No.4 has a sprightly
strut and tests accurate rhythm. The
Op.60 Sonatinas use variations on themes
from Rossini’s Armida – like
Beethoven, Rossini was a definite influence
on Kuhlau but neither influence is really
evident in these Sonatinas.
Fessel plays them adroitly
and with simplicity; the recording level
is not over scaled and the acoustic
is warm. There’s certainly some charm
in these miniatures though the music
is deliberately circumscribed to suit
its market.
Jonathan Woolf
Erik Fessel (piano) 
