The Marston label pays tribute to one of America’s most brilliant and multi-faceted musicians with this eagerly anticipated reissue. Music connoisseurs perhaps know Arthur Loesser (1894-1969) as the author of Men, Women, and Pianos: A Social History, a wonderful book that covers much more than its title suggests. During the 78 era Loesser recorded with violinists such as Maud Powell and Toscha Seidel, accompanying the latter in sonatas by Brahms and Grieg. He taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music, serving as head of the piano department from 1953 until his death in 1969, and also wrote witty, provocative music criticism. And, as these long-unavailable performances reveal, Loesser was an extraordinary soloist, a natural pianist who imbued everything he touched with winged grace, spontaneity, and proportion. He phrased the way great singers breathe. His sense of rhythm was firm yet flexible, with no dead spots, protruding accents, or gaucheries, ever. All music benefited from his generous artistry, and it’s safe to say that Loesser never met a piano piece he didn’t like.
Disc 1 presents Sic Gloria Transit Mundi, Loesser’s October 29, 1967 Town Hall recital encompassing forgotten and obscure gems of the piano repertoire. A John Challis replica of an early-19th-century piano figures in the opening selections by Dussek, Hummel, Field, and Clementi. Loesser reverts to the modern grand for works by Jensen, Rubinstein, Raff (his peppery Rigaudon), and Paderewski (the rarely heard Légende). The textural thickets in Chabrier’s Bourrée Fantasque and Godowsky’s Gardens of Buitenzorg rarely have sounded so lithe and effortless, and Macdowell’s To A Wild Rose blooms rather than fades.
On Disc 2, Loesser works his magic on genuine masterpieces from major composers. What characterful wit he brings to the Haydn D major Sonata (No. 42), while Chopin’s B major Nocturne Op. 9 No. 3 is fleeter and more urgent than usual, even aggressive in the way the pianist’s pliable bass lines propel the action. Hear how the little Mozart G major Gigue sprints from Loesser’s nimble fingers without losing one iota of definition. Then there’s the most transparent and flowing Prokofiev Fifth Sonata I’ve ever heard, a Mendelssohn E minor Prelude and Fugue that begins with lyrical sweep (how gorgeously Loesser interweaves the big tune and its rolling arpeggio accompaniment!) and concludes with virtuosic fury.
Other amazing, effervescent performances include Chopin’s obscure Variations Brilliantes and Beethoven’s even more rare Variations on “Kindt, willst du ruhig schlafen”. We also get a good taste of Loesser’s heartfelt, uncluttered, and ever-alive Bach playing: three Well-Tempered Clavier Preludes and Fugues (F-sharp and B-flat minor from Book 1; F major from Book 2) and the D major Toccata. These samples auger well for Telarc to re-release on CD Loesser’s semi-private 1964 studio recordings of the entire “48”. Some of the selections on Disc 2 were first issued by the International Piano Library on a two-LP anthology called “Con Amore”, and I pray that Marston will revive the latter set’s remaining items in due course. The sonics are more than adequate for archival recordings of their vintage. In sum, this cherishable collection belongs in every serious piano library.
