Leslie Howard - Rare Piano Encores '2004

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. Petit caprice "Style Offenbach"
02. Serenade "Deh vieni alla finestra" from Mozart's Don Giovanni
03. Promenade "Walking the Dog"
04. Schlichte Weisen, Op. 76: No. 52, Mariä Wiegenlied
05. Blithe Bells (Arr. of "Sheep May Safely Graze" from J.S. Bach, BWV 208)
06. Albumblatt "in das Album der Fürstin M(etternich)", WWV 94
07. Viennese Dance No. 2, on Motifs by Eduard Gärtner
08. Romance in E-Flat, Op. 8 No. 2 (Arr. Siloti)
09. Chanson Bohème from Bizet's Carmen
10. Valse oubliée No. 4, S. 215/4
11. Valse-caprice in E-Flat Major
12. Piano Pieces After Original Songs I, Op. 41: III. Ich liebe dich
13. Soirées de Vienne, S. 427: Valse-caprice No. 6 in A Minor. Allegro con
strepito (After Schubert, D. 969/9)
14. Erinnerung for Piano, WAB 117
15. Valse de concert sur deux motifs de "Lucia" et "Parisina" de Donizetti, S.
214/3
16. Yuletide Pastoral, Op. 33a
17. Réminiscences de l'opéra "La Wally" de Catalani, Op. 24a

This fascinating recital takes us on a tour of some of the less-frequented
byways of the piano world, and into a repertoire all too often missing from our
concert halls as modern performers and promoters eschew the
‘frivolity’ of such works. Yet these are the very pieces which were
the meat and drink of the grand masters of previous centuries. Whereas a pianist
such as Rachmaninov would construct a programme like a well-planned banquet,
with concern for balance, variety, size and general digestibility, most modern
programmes are awesome by comparison and, though shorter than the old-style
recital, often seem longer.

Greeted by the BBC on its original release a quarter of a century ago as
‘a delightful collection, beautifully played’, for this reissue of
Rare Piano Encores Leslie Howard has taken advantage of the greater playing time
of a CD—the original was of course on vinyl—to add two of his own
compositions by way of a bonus and with thanks to kind listeners. Yuletide
Pastoral was composed in response to a commission from Gramophone magazine for
its Christmas number in 1997, whereas Réminiscences de l’opéra
‘La Wally’ de Catalani, firmly in the spirit of Liszt, is an
old-fashioned operatic fantasy, based for the most part upon the famous aria
Ebben’ ne andrò lontano—a melody recently made even more
popular by its essential part in the plot of the magnificent film Diva.

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