Although it may not have been planned as such from the start, this release
coincides with Bernard Rands' eightieth birthday. In the course of
his prolific composing career Rands produced a considerable number of works
in almost every genre. They are all characterised by impeccable
craftsmanship as well as great expressive strength although his music is
often demanding while paying innumerable dividends. The works recorded here
span some fifty years of his composing life but his piano output is not a
constant in his oeuvre.
The earliest pieces here,
Tre Espressioni were
completed before he embarked on his studies with Dallapiccola. Later, he
studied with and befriended Luciano Berio. However, as Dan Albertson remarks
in his insert notes, “Rands is slightly too young ever to have been a
doctrinaire serialist yet he is of the right age, and was in the right
place, to have the newest developments happening around him”. Some of his
complex and exacting music, particularly in his earlier works, shouts and
whispers from the ranks of the most radical avant-garde of the time.
Tre Espressioni also make use of some
'modern' techniques by relying on open forms and free
notation. The first piece ignores it, the second is a mix of strict notation
and 'time notation' whereas the third dispenses with bar
lines. A further element of formalistic freedom, though its impact is
actually quite minimal, is the fact that the first and third pieces may be
interchanged whereas the second definitely remains central. Incidentally,
the three pieces are not indexed separately but presented as a single span
of music though one is told that they are played in the I-II-III
sequence.
Espressione IV composed a few years later is
Rands' only work for two pianos. In it he experiments with various
aspects of confronting two instruments which results either in rather
vehement clashes or unsuccessful attempts at synchronisation and eventually
in achieving some sort of reconciliation. The piece was composed for the
brothers Kontarsky who were, one remembers, staunch champions of modern
music. In their time they performed and recorded works by Boulez and
Stockhausen. So no wonder that the music is demanding and the present
performers superbly rise to its many challenges.
Rands has composed a number of pieces sharing the title of
Memo.
There are at least eight of them so far and some of them exist in different
versions.
Memo 5 is a “condensation of the solo
part of
Mésalliance for piano and small orchestra
(1972)”. Dan Albertson states that it is the densest work on the CD, a
proposition with which I fully agree. I would even go as far as saying that
this is the most intractable work here because everything here is
predominantly sonority. Sounds and blocks of sound collide in the most
vehement and often brutal manner with little or no relief. This is music
that requires a remarkable physical and intellectual stamina which Ursula
Oppens possesses aplenty.
The more recent
Preludes composed for Robert
Levin are in total contrast with what has been heard before. They are the
perfect illustration of a gradual broadening of Rands' aesthetics.
However, the aesthetic and expressive qualities of Rands' music were
already apparent from a number of works composed in the 1980s such as
Canti Lunatici (1981),
Canti del
Sole(1982) and the beautiful suites
Le
Tambourin (1984). These Preludes display a great variety of
mood and character while remaining remarkably coherent from the stylistic
point of view. The music may still at times be complex but that very
complexity does not negate expression and lyricism when needed. Some of
these Preludes are deeply touching such as the fourth (
Elegia – In
memoriam Luciano Berio) and the last (
Notturno – In memoriam Dan
Martino). Others are rather more taxing in terms of piano technique but
– again – never at the expense of expression. A particularly striking
example is the ninth prelude
Emiolia. All in all, without going
into detailing each prelude, it may safely be said that Rands' set of
Preludes is both a substantial presence in his output and a major work in
present-day music for piano.
This generously filled release concludes with the short, occasional
Impromptu composed as Rands' contribution
to an anthology of dances. This volume was presented to Dr. Hanser-Strecker,
the president of his publishers, Schott Music, on the occasion of his
seventieth birthday. The music draws on that of the eleventh prelude
Istampita. This lovely little piece may be an occasional work but
it possesses all the qualities required to become a much needed encore. I
hope that it will be played by many pianists.
Rands' demanding but ultimately hugely rewarding music is played
here with remarkable aplomb and commitment by beautifully equipped musicians
whose immaculate playing serves the music well. One could not think of a
more successful eightieth birthday tribute to one of the most important
composers of his generation and one whose music is still too little known
and recorded.
Hubert Culot
