Exclusive: Chopin - 24 Préludes & Schumann - Arabesque & Fantasie - Ivan Krpan
For his debut recording, exclusively on IDAGIO, Croatian pianist Ivan Krpan juxtaposes two giants of the Romantic era: Robert Schumann and Frédéric Chopin.
Read more…Schumann's 'Arabeske' and 'Fantasie', both published in 1839, are programmed either side of Chopin's Preludes op. 28, which appeared in the same year. But for Krpan, 2017 winner of the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, this chronological proximity emphasizes not only the closeness of these composers, but also their distance from one another.
"The language of the composers is similar," Krpan explains, "but then when you look more closely you start to see how different they really are." For him, Chopin's Preludes represent the Polish composer's forward-looking engagement with miniature forms at a time when the broader preoccupation was with the large-scale: with symphonies, sonatas and operas. "It's just small pieces, like fragments. Chopin's contemporaries were impressed, but didn't really know what to make of it. And when you look at Schumann's 'Fantasie', it's a big work, a monumental work. It's not something revolutionary and new in the way of Chopin."
As a genre the prelude had, as the names suggests, its origins in works that existed only in relation to something else, often rooted in improvisation: Bach's Preludes and Fugues, for example. Other composers before Chopin composed sets of preludes covering all the major and minor keys, often conceived as technical warm-ups for the performer. Chopin's, however, exploited the potential of the free-form miniature to achieve new heights of technical complexity and sophistication. His Preludes would provide the model and inspiration for similar sets by such later composers as Rachmaninoff and Scriabin.
Chopin began work on his Preludes in 1836 and took 17 of them, along with volumes of Bach, with him to Majorca where he spent the winter of 1838 – the trip paid for in part with the advance he received from his publisher. The Preludes represent a dazzling compendium of Chopin's style and encompass some of his best-known works: the "Raindrop" in D flat, followed by the furious No. 16, a 'Presto con fuoco' in the relative minor, B flat; the mournful No. 4 in E minor; the delicate No. 7 in A major; the brief but resolute No. 20 in C minor, which would inspire sets of variations by Busoni and Rachmaninoff.
The innovations called for in Chopin's Preludes are in contrast to the techniques used by Schumann. The 'Arabeske' Op. 18 was composed in 1838 in Vienna as one of a group of works of relatively carefree character. Its marking of 'Leicht und zart' (light and tender) gives a good indication of its character, which is also matched by the straightforwardness of its form: a rondo consisting of a a recurring first section interleaved with contrasting episodes.
The writing in the 'Fantasie', Krpan notes, harks back to Beethoven. Indeed, Schumann hoped proceeds from its sale would help fund a Beethoven statue in Bonn. The work's original title reflects both this and its traditional three-movement form: "Obolen auf Beethoven's Monument: Ruinen, Trophäen, Palmen, Grosse Sonate f. d. Pianof. für Beethovens Denkmal" (Small Contribution to Beethoven's Monument: Ruins, Trophies, Palms: Grand Sonata for the Pianoforte for Beethoven's Memorial).
As with so many works by Schumann, though, its history was more complex. The first movement dates from three years before the work's publication, from a particularly painful time early in the composer's relationship with his future wife, Clara Wieck – a relationship Clara's father did all he could to prevent. The 'Fantasie' would eventually be dedicated to Franz Liszt, who provided most of the funds for the Beethoven statue that finally went up in 1845.
The marking of the opening movement – 'Durchaus phantastisch und leidenschaftlich vorzutragen' (In a fantastic and passionate manner) – gives an accurate description of its character. We are thrown straight into this world with an ardent right-hand theme borne aloft by an urgent accompaniment. A second section marked 'Im Legendenton' (As a legend) takes up part of the first melody and develops it before the return of the opening idea. The second movement is a virtuosic march that contrasts with a final movement that manages both to be entirely characteristic of Schumann and to achieve a Beethoven-like sense of sublimity.
Executive Producer: Peter Paul Kainrath – Fondazione Concorso Pianistico Internazionale Ferruccio Busoni
Producer: Matthias Spindler
Co-Producer & Recording Engineer (Tonmeister): Lukas Kowalski
Recorded, edited and mastered by Emil Berliner Studios
℗ 2018 Fondazione Concorso Pianistico Internazionale Ferruccio Busoni