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Walter Gieseking Rarities

Jed Distler

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The legendary pianist Walter Gieseking (1895-1956) began his prolific recording career with sessions for the German Homochord label between 1923 and 1927. While many Gieseking Homochords have previously turned up on CD, APR brings the complete series together in a two-CD set, including several items not published on 78s.

Even in his late 20s Gieseking’s straightforward interpretive style and beautiful surface pianism already were evident, with steady yet never rigid rhythms, unflappable equilibrium between the hands, and an even, pellucid touch. And for all of Gieseking’s justly fabled mastery of pedal technique, he often achieves shimmering, colorful legato effects through fingers alone, as you can hear in the Bach First Partita Gigue and in the elegantly timed Scarlatti D minor sonata K9.

These qualities are especially revealing in a handful of Chopin selections (Gieseking usually steered clear of this composer). Indeed, Gieseking’s unusually brisk Chopin A-flat Polonaise proves quite an eye and ear opener in its nearly complete avoidance of rhetorical breadth; he never lets you forget that this work is a Polonaise first and foremost, even in the lyrical G major episode following the famous Trio, where Gieseking’s left-hand octaves yield nothing in bravura to Lhevinne or Horowitz. On the other hand, Gieseking’s rippling passagework in Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 12 does not preclude power and drama when needed. His 1927 electrical remakes of the two 1923 Debussy Arabesques benefit not only from superior sound but from less breathless tempos.

A generous selection of Gieseking rarities fills out Disc 2, including previously unreleased test pressings of Gieseking’s own Variations on Grieg’s Op. 12 No 1 Arietta for flute and piano, premiered in 1939 by the Greek/American flutist Lambros Callimahos with the composer at the piano in Carnegie Hall. The seven variations showcase both instruments with skillful aplomb and a fresh harmonic palette that suggests a love child of Richard Strauss and Francis Poulenc, notably the extended piano solo that opens the slow final variation.

Although Gieseking’s more modestly scaled three-movement Sonatine for Flute and Piano has had several excellent modern recordings (including Jeffrey Khaner on Avie and Julius Baker on VAI), it’s good to have Gustav Scheck’s world-premiere version available again, with Gieseking at the keyboard. To fill out a fourth 78 rpm side, the pair recorded two short Roussel pieces, also reissued here. A wartime set of Electrola test pressings reveals Mozart’s D major K. 576 sonata in a more sharply accented and dynamically contrasted reading than Gieseking’s 1953 EMI remake.

Lastly, from one of the pianist’s final sessions, held days before his sudden death in October 1956, we have an unpublished test pressing of Alexander Tansman’s Blues (Novelette No. 6). Gieseking brings out the music’s Gershwin-like lilt with an easy and idiomatic sense of swing that reflects the pianist’s little-known yet lifelong love for jazz. Frank Latino’s detailed annotations and Seth Winner’s clean, vivid transfers make this specially priced release all the more valuable an addition to Gieseking’s CD discography.


Recording Details:

Album Title: Walter Gieseking: The complete Homocord recordings and other rarities

Works by Bach, Brahms, Chopin, Debussy, Liszt, Gieseking, Ravel, Grieg, & others

    Soloists: Walter Gieseking (piano); Lambros Callimahos, Gustav Scheck (flute)

  • Record Label: APR - 6013
  • Medium: CD

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