Notes and Editorial Reviews
ELGAR
Chantant. Pastourelle. Danse pensée “Rosemary.” Griffinesque.
Sonatina
(original version, revised version).
Presto. Minuet.
May Song. Dream Children. Skizze. In Smyrna. Concert Allegro. Carissima.
Serenade.
Adieu
•
Peter Pettinger (pn)
•
CHANDOS 10429 (64:40)
When it first appeared 20 years ago, this recital was
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hailed by John D. Wiser (10:5) as a valuable “reference recording” of Elgar’s piano music—and the CD has remained the recording of choice ever since. Two virtues help explain its enduring prestige. First, the selection is canny: the collection gives us the bulk of Elgar’s original piano music, in chronological order, interleaved with a few of the composer’s own transcriptions of his once-popular miniatures. Second, Pettinger’s performances are sympathetic and eloquent, generally catching the music’s sentiment without falling into mawkishness.
Still, there’s another reason why the recital still stands tall: few pianists since then have been sufficiently motivated to mount a serious challenge. The lack of competition is less a tribute to Pettinger’s performances than a thumbs-down on the music itself. Except for the haunting
Dream Children
(better known in its orchestral guise), the oddly Scriabin-tinted
In Smyrna
, and the slightly bombastic
Concert Allegro
, this is all parlor music of modest expressive aim; if you didn’t know the composer already, you’d never guess that it came from the same man responsible for the depth and grandeur of the Second Symphony and
Gerontius
. Still, if you can accept its premises, these trifles have undeniable charm—especially if, as Wiser suggested, you take them in small doses. Ashley Wass, who has used some of this repertoire to fill out his recent Naxos recording of the piano reduction of the “Enigma” Variations (30:4), may well be planning to tape the rest of it too. Until then, however, Pettinger’s is the recording of choice, especially now that it’s been reissued at midprice.
FANFARE: Peter J. Rabinowitz
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Works on This Recording
1.
Chantant for Piano by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1872; England
2.
Danse pensée "Rosemary" by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1882; England
3.
Griffinesque by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1884; England
4.
Sonatina for Piano by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1889/1931; England
5.
Presto for Piano by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1889; England
6.
Minuet, Op. 21 by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1897; England
7.
May Song for Piano by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1901; England
8.
Dream Children, Op. 43 by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1902; England
9.
Skizze by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1901; England
10.
In Smyrna by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1905; England
11.
Concert Allegro for Piano, Op. 46 by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1932
12.
Carissima by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1914; England
13.
Serenade for Piano by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: by 1933; England
14.
Adieu by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: by 1933; England
15.
Pastourelle, Op. 4 no 2 by Sir Edward Elgar
Performer:
Peter Pettinger (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1884; England
Sound Samples
Pastourelle (Air de Ballet)
Sonatina (Original version): I. Allegretto
Sonatina (Original version): II. Allegro
Enfants d'un reve (Dream Children), Op. 43: I. Andante -
Enfants d'un reve (Dream Children), Op. 43: II. Allegro
Sonatina (Published version): I. Andantino -
Sonatina (Published version): II. Allegro
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