Max Reger: Piano Music for Four Hands - Duo Tal & Groethuysen - 1991

Max Reger (1873-1916)

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Six Burlesques, Op. 58

Introduction and Passacaglia for Organ in D minor 
(Arr. for piano four hands by Reger, 1914)

Twelve Waltz Caprices, Op. 9

Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart, Op. 132a 
(Arr. for piano four hands by Reger, 1915)

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Yaara Tal, piano

Andreas Groethuysen, piano

Gramophone review >>>

This is a treat for Reger enthusiasts (are they numerous?), devotees of the piano duet and anyone who enjoys persuasive performances of unfamiliar late romantic repertoire. The only disappointment is Reger's own arrangement of his magisterial Introduction and Passacaglia in D minor (1899) for organ. No piano-duet version can do justice to the grinding suspensions sustained throughout the Introduction and the exhilaration of the last climax. These spacious moments are in any case thrown away by being taken rather fast.

But this CD is well worth having for everything else. The 12 Waltz-Caprices, from Reger's student years at the Wiesbaden Conservatorium, are as inventive as anything. A touch of Brahms, as in much of Reger and plenty of other composers on both sides of the Channel and the Atlantic, but glimpses of originality too. The technical demands on the performers in No. 10 are well met: the spaciousness of No. 12 is another unusual feature. (The last repeat is not played.)

The Six Burlesques show a seldom appreciated side of Reger-his wit! The last one is based on the popular song 0 du lieber Augustin and its exaggerations (knowing "how far to go too far" in Cocteau's famous phrase) bring it close to the kind of waltz parody found in the Valses bourgeoises by Lord Berners (Unicorn-Kanchana, I/79-sadly now deleted). This transforms Reger's serious image derived from the baleful solemnity of some of the admittedly fine organ works: the Burlesques, mostly fast in tempo, scintillate throughout. Much of the appeal of this well-recorded CD is due to Tal and Groethuysen, who provide a somewhat apologetic note in the booklet. No need to apologise for anything performed with ensemble like this and commitment of this calibre.

The Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Mozart (from his Piano Sonata K331 in A) is often cited as Reger's most popular work. The orchestral version is familiar enough, although there are more recordings of several other works at present. After completing the orchestral score, Reger reworked it for two pianos, but this version for piano duet has more of the original material. The long slow movement (track 28) in particular seems to be the core of Reger, prophetic of early Schoenberg or Busoni and darkly introspective in sharp contrast to the Mozart theme, which is blown up at the end of the concluding fugue-almost literally, pious Mozartians may feel, in Wagnerian harmony. The duet version makes the work seem less stable than the orchestral one and I prefer the real duets. P.D. --(gramophone.net)

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Posted by robertofthepampas