Dame Myra Hess Vol.1
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Enrique Granados (y Campiña), Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn, Domenico Scarlatti
Label: Great Recordings of the Century
Magazine Review Date: 5/1991
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 76
Mastering:
Mono
ADD
Catalogue Number: 763787-2
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Sonata for Piano No. 30 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| Sonata for Piano No. 31 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| Sonatas for Keyboard Nos. 1-555 |
Domenico Scarlatti, Composer
Domenico Scarlatti, Composer |
| (26) Bagatelles, Movement: No. 3 in E flat |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| (26) Bagatelles, Movement: A minor (Für Elise) |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| (48) Songs without Words, Movement: No. 5, Allegro vivace in A minor, 'Kinderstück' |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| Goyescas, Movement: No. 4, Quejas o la maja y el ruiseñor |
Enrique Granados (y Campiña), Composer
Enrique Granados (y Campiña), Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| (16) Waltzes, Movement: No. 15 in A flat |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Johannes Brahms, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| (4) Pieces, Movement: No. 3, Intermezzo in C |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Johannes Brahms, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| Cantata No. 147, 'Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben', Movement: Choral: Jesu bleibet meine Freude (Jesu, joy of man's desiring) |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| Toccata, Adagio and Fugue |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer |
| (6 Little) Preludes, Movement: D |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
Composer or Director: Johann Sebastian Bach, Johannes Brahms, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn, Claude Debussy, Fryderyk Chopin, Ludwig van Beethoven, Antonín Dvořák
Label: Pearl
Magazine Review Date: 5/1991
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 70
Mastering:
Mono
ADD
Catalogue Number: GEMMCD9462
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (6) French Suites |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer |
| Sonata for Piano No. 13 |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern, Movement: No. 9, Ballet No. 2 in G |
Franz Schubert, Composer
Franz Schubert, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 3 |
Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer
Emanuel Feuermann, Cello Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| Nocturnes, Movement: No. 5 in F sharp, Op. 15/2 |
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer
Fryderyk Chopin, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| (48) Songs without Words, Movement: No. 6, Andante con moto in A flat, 'Duetto' |
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer
Felix Mendelssohn, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| (8) Pieces, Movement: No. 2, Capriccio in B minor |
Johannes Brahms, Composer
Johannes Brahms, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| (16) Slavonic Dances, Movement: No. 1 in C |
Antonín Dvořák, Composer
Antonín Dvořák, Composer Hamilton Harty, Piano Myra Hess, Piano |
| (6) Images, Movement: Poissons d'or |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| (24) Préludes, Movement: La fille aux cheveux de lin |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| (24) Préludes, Movement: Minstrels |
Claude Debussy, Composer
Claude Debussy, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
| Cantata No. 147, 'Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben', Movement: Choral: Jesu bleibet meine Freude (Jesu, joy of man's desiring) |
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach, Composer Myra Hess, Piano |
Author: James Methuen-Campbell
It is really very lucky that there is virtually no duplication of repertoire between the four Myra Hess recordings that are now available. APR/Harmonia Mundi last year released a two-record set chiefly devoted to chamber works ((LP) APR7012; (CD) CDAPR7012, 8/90) and it is only the little Schubert A major Piano Sonata and the Rosamunde piece that turn up on one of the new discs, namely the Pearl. In the sonata I definitely prefer the sound-quality of the latter issue, because although there is rather heavy surface noise from the 1928 original, the transfer has preserved much more of the instrument's tone-colour.
The two late Beethoven sonatas are above everything else gentle and poetic readings. The elemental force of Beethoven is not really hinted at. Hess pays careful attention to details of dynamics and thepiano-pianissimo range is used a great deal to create a rarefied atmosphere of quiet reflection. One might question the amount of emphasis given to tone production; in places the character of the music could be more strongly conveyed. However, the two fugues of the last movement of Op. 110 have such thoroughly musical and deft contrapuntal playing that an overall feeling of mastery is easily maintained. Here Hess accumulates the instrument's sonorities towards the final triumphant climax with impressive control.
Of course, the EMI recordings are all post-Second World War and mostly date from the LP era, so that surface noise and side changes do not distract the listener's attention. Of the shorter pieces on this disc I especially enjoyed the Granados, in which Hess's shaping of accompanying figures is superb. The twitterings of the nightingale at the end also conjure up all the colours and associations one could wish for. Whereas the Bach items have a characteristic coating of spirituality and a sort of grandiloquent homeliness, the Brahms, for me, could have been livelier. It is the second of the two Scarlatti sonatas that provides this quality in abundance: Hess's fingerwork is really scintillating here.
On the Pearl CD the two main items, the Schubert sonata and the Beethoven, are equally fine examples of Hess's musicality, though in differing aspects. There is little drama or tension in the Schubert, but it emerges none the less as a stylish and pleasant reading. The Beethoven, which suffers from some pitch fluctuation at the beginning, features the cellist Feuermann at the pinnacle of his unaffected and economical artistry; the two players share a serious and precise approach to the piece. The surface noise is a bit intrusive here, since it is not terribly even in distribution.
Of the shorter works, I cannot agree with Charles Haynes's statement in the accompanying booklet that ''it is especially good to come across the Chopin'' (in the form of the F sharp Nocturne), since Hess has rearranged the first three notes of the opening phrase to be played as octaves and the motive appears thus when it recurrs throughout the piece. Nor did Chopin's music feature infrequently in her programmes (referring to her first London performance which was at the Bechstein Hall in December 1905 in a programme that included the Andante spianato and Grande polonaise). The Brahms Capriccio is as busy and charming as it should be and ''Poissons d'or'' has great strength, although too bass orientated in sonority. There is little difference in the EMI and Pearl performances of Hess's ''Jesu bleibet meine Freude'' (''Jesu, joy...''), excepting a span of nearly 30 years between the recordings, which speaks for itself. Any of these CDs can be recommended as representations of Hess's artistry, although these two single discs are perhaps more attractive in terms of repertoire.'
The two late Beethoven sonatas are above everything else gentle and poetic readings. The elemental force of Beethoven is not really hinted at. Hess pays careful attention to details of dynamics and the
Of course, the EMI recordings are all post-Second World War and mostly date from the LP era, so that surface noise and side changes do not distract the listener's attention. Of the shorter pieces on this disc I especially enjoyed the Granados, in which Hess's shaping of accompanying figures is superb. The twitterings of the nightingale at the end also conjure up all the colours and associations one could wish for. Whereas the Bach items have a characteristic coating of spirituality and a sort of grandiloquent homeliness, the Brahms, for me, could have been livelier. It is the second of the two Scarlatti sonatas that provides this quality in abundance: Hess's fingerwork is really scintillating here.
On the Pearl CD the two main items, the Schubert sonata and the Beethoven, are equally fine examples of Hess's musicality, though in differing aspects. There is little drama or tension in the Schubert, but it emerges none the less as a stylish and pleasant reading. The Beethoven, which suffers from some pitch fluctuation at the beginning, features the cellist Feuermann at the pinnacle of his unaffected and economical artistry; the two players share a serious and precise approach to the piece. The surface noise is a bit intrusive here, since it is not terribly even in distribution.
Of the shorter works, I cannot agree with Charles Haynes's statement in the accompanying booklet that ''it is especially good to come across the Chopin'' (in the form of the F sharp Nocturne), since Hess has rearranged the first three notes of the opening phrase to be played as octaves and the motive appears thus when it recurrs throughout the piece. Nor did Chopin's music feature infrequently in her programmes (referring to her first London performance which was at the Bechstein Hall in December 1905 in a programme that included the Andante spianato and Grande polonaise). The Brahms Capriccio is as busy and charming as it should be and ''Poissons d'or'' has great strength, although too bass orientated in sonority. There is little difference in the EMI and Pearl performances of Hess's ''Jesu bleibet meine Freude'' (''Jesu, joy...''), excepting a span of nearly 30 years between the recordings, which speaks for itself. Any of these CDs can be recommended as representations of Hess's artistry, although these two single discs are perhaps more attractive in terms of repertoire.'
Dame Myra Hess Piano Recital
Dame Myra Hess Vol.1
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