Henselt: Études Opp 2 & 5 – Piers Lane Hyperion

Douze Études caractéristiques de concert Op 2[30’27]1
No 1 in D minor: Orage, tu ne saurais m’abattre. Allegro molto agitato[2’20]2
No 2 in D flat major: Pensez un peu à moi, qui pense toujours à vous. Allegro moderato[2’43]3
No 3 in B minor: Exauce mes vœux. Tempo giusto[2’54]4
No 4 in B flat major: Repos d’amour. Allegretto sostenuto[2’02]5
No 5 in C sharp minor: Vie orageuse. Tempo giusto[2’03]6
No 6 in F sharp major: Si oiseau j’étais, à toi je volerais. Allegro[2’19]7
No 7 in D major: C’est la jeunesse qui a des ailes dorées. Presto animoso[2’22]8
No 8 in E flat minor: Tu m’attires, m’entraînes, m’engloutis. Allegro agitato ed appassionato[2’08]9
No 9 in F major: Jeunesse d’amour, plaisir céleste …. Allegro[3’00]10
No 10 in E minor: Comme le ruisseau dans la mer …. Moderato[1’58]11
No 11 in E flat major: Dors tu, ma vie?. Allegretto sostenuto ed amoroso[3’38]12
No 12 in B flat minor: Plein de soupirs, de souvenirs …. Moderato ma con moto, con afflizione[3’00]13
Poème d’amour ‘Andante et étude concertante in B major’ Op 3[7’26]Douze Études de salon Op 5[39’18]14
Suite 1 No 1 in C minor: Eroica. Moderato – Presto agitato ed appassionato[4’03]15
Suite 1 No 2 in G major: Allegro brillante[1’51]16
Suite 1 No 3 in A minor: Hexentanz. Allegro con brio e feroce[1’30]17
Suite 1 No 4 in E major: Ave Maria. Andante[2’43]18
Suite 1 No 5 in F sharp minor: Verlorene Heimat. Con moto appassionato e dolorosa[4’24]19
Suite 1 No 6 in A flat major: Danklied nach Sturm. Lento sostenuto[8’54]20
Suite 2 No 7 in C major: Elfenreigen. Molto vivace[1’17]21
Suite 2 No 8 in G minor: Romanze mit Chor-Refrain. Andante arioso[2’43]22
Suite 2 No 9 in A major: Allegro con leggerezza[1’44]23
Suite 2 No 10 in F minor: Entschwundenes Glück. Allegro non tropp, con passione dolorosa[5’19]24
Suite 2 No 11 in B major: Liebeslied. Allegretto sostenuto ed amoroso[2’49]25
Suite 2 No 12 in G sharp minor: Nächtlicher Geisterzug. Allegro tempestoso[2’01]

Adolf von Henselt was one of the greatest virtuosi of the nineteenth century. His trail-blazing études – at once impossibly challenging for the performer and ardently lyrical for the listener – were to influence a generation of composers, especially in Russia where Henselt settled.

Having studied with Hummel in Weimar, the ‘Henselt piano technique’ is now regarded as the link between that of the older composer and that to be developed by Franz Liszt. Notorious for his ability to play unfeasibly wide-spreading chords while maintaining a miraculous legato line, Henselt’s fanatical devotion to technical pianistic exercises should come as no surprise. The two sets of études represent the codification of his diligence, yet their worth today derives as much from their musical value as their technical complexity.

Piers Lane, whose impressive discography reveals him to be something of an étude-ist himself, more than rises to the challenge.