Gwendolyn Mok, Legacy: The Spirit of Beethoven, Piano Music by Beethoven, Czerny, Liszt and Mendelssohn

Beethoven's influence ended up being as huge as anyone's in the history of classical music. His approach to the pianoforte influenced virtually all who followed, and not just in the music itself, but in the development of a singing tone. Gwendolyn Mok makes use of three beautiful sounding period pianos (a 1795 Louis Dulcken, an 1823 Broadwood and Sons, and an 1868 Erard) to address the Beethoven influence, first Beethoven himself, then his pupil Carl Czerny, a Franz Liszt transcription and a characteristic Felix Mendelssohn work.

The program starts with Beethoven's breakthrough "Pianoforte Sonata No. 2 in A Major, Op. 2, No. 2" of 1795. It all starts here and it all follows through from the initial impetus. Carl Czerny in turn taught Franz Liszt and instilled in him an adoration of Beethoven's piano legacy. Felix Mendelssohn knew both Czerny and Liszt and like them was under the spell of Beethoven from the beginning.

We get that connection both directly and indirectly through a number of well-chosen works: Czerny's "Erste fantasie auf motive aus Beethovens werken" (1835), where Czerny utilizes themes from eight Beethoven opuses and weaves a fantasy around them. His 1841 "Nocturne in E-Flat Major, Op. 647" shows the mature composer and what the singing legato style meant to him.

Franz Liszt's arrangement-transcription of Beethoven's song cycle "An die ferne Geliebte" stays close to the Beethoven piano parts but then adds the vocal part and additional flourishes.

A volume of tributes to the master, Album-Beethoven, included 11 composers and was published in 1841. Czerny's "Nocturne" was among the highlights, as was Mendelssohn's "Variations Serieuses in D minor, Op. 54." It is a fitting conclusion to a program that literally glows with Beethoven's presence.

The period pianos and Gwendolyn Mok's subtle reading of them give us a Beethoven and an early romantic way that remains connected to its classical roots, shows a beautifully singing style without the excessive rubato or emotional blindsiding that 20th century performances sometimes strayed into.

All the works meld together as an impressive, privileged ear-side view of what indeed the early period of Beethoven's legacy sounded like. Hearing the original pianos reminds us that this music was neither commandingly loud at its extreme end, nor are the voicings balanced in the typical ways that the modern pianoforte encourages and even requires. There is a blend of registers but a distinct heterodox multivoiced timbral quality, too. You hear a different kind of balance as you listen to Ms. Mok and the piano responses. It is like hearing the music anew.

It is a joy of an album, a triumph for Gwendolyn Mok and the repertoire as well. Beethoven no doubt would have loved this disk! Highly recommended.

Matthias Veit & Henning Lucius, Klavier zu vier Handen (Piano Music for Four Hands)

When an anthology of works contains music of different style periods, either it is primarily a showcase for the artists involved or there are similarities in the works that go beyond the periods represented, or both. In the case of Matthias Veit & Henning Lucius's Klavier zu vier Handen (Telos Music 063) it is mostly a matter of artistry. The five works presented on this disk have in common the four-hand piano configuration and the artistry of the duo, which is considerable. The works themselves do not fit neatly into either period or stylistic affinities. They do not clash, certainly. But they give you variety and show off the interpretive skills of the pianists. And the sequence of the works flows nicely, too.

Max Reger's "Sech Walzer op. 22" gives us an example of the composer somewhere between his late-romantic and his neo-classical style with brevity and charm but no sentimentality. Erwin Schulhoff (1894-1942) and his "Ironien op. 34" is a more modernistic, brittle sort of multi-part work, with a ragtime-modern final movement. Both contrast nicely.

The program moves on to Gordon Sherwood (1929-2013) and his "Sonata in Blue, op. 66" in its recorded premiere. The music uses the blues scale tonality for more classical aims, in a way like Gershwin, only not as romantic-expressive as, say, the latter's "Rhapsody in Blue." And that is well, since it convinces on its own terms.

Debussy's "Ballade" (1890) is extraordinarily lyrical and characteristic of the composer in this period. The four-hand version is especially full.

We end with Mendelssohn's "Duett: Andante und Allegro vivace assai op. 92" from of course the previous century. It is a work in every way worthwhile and quite Mendelssohnian, and a contrast to the previous music in the program in its pre-modernist charm and slightly more virtuoso stance.

The sensitive interplay of Veit and Lucius makes it all work. The Reger, Schulhoff ad Sherwood are well worth hearing in these fine renditions; the Debussy and Mendelssohn well done. In all the program has great variety, shows us five excellent examples of the four-handed art, and showcases the very musical approach of Veit and Lucius. Bravo!