Leopold KOZELUCH (1748-1818)
Complete Sonatas
Jenny Soonjin Kim (fortepiano)
rec. 2013-18, Claremont Graduate University, USA
BRILLIANT CLASSICS 95984 [12 CDs: 765 mins]
Leopold Kozeluch is benefitting from the realisation that there is more to eighteenth-century music than CPE Bach, Haydn and Mozart. Actually, he was esteemed as composer and performer more than they were, although their music soon eclipsed his. (The Irish tenor Michael Kelly, who created the role of Basilio in Le nozze di Figaro, said he first met Mozart at a Viennese concert ‘of the celebrated Kozeluch’s, a great composer for the piano-forte, and a fine performer on that instrument’.)
Kozeluch was born in the town of Velvary, now in the Czech Republic. He showed early musical prowess, and soon went to Prague to further his studies in law and his musical career. In 1778 he moved to Vienna, the centre of musical world then. He made his name as a composer, performer and teacher, and in 1785 set up his own publishing firm, the Musikalisches Magazin. He refused Prince-Archbishop Colloredo of Salzburg’s offer of the position of court organist. Later he succeeded Mozart and became Kammer Kapellmeister and Hofmusik Compositor, or court composer, at the court of Emperor Franz II; he received double Mozart’s salary. He was also seen as a musical innovator, championed the use of the fortepiano and even discouraged the use of the harpsichord. Even so, the first thirty-seven of the fifty sonatas here have been inscribed for ‘harpsichord or fortepiano’.
His music was well thought of. Dr Charles Burney wrote that it was “general excellent, abounding with solidity, good taste, correct harmony; and the imitations of Haydn are less frequent than in any other master of that school.” Kozeluch composed in most forms. I am aware of his symphonies (Chandos CHAN 9703), piano concertos, piano trios and more, and Kemp English’s survey of the sonatas (Grand Piano GP644 and GP733).
This set aptly illustrates the development of piano music during the eighteenth century, classically Viennese with the influence of Haydn and CPE Bach not hard to find. There is, however, enough of Kozeluch’s own personality in this music to keep the listener happy. He was constantly experimenting with the structure in the early sonatas, beginning with the classic fast-slow-fast movements and then shifting to the slow-slow-fast. There are two movement in No. 6, although the opening movement is itself in ternary form, slow-fast-slow, before the faster concluding movement. My favourite on the first two discs is Sonata No. 8 ‘La Chasse’. It clearly evokes the sound of the hunting horn in the first movement whilst the remaining two movements show the more experimental side of Kozeluch. The central movement is in the form of a theme and variations; the final is a rondeau. At nearly twenty-seven minutes, it is also the longest and most developed of the first eight sonatas.
The third disc presents sonatas Nos. 9 to 12. Jenny Soonjin Kim plays the alternative movements for the Op. 8, so we actually have four movements for Nos. 9 and 10. It is good to have these, especially as the alternative Aria con 12 variatione in No 10 is, at over ten minutes, longer than the first two movements combined. To compare, Kemp English rushes through the alternative movement taking a minute and a half off, whilst he luxuriates in the previous two movements, taking nearly two minutes more in the opening Allegretto maestoso.
With disc four we delving into the CPE Bach territory. The Allegro molto of Sonata No. 13 has the feel of the master about it. But it is Sonata No. 16 that impresses. Its two-movement structure once again shows the mastery of the tertiary model. The first movement’s slow-fast-slow is quite effective here, and the G minor key gives it some gravitas. Disc 5 seems to be closely recorded, so there is a higher playback volume and a little more reverberation. The music is very good. The Sonata No. 18 is the standout. Its first of two movements is a theme and six variations (indexed separately), quite fabulous. The concluding Allegro molto works well with what has preceded it.
Discs six contains Sonatas Nos. 21 to 25. The first has two (fast) movements, the others three. Sonata No. 21 is bright and cheery, especially Rondeau: Allegretto. I was taken by the Sonata in C No. 23; the opening Allegro sparkles under the fingers of Jenny Soonjin Kim. Disc 7 opens with another two-movement work, the Sonata in A minor No. 26. The second movement consists of an Andantino con 8 variazoni; the variations are clearly distinguishable, and Kozeluch melds them into one in a fascinating way.
Disc eight begins impressively: the opening Largo section of No. 30 is akin to a Bach prelude. The disc ends with the C minor Sonata Op. 35 No. 3, here given the number 34. The pianist again chooses slightly swifter tempi for this two-movement work, nearly three minutes quicker than Kemp English. Disc nine contains three sonatas Op. 38 and the Piano Sonata in G Major, P. XII:50, which is given the number 37; Kemp English plays it on a harpsichord. The sonatas on these two discs show a real development of style that culminates in a greater sense of melodic development. They are noteworthy for their lyrical beauty and expressiveness, and they show the influence of Mozart.
Disc ten opens somewhat ominously, the Largo of the C minor Sonata No. 39 with its double chords lasts all too short. One is waiting for further development as the work slips into the boisterous Allegro molto before concluding with a galante Rondeau: Allegro. What follows is a further four short sonatas. The longest which is the D minor Sonata No. 40, a two-movement work from 1807. The main interest here is in the first movement Largo-Allegretto molto e agitatao, which shows the development one wished for in the previous Sonata, before concluding with another Rondeau. The remaining three sonatas from 1809 are all in a major key. The G Major Sonata No. 41 ends with one of Kozeluch’s most Haydn-like rondos. Sonatas Nos. 42 and 43, fine examples of the turn-of-the-century Viennese style, show little alliance to Beethoven’s early sonatas.
Most of the sonatas were composed between 1780 and 1809. The final two discs contain those that are harder to date, but they continue to show the composer’s development of style and expression. They foreshadow the early music of Beethoven and Schubert. For instance, the Sonata in F No. 44 that opens disc eleven is given a date of ‘before 1773’, so it was composed early in Kozeluch’s career and it predates No. 1 of 1780. It certainly shows an allegiance to CPE Bach but soon develops into a more individualistic work. The Sonata in A No. 45 dates from ‘before 1776’. The remaining five Sonatas are all undated, so they could well be from times throughout Kozeluch’s compositional career. There are various influences such as CPE Bach and Haydn, but these are less noticeable and show a composer who is striving towards his individual voice. The Sonata in B flat No. 48 is particularly fine. The opening Adagio maestoso sets the scene for what is to follow, whilst the Sonata No. 50 with its concluding Larghetto-Rondo: Presto is a good summation of the music presented in this set.
Jenny Soonjin Kim and Kemp English both play on copies of an Anton Walter instrument from around 1795. The one employed here was made by Michael Walker in 1987. The first thing one notices is the reverberation of the piano, but this is not too much and is only really noticeable on disc one. One can tell that it is not a modern grand piano but, as the set progresses, it has a pleasing rounded sound. Kemp English’s recording is cleaner with less reverberation; on volume nine it seems a little recessed, so his instrument sounds smaller and less bright.
The performing edition in both cases is that compiled by Christopher Hogwood in a complete scholarly edition published by Bärenreiter Praha. The interpretations differ in tempo. Kim is generally faster, sometimes noticeably so. The Grand Piano booklet has more information. Brilliant wins, by a large margin, on price. This is interesting music, a must for anyone who enjoys late eighteenth-century keyboard music and the development of the piano.
Stuart Sillitoe
Contents
Disc 1 [75:15]
Piano Sonata in F major, Op. 1, No. 1, P. XII:8 [20:13]
Piano Sonata in E flat major, Op. 1, No. 2, P. XII:9 [19:05]
Piano Sonata in D major, Op. 1, No. 3, P. XII:10 [19:01]
Piano Sonata in B flat major, Op. 2, No. 1, P. XII:11 [16:55]
Disc 2 [70:34]
Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 2, No. 2, P. XII:12 [20:04]
Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 2, No. 3, P. XII:13 [12:28]
Piano Sonata in D Major, P. XII:14 [11:09]
Piano Sonata in F Major, Op. 5 [26:53]
Disc 3 [71:34]
Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 8, No. 1, P. XII:5 [15:32]
Piano Sonata in F Major, Op. 8, No. 2, P. XII:4 [23:09]
Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 10, No. 1, P. XII:15 [16:14]
Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 10, No. 2, P. XII:16 [16:13]
Disc 4 [69:45]
Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 13, No. 1, P. XII:3 [19:54]
Piano Sonata in G Major, Op. 13, No. 2, P. XII:7 [17:43]
Piano Sonata in E Minor, Op. 13, No. 3, P. XII:6 [17:29]
Piano Sonata in G Minor, Op. 15, No. 1, P. XII:17 14:20]
Disc 5 [65:38]
Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 15, No. 2, P. XII:18 [16:05]
Piano Sonata in A-Flat Major, Op. 15, No. 3, P. XII:19 [16:31]
Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 17, No. 1, P. XII:20 [14:56]
Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 17, No. 2, P. XII:21 [17:56]
Disc 6 [64:29]
Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 17, No. 3, P. XII:22 [12:18]
Piano Sonata in F Major, Op. 20, No. 1, P. XII:23 [12:11]
Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 20, No. 2, P. XII:24 [13:25]
Piano Sonata in D Minor, Op. 20, No. 3, P. XII:25 [12:36]
Piano Sonata in D Major, Op. 26, No. 1, P. XII:26 [13:53]
Disc 7 [59:41]
Piano Sonata in A Minor, Op. 26, No. 2, P. XII:27 [13:43]
Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 26, No. 3, P. XII:28 [15:28]
Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, Op. 30, No. 1, P. XII:29 [15:32]
Piano Sonata in G Major, Op. 30, No. 2, P. XII:30 [14:48]
Disc 8 [60:48]
Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 30, No. 3, P. XII:31 [14:31]
Piano Sonata in F Major, Op. 35, No. 1, P. XII:32 [15:12]
Piano Sonata in A Major, Op. 35, No. 2, P. XII:33 [17:31]
Piano Sonata in G Minor, Op. 35, No. 3, P. XII:34 [13:27]
Disc 9 [69:14]
Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 38, No. 1, P. XII:35 [15:56]
Piano Sonata in C Major, Op. 38, No. 2, P. XII:36 [12:56]
Piano Sonata in F Minor, Op. 38, No. 3, P. XII:37 [16:09]
Piano Sonata in G Major, P. XII:50 [5:47]
Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 51, No. 1, P. XII:38 [18:46]
Disc 10 [66:18]
Piano Sonata in C Minor, Op. 51, No. 2, P. XII:39 [15:21]
Piano Sonata in D Minor, Op. 51, No. 3, P. XII:40 [15:27]
Piano Sonata in G Major, Op. 53, No. 1, P. XII:46 [13:08]
Piano Sonata in F Major, Op. 53, No. 2, P. XII:47 [12:08]
Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 53, No. 3, P. XII:48 [10:09]
Disc 11 [39:48]
Piano Sonata in F Major, P. XII:1 [12:07]
Piano Sonata in A Major, P. XII:2 [16:08]
Piano Sonata in C Major, P. XII:41 [8:20]
Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major, P. XII:42 [6:05]
Disc 12 [51:03]
Piano Sonata in B-Flat Major, P. XII:43 [16:10]
Piano Sonata in A Major, P. XII:44 [19:28]
Piano Sonata in E Minor, P. XII:45 [15:19]
