Hans Huber (1852-1921)
      Piano Concertos

Piano Concerto No. 1 in C minor, Op. 36 (1878)
Piano Concerto No. 3 in D major, Op. 113 (1899)
Dan Franklin Smith, piano
Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra
Michail Jurowski, conductor
Recorded at Gustav-Siegle-Haus, Stuttgart, July 2003
Released January 2004
Sterling 1056 [62:21]

Summary: Disappointment Prevails

Before getting down to business, I have to tell you of a strange aspect
of this disc - there is nothing printed on the disc itself (neither
side).  When I opened it up, I couldn't believe I was looking at a blank
piece of plastic.  Well, not quite a blank.  The disc does play, and the
music is correct as well.  Is this a new attempt to save on production
costs?  I hope not.  It's possible there was top-secret information that
had to be expunged; yes, I'm going with that notion and am glad to
contribute to national security concerns.

With the above out of the way, I am gratified to report that I have
become a strong fan of the music of Hans Huber.  I've been digging into
the Sterling boxed set of all the Huber Symphonies and enjoying it
immensely.  Now, Sterling bestows on us two of the Huber Piano Concertos.

During his adult life, Huber was the shining star of Switzerland's musical
landscape.  It was felt that in Huber, Switzerland finally had a composer
who could duke it out with the 'Big Boys' of European music.  So why
don't we often hear about this "shining star", and why did his music
nose-dive in appreciation after his death?

Like most other composers of his era, Huber was thoroughly steeped in
the romantic era's musical language and themes.  He didn't appreciably
change his style, and by 1921 the interest in romantic-era music making
was small indeed.  But I can assure you that Hans Huber was an exceptional
composer of sweeping music and vistas with a superb sense of architecture.

For me, the great attractiveness of Huber's Symphonies resides in their
no-nonsense rugged nature and musicality.  There's no flash from Huber,
no trace of the overblown and syrupy style that sometimes rears its head
with romantic-era music.  Through his music, Huber comes across as an
earthy and stalwart man, somebody you can depend on to follow through
on his responsibilities.  There is an element of assurance in Huber's
works.  He is demonstrative, but not severe in the least.  I suppose
that what I most feel is that Huber's Symphonies reflect a sure and
steady guide taking us along on his exciting journeys to other lands.

Quiet and unassuming, Huber let his music do the talking.  Unfortunately,
his quiet ways means that we do not have answers to questions about the
programmatic nature of much of his music.  As an example, Huber's 1st
Symphony is dubbed "Tell", referring to the legendary William Tell.  So
is this program music?  It sounds like it to me, but Huber never had
much to say on the subject.  Overall, he tended to prefer that others
not associate his compositions with program music.  Let's just say that
it isn't difficult to hear his music through a programmatic filter.

Having heaped the above praise on Huber's Symphonies, I am much less
impressed with the two piano concertos on the new disc.  The C minor
is particularly disappointing; it was Huber's first official entry into
large-scaled works and it shows.  The work does offer some attractive
vistas, but I don't sense the degree of confidence found in Huber's more
mature music.  The appealing toughness is on display, but with less
frequency than usual.  Unfortunately, Huber often sounds like a whimp,
a trait I would never have thought possible from his symphonies.  Also,
the piano has a much smaller role than we tend to think of for a piano
concerto.  With just one solo section of any substantial length, the
piano parts are either in a supportive role or at a complete rest.
Perhaps more injurious, the piano adds nothing to the work.  With little
exception, I find it detracts from the proceedings.  Why?  Boring piano
writing - redundant, unimaginative, and too forceful for its minimal
lyricism.  The 3rd Movement Scherzo has a nice swing to it, but the trio
section contains a singing line that is pure schmaltz.  If there is merit
to the argument that we don't need recorded for posterity every single
note written by a Mozart or Bach, it easily applies to Huber as well.
His 1st Piano Concerto does not deserve a recorded legacy.  When the
piano parts of a piano concerto display huge deficiencies in musical
invention, it's time to give up the ship.

Although matters improve greatly in the 3rd Piano Concerto, I can't work
up much enthusiasm.  The 1st Movement is a Passacaglia on an eight-bar
bass, and the piano certainly has a larger role than in the Piano Concerto
No.  1.  However, the piano part still retains a pedestrian image, and
the variations have a redundancy that makes listening a trying experience.
The 2nd Movement Scherzo begins in powerful fashion but soon bogs down
with trite and repetitive phrasing; the middle section in F major is
pleasant but not compelling.  The 3rd Movement Intermezzo has little to
offer, but we finally get to hear some excellent music in the 4th Movement
Allegro in sonata form where Huber takes the confident route and maintains
it steadily.  But, it's a case of 'too little, too late' as one movement
does not redeem an entire composition.

I did give some thought to the possibility that the pianist Dan
Franklin Smith and conductor Michail Jurowski contribute to the less than
scintillating production.  However, Smith has very little to work with
and shouldn't take any blame.  The same applies to Jurowski who shows
in the last movement of the Piano Concerto No.  3 that he has no problem
conveying vital music when it exists.  No, the problems with this disc
all rest with the composer.

Concerning sound quality, the soundstage is somewhat constricted and
never opens up gloriously, a quality these piano concertos have great
need of.  However, the piano has a very attractive and limpid tone that
is largely wasted on this music.

Don's Conclusions: The review of the disc on the Classics Today website
indicated that we know what to expect based on Huber's excellent symphonies.
The problem is that we get much less than we would expect.  Frankly,
Huber is not an excellent composer for the piano, and his piano parts
tend to diminish the merit of the two concertos on the Sterling recording.
My best advice is to stick with the Huber symphonies and take a pass on
the piano concertos.

Don Satz
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