Felix Blumenfeld(1863-1931)
 Complete Preludes & Impromptus

Twenty-Four Preludes, Opus 17(1892)
Two Impromptus, Opus 13(1890)
Impromptu in B major, Opus 28(1898)
Four Preludes, Opus 12(1890)
Two Impromptus, Opus 45(1912)
Valse-Impromptu, Opus 16(1892)

Ivory Classics 71002
Recorded 1998/99
Philip Thomson, Piano
TT 75:02

Felix Blumenfeld is most well known as a teacher, having mentored Simon
Barere, Maria Yudina, Heinrich Neuhaus, Alexander Gauk, and Vladimir
Horowitz.  Blumenfeld was born in the South Ukraine of musically gifted
parents and siblings.  His sister Olga married a Gustav Nuehaus, and they
parented Heinrich Neuhaus; it's a small world.

Blumenfeld was also a successful conductor of symphonic and operatic
works including premiers of some of Rimsky-Korsakov's operas.  Blumenfeld's
compositions, and he had more than fifty opus numbers, are largely unknown
today.  A symphony he wrote has been recorded as well as his piano etudes.
The only other disc devoted to Blumenfeld's music is the one currently
being reviewed; it contains all of Blumenfeld's music in the prelude and
impromptus categories.

Blumenfeld was born a few years before Scriabin and both composers
tended to follow Chopinesque styles in their earlier compositional years.
However, Scriabin ventured into a brave new musical world while Blumenfeld
remained wedded to the romantic idiom.

In terms of musical quality, the works on the Ivory disc reveal that
Blumenfeld has his pros and cons.  He certainly was gifted as a composer
for the piano; his music flows so well with a strong architecture.  His
melodies are fetching and just a little below the standards of Chopin.

I do have one major reservation about Blumenfeld's music and one personal
complaint that's deadly in my eyes.  The reservation is that Blumenthal
did not possess a wealth of musical fecundity.  His short pieces, say in
the two-minute range, start off splendidly but don't go far.  Also, his
musical themes are very short, and he keeps repeating them; the E major
Prelude from Opus 17 is a perfect example as the repetition of the short
theme seems endless.

My personal complaint is that Blumenfeld cloaks his repetition in
increasingly histrionic fashion.  I really hate it when no foundation
is made for what turns out to be exaggerated displays.  Scriabin could
get extreme with the best of them, but he always created the foundations.
Such are the differences between the great composers and all others.  By
the end of the 16th variation, I was ready to pack it in and move on to
other projects.  So, Blumenfeld's limitations are a major drawback, with
his penchant for histrionics sealing the lid on a recommendation to be wary
of this disc.

The performing honors go to Philip Thomson, a young Canadian pianist who
has also recorded some Liszt for Hungaroton and Naxos.  Although I don't
have any recorded comparisons for the works on the Ivory Classics disc,
Thomson appears to have good command of Blumenfeld's musical energy and
lyricism.

Here's the line on my traversal of disappointment:

The earliest works on the disc are Blumenfeld's Four Preludes, Opus 12.
Each flows delightfully with a positive disposition.  The E major Prelude
does inject some sorrow and angst into the picture, and the contrasts are
quite tasty.  Even at a relatively early age, Blumenfeld displays a strong
gift for piano composition.  These four preludes would be great for late
night listening with one's love interest.

The Twenty-four Preludes, Opus 17 were written only two years after the
Opus 12, but they have a grand scheme a la Chopin's Preludes.  Further,
the range of emotions is much greater as Blumenfeld really lets us enter
his inner thoughts.  The C major Prelude, marked "Andante religioso", is a
lovely and prayerful piece, although its diversity is limited.  The A minor
is an Allegro which conveys danger and reaching the limits of endurance.
The G major is humorous and carefree, while the E minor is dripping with
remorse and melancholy.  This pattern continues throughout the Opus 17
Preludes in that each conveys its own messages which are distinct from one
another.  It's great for maintaining interest and needed very much, because
Blumenfeld's musical creativity within each prelude is rather slim.  He
could been one of the Masters as far as the beauty of his melodies and his
architecture are concerned.  As it is, there are times when a two-minute
prelude lasts too long.

Such are the differences between Blumenfeld and the great Russian
composers.  It shows when comparing the Blumenfeld preludes to the Opus
34 preludes from Scriabin.  Blumenfeld also has an annoying habit of taking
short themes and simply following a pattern of repeating the theme on and
on with increasing amounts of histrionics; that's his least endearing
compositional trait.  It speaks of a restricted inventiveness if nothing
else; it is repetitiveness cloaked in emotional exaggeration.

To be frank, I find it hard to get beyond the 16th prelude, as Blumenfeld's
penchant for the theatrical is hard to take.  Scriabin can get quite
extreme, but he's never theatrical in that he always lays the foundation
for the resulting behavior.  I don't think that Blumenfeld provides any
foundation, and Thomson sure doesn't try to instill one.  He goes with
the exaggerations like a duck takes to water.  I would be remiss in not
relating how enchanting is the F sharp major Prelude; its delicate pedigree
and comforting nature combine with gorgeous melodies to create an exquisite
listening experience.

The remainder of the disc is devoted to Blumenfeld's six Impromptus which
span most of his composing years.  His impromptus works are much longer on
average than his preludes.  Can Blumenfeld sustain interest when the music
lasts for over three minutes and his musical themes are short and not well
varied? The answer is 'no'.  Essentially, the Impromptus works display the
same strengths and weaknesses as the Preludes.  Also, the two Impromptus of
Opus 45 published in 1912 fully reveal little development in Blumenfeld's
style from his earlier works.  There's minimal harmonic adventure and
Blumenfeld's ties to the romantic-era remain extremely tight.  From his
music, one would find it difficult to connect his works to the emergence
of the 20th century.

Don's Conclusions: Blumenfeld wrote highly enjoyable and romantic music
for the piano with a true gift for structure and the piano's capabilities.
However, he was not close to being at the level of a Chopin or Scriabin.
Musical themes, although lovely, are rather short and repeated too
frequently with increasing levels of histrionics.  I find Blumenfeld a
composer of limited creativity.  He is very good at what he provides us,
but he provides too little for the music to rise above the mundane.

Hard-core fans of romantic piano music would likely appreciate the
disc more than I; just don't expect any revelations.  For all others, I
recommend the sampling of the E major Prelude from Blumenfeld's Opus 17.
If you like that one, the entire disc should prove highly rewarding.

On the basis of this Ivory Classics disc, Blumenfeld is a 3rd or 4th tier
composer.  I find his obscurity understandable and doubt that any revival
of his music will be forthcoming.  Blumenfeld does not compare well to
Chopin or Scriabin; he's also some distance behind the piano music of a Max
Reger or Busoni.  With these references in place, the next move is yours.

Don Satz