A l s o ava i l a b l e A selection of Piano Classics titles
Benjamin Godard
For the full listing please visit www.piano-classics.com
Fiorentino
Variations
EDITION
VOLUME 3
MENDELSSOHN LIEDER OHNE WORTE
SERGIO FIORENTINO
BEETHOVEN ErOica VariaTiONs
EDITION VOL. 3
racHMaNiNOFF cHOpiN VariaTiONs cOpLaND piaNO VariaTiONs
RACHMANINOFF Preludes Piano Sonatas 1 & 2 Transcriptions
Songs without Words Complete
2-CD
PCLD0065
Alexander Korsantia
PCL0066
Balázs Szokolay
2-CD
PCLD0067
PIANO WORKS
Earl Wild The complete transcriptions and original piano works VOLUME 1
Chopin
Schubert
Piano Sonata in B flat D960 Piano Sonata in A D664
ÉTUDES
complete
Z lata C hoChieva
PCL0068
Barcarolles Scènes italiennes Vingt pièces Op. 58
Klára Würtz
Giovanni Doria Miglietta, piano
PCL0069
PCL0070
ALESSANDRO DELJAVAN
Posterity has not been kind to the memory of Benjamin Godard. He was an enormously productive composer, who in a career cut short by tuberculosis at forty-five, produced over one hundred and fifty works including seven operas, five symphonic works, four concerti – two each for piano and violin – a large number of chamber and instrumental pieces and over a hundred songs, often to verses of his own composition: yet, until recently he was remembered if at all by the Berceuse from his opera Jocelyn, often in an instrumental arrangement. Godard was born in August 1849 in the rue de Clèry (a few streets away from the Place de Vendôme where Chopin’s life was drawing to its painful close) into a wealthy family which encouraged his precious musical talent. Indeed his later reputation for being somewhat self-regarding probably originated in the environment of uncritical adoration in which he was raised (although it must have been be difficult to maintain a sense of proportion when the family home contains a sculpted image of
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oneself bearing the inscription – “The Child vanishes: the Artist is revealed”). This attitude did not always endear him to his fellow composers: when Chabrier gave up his position as a civil servant to devote himself to full time composition at the age of thirty-nine, Godard commented that it was a pity he had come to music so late, to which Chabrier retorted that it was a pity Godard had come to it so early. In 1863, aged fourteen, he entered the Paris Conservatoire where he was taught violin by Henri Vieuxtemps (whom he accompanied on foreign concert tours) and harmony by Henri Reber. He left in 1867, having failed to win the Prix de Rome in successive years (putting him in the excellent company of Ravel and Berlioz) although he was to return twenty years later when appointed to the staff. His first published works had appeared during his student days and over the next few years he produced several works for violin (including his four violin sonatas), piano and voice. In 1874, he completed his first symphony, the
“Gothic” (dedicated to Saint-Saëns), following this three years later with the work that established him as one of the rising stars of French music – Le Tasse, a vast dramatic symphony for soloists, chorus and orchestra depicting episodes in the life of Torquato Tasso. Among those applauding the young composer’s triumph at its premiere were Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Ambroise Thomas and Gounod who, when Godard’s mother who was seated next to him in the audience identified herself, embraced her with the words” Please pass this on to your son”. Le Tasse won the Prix de Paris in 1878, the first of many such awards he received in recognition of his contribution to French music, not least that supreme indication of the establishment’s approbation the Légion d’Honneur in 1889. On the face of it, Godard enjoyed all possible success as a prolific composer whose work was regularly performed and published – only a substantial operatic triumph in France eluded him (what success his operas enjoyed was abroad). Many felt however that in his major
compositions he was failing to live up to his potential while producing too many slight works that he issued rather indiscriminately. A review of his 1890 opera Dante encapsulates this critical reaction (expressed more in sorrow than in anger): “Still the same spoilt child who has made promises in the past, makes them now and will make them for evermore. Today it is – “tomorrow will bring something good”. Then tomorrow comes… but acclaim is impatient and would never have waited until then. She pays in advance and I very much fear that she has put our composer in her debt for some time.” He was still pursuing the holy grail of an operatic success when in January 1895, having retreated to Cannes in the hope that the climate would benefit his ailing lungs, he died. The previous summer he had gone on a nocturnal bicycle ride when a sudden drop in temperature triggered a severe reaction from which he never recovered (and so it could be said that, as with Chausson, a passion for bicycling proved fatal, although rather less decisively in Godard’s case).
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The unfinished opera La vivandière was completed by Henri Cain (Massenet having refused the premature and insensitive request of the impresario Leon Carvalho to undertake the task while Godard was still alive but obviously on the brink of death). Although Godard’s orchestral and operatic works are now seldom performed, there has been a revival of interest in his songs, (although Proust tartly compared the experience of listening to them to being wearied by the trivialities of a lift attendant) and particularly his piano works. Although his genuine talent as an instrumentalist lay with the violin and viola, more than half his total output comprises works for the piano. This superabundance may in part be the result of financial necessity the Franco-Prussian war badly damaged the family finances and Godard may have felt the need to produce and keep on producing material that would sell into the widest possible market. Much of this can be described as salon music and the terms most often used to describe it are “charming” and
“sentimental”. No pejorative overtones need be attached to such terminology (although when the America composer Henry Holden Huss described Godard as ”an amiable and sweet composer who composed amiable and sweet music beloved by schoolgirls” he was not trying to be complimentary) and could with justice be used in connection with all the works in this collection, which make no great demands on the listener although in some cases require a certain virtuosity from the performer. The two barcarolles and the three Italian “scenes” are evocative but uncomplicated musical picture postcards, while the Op 58 pieces, each dedicated to one of his friends or pupils, are a series of exquisite and delicate miniatures exemplifying Arthur Hervey’s description of Godard as a ” musician of the autumn, of the twilight hours, [who] can conjure up visions of the past, stir up memories of forgotten days”. David Moncur
Le Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française a pour vocation de favoriser la redécouverte du patrimoine musical français du grand XIXe siècle (1780-1920), en lui assurant le rayonnement qu’il mérite et qui lui fait encore défaut. Situé à Venise, dans un palais de 1695 restauré spécifiquement pour l’abriter, le Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française est une réalisation de la Fondation Bru. Alliant ambition artistique et exigence scientifique, le Centre reflète l’esprit humaniste qui guide les actions de cette fondation. Recherche et édition, programmation et diffusion de concerts à l’international, et soutien à l’enregistrement discographique, sont les principales activités du Palazzetto Bru Zane qui a ouvert ses portes en 2009. The vocation of the Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française is to favour the rediscovery of the French musical heritage of the years 1780 to 1920, and to obtain for that repertoire the international recognition it deserves. Housed in Venice, in a palazzo dating from 1695,specially restored for the purpose, the Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française is one of the achievements of the Fondation Bru. Combining artistic ambition with high scientific standards, the Centre reflects the humanist spirit that guides the actions of that foundation. Research and publishing, the organisation and international distribution of concerts, and support for CD recordings are the main activities of the Palazzetto Bru Zane, which opened in 2009. Il Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française ha come vocazione di favorire la riscoperta del patrimonio musicale francese del grande Ottocento (1780-1920), offrendogli quell’irradiamento che merita e che ancora gli fa difetto. Ospitato a Venezia in un palazzo del 1695 appositamente restaurato a tal fine, il Palazzetto Bru Zane – Centre de musique romantique française è una realizzazione della Fondation Bru. Coniugando ambizione artistica ed esigenza scientifica, il Centre rispecchia lo spirito umanistico che guida le azioni di questa fondazione. Ricerca ed editoria, programmazione e diffusione di concerti in ambito internazionale, sostegno alla registrazione discografica, queste le principali attività del Palazzetto Bru Zane, il quale ha aperto le sue porte nel 2009. bru-zane.com
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Alessandro Deljavan Alessandro Deljavan began studying piano in 1989, not even 2 years old, making his debut the following year. He graduated in piano at age 16 at the “G. Verdi” Conservatory, Milan. In over 15 years of concert activity, has been applauded in the major theaters around the world (Austria, Colombia, Italy, Argentina, Belgium, South Korea, France, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Russia and the United States). Competition successes include the “Gina Bachauer Young Artists Competition” in Salt Lake City, Usa (the first Italian in the history of the competition), Van Cliburn in 2009 and in 2013 where he received the “John Giordano Jury Discretionary Award” and the “Raymond E. Buck Jury Discretionary Award”, and in 2010, the Isang Yun International
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Competition in South Korea. He has recorded works by Alkan, Schubert, Brahms, A. Rubinstein, Cramer, Busoni, Satie, for OnClassical, Stradivarius, Brilliant Classics, Naxos and Piano Classics. Deljavan is among the selected young artists attending the “International Piano Academy Lake Como”, Italy, and “International Piano Foundation Theo Lieven”, Suisse, one of the most famous in the world, where he meets regularly very prestigious personalities such as W. Nabore, D. Bashkirov, P. Frankl, Fou Ts’ong, J. Perry, A. Staier. He is part of the cast with Kissin, Pappano, Rosen in a film about Liszt, produced by Italian RAI TV. Since 2010 has been professor of piano at the “E.R. Duni” Conservatory, in Matera.