HAUER Etudes, Op 22
Piano studies by the ‘other’ Schoenberg
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Josef Matthias Hauer
Genre:
Instrumental
Label: MDG
Magazine Review Date: 08/2012
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 61
Mastering:
Stereo
DDD
Catalogue Number: MDG613 1640-2
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Etudes |
Josef Matthias Hauer, Composer
Josef Matthias Hauer, Composer Steffen Schleiermacher, Piano |
Author: Philip_Clark
And for pieces meant to be atonal, these Etudes sound clumsily tonal. The zig-zag of his melodic lines slinks lazily against harmonically declawed cadence points; and once a line has established itself, Hauer simply transposes it over another tonal centre. Which works fine until he chances upon an intriguingly insolvable chromatic riddle in Etude No 5 – think Satie’s Vexations – and is obliged to take a view on where his material might go. Then Hauer bottles it. His system lacks flexibility to embrace the unexpected.
Anything illuminating that interim period in music history when, just for a moment, fundamental truths about harmony were up for grabs is of interest, and Hauer does make you appreciate Schoenberg’s expressive and technical genius all the more. Schleiermacher’s neutral detachment – he doesn’t attempt to fashion Hauer’s melodies into neat phrases – is appropriate; although, by letting his lines go for a walk, Schleiermacher inadvertently reveals Hauer’s tendency to plod.
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