Dussek reviews

‘Howard Shelley’s exceptional ability to make the byways of the concerto repertoire sound like bona fide masterpieces reaches new heights’.

Dussek

Piano Concertos: in E flat, Op. 3; in F, Op. 14; in G minor Op. 49

Ulster Orchestra/Howard Shelley (piano/conductor)

Hyperion CDA 68211 73:39 mins

Dussek: Piano Concertos

Having explored the byways of the Romantic piano concerto repertoire for Hyperion, the indefatigable Howard Shelley is now turning his attention to neglected examples of the genre from the Classical period. The three concertos by Dussek recorded here span a period of nearly 30 years, and while the early G major, Op. 1 No. 3 has its attractive moments, the two later works have more to offer. The Concerto in C, Op. 29 very unusually begins with a slow introduction whose theme reappears, rhythmically altered, at two points in the following Allegro.

Dussek: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1

The Bohemian composer Jan Ladislav Dussek (1760-1812) spent an entire decade of his life in London, where the Broadwood piano firm built instruments for him with an extended range of six octaves, right up to a top C. The sonatas Dussek wrote for them in the mid-1790s were published as being ‘with additional keys’, and the keys in question weren’t available on Continental pianos until nearly a decade later: if Beethoven had had them, his sonatas up to the Waldstein and Appassionata might have sounded rather different.

Ippolitov-Ivanov, Saint-Sa‘ns, Dussek, Glinka, Bax & Ravel

Chamber works starring the harp are not so plentiful that Gillian Tingay and her fellow ‘Fibs’ can afford to ignore Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro. The light and shade of its thematic treasures, all of them beautifully nuanced by this outstanding ensemble, proclaims this as the one true masterpiece on this CD as it crowns a well-conceived sequence of lesser gems. Tingay calls the tune with a muscular cadenza to Ippolitov-Ivanov’s Evening in Georgia and keeps level-pegging with Christine Sohn’s deliciously adaptable violin in Saint-Saëns’s chameleon-like Fantasy.

Dussek: Piano Concerto in G minor, Op. 49; Piano Concerto in B flat, Op. 22; Tableau Marie Antoinette

These compositions by JL Dussek (1760-1812) were recorded on a Broadwood piano of 1806, which sounds well despite its age. Staier plays with brilliance and elegance and directs the Concerto Köln with authority. But he complains because in Dussek’s Op. 22 Concerto ‘one becomes weary of B flat major’ and therefore invents an introduction to the finale as a sudden change of flavour. But with over a dozen concertos to choose from, surely one could be found with more variety of key? Denis Stevens

Dussek: Sonatas and Duos for Harp & other instruments

This is a charming disc, light, elegant, and poised, as 18th-century music performed on instruments of the period should be. Dussek was well known for his keyboard abilities – lesser known, regrettably, for his glass harmonica skills. Several of his works feature a harp – his wife was a noted executant – and five such pieces are played here by Danielle Perrett, on the single-action harp of the late 18th century.

Dussek: Sonata in F, Op. 20/3; Sonata in B flat, Op. 24/3; Three Sonatas, Op. 31

Dussek exploited his own prowess in sparkling keyboard parts, here elegantly balanced with strings on period instruments. Two ‘sonatas’ are impassioned and searching, three more reflect 18th-century London’s delight in buried folk tunes. A delightfully sunny disc eminently worth exploring. George Pratt

Dussek: Duo for Harp & Keyboard with Two Horns, Op. 38; Duos concertants, Op. 69/1-3

These are bright, attractive performances on period instruments, despite some lapses in ensemble and horn intonation. Styles range from Classical, including a reminiscence of Mozart in Op. 69/2 and melodrama in Op. 38, to increasingly Romantic, although many turns of phrase are similar throughout. Danielle Perrett

Dussek: Dussek and the Harp: Harp Sonatas, Op. 34; Favourite Sonata, Op. 37; Favourite Duet, Op. 11; Duo, Op. 38

The booklet for this reissue tells of the possible intrigue between the composer Jan Ladislav Dussek and the harpist Anne-Marie Krumpholtz, who both came to London in the aftermath of the French Revolution – Dussek was a musician dangerously favoured by the aristocracy – and together gave concerts in Salomon’s Hanover Rooms series. Well, maybe the relationship was more than friendly, maybe not, but the CD itself includes five delightful works for harp. Two, the Op. 34 Sonatas listed in New Grove as piano sonatas with violin and cello accompaniment, are played by harp alone.

Dussek reviews

Dussek: Messe Solemnelle

The Beethoven Connection

Dussek: Piano Concertos: in E flat, Op. 3; in F, Op. 14; in G minor Op. 49

A magnificent trio of Dussek concertos