The Classical Music Guide Forums

Mini-Review

~ New Release ~

Josef Hofmann (1876-1957)
20 Solo Piano Works: Ungarisch, Op. 19/1*; Polnisch, Op. 19/2*;
Impromptu*, Op. 20/1; Menuet*, Op. 20/2; Elégie**, Op. 20/3;
Eight Preludes*, Op. 30 [1-8]; Vision*, Op. 40/1; Jadis*, Op. 40/2*;
Nenien*, op. 40/3; Kaleidoscope, Op. 40/4; Valse Caprice, Op. 53*
Impression #2# (L'Orient et l'Occident); Impression #3# (Le Sanctuarie)
* World premiere recording; **Digital world premiere recording
#Composed under the name M. Dvorsky.
Fabiana Biasini, piano (Hamburg Steinway D)
Recorded September 2005 (Patrych Sound Studios, New York)
Edition Hera 02120 [Germany], DDD, 61:32, ©2006.
___________________________________

This is precisely the kind of piano record collectors will thoroughly enjoy. Pianophiles are well aware of the great name among pianists of Josef Hofmann. His own recordings were and are coveted by collectors across the world. He was a pianist of unique distinction, with his own individual tonal pallette of colour. So grand a pianist was Mr. Hofmann that Steinway built pianos especially for Hofmann to his own specifications action-wise. He also assisted Steinway & Sons with making general improvements in their pianos. Not only was Hofmann a top-ranking pianist, but a composer and scientist in many ways as well.

Every recording of the twenty tracks is a world premiere recording, the exception being Hofmann's well-known Kaleidoscope, which he, himself, recorded. Being Polish-born and raised [near Krakow], the Polish blood flows through Hofmann's veins in the same manner as Chopin. You feel the spirit of Poland in these pieces. As a collection there are those works that are virtuosic [Kaleidoscope], others than are sentimental (Impromptu), sad (Elégie), a group of eight Preludes that are conceived in the Chopin tradition but remain highly individual. Both delicacy and virtuosic power can be found in Vision, which initially illustrates Hofmann's penchant for creating a beautiful singing line coupled with handfuls of virtuosic notes. The two "Dvorsky-composed" Impressons are genuinely unique pianist thoughts, blending Alkan with Debussy, if such a thing is possible.

To write really creative and good piano music such as can be found on this CD—music very much in the Romantic tradition—requires someone who knows the piano as an instrument and all of its capabilities, who has a complete command of the theory of music, sentiment and sensitivity in his veins, technique, all rolled into one person. There aren't many of these kinds of pianists today, but in Hofmann's heyday, there were many, including Godowsky, Moiseiwitsch, de Pachmann, and more recently, Vladimir Horowitz. As one looks into the background of Hofmann's studies, it would surely happen having as your pianistic tutors, Anton Rubinstein on the one hand and Moritz Moszkowski on the other. These are more than merely "charming" parlour pieces; they reflect the musical mind of one of the great pianistic symbols of the past century.

Fabiana Biasini is a fabulously gifted pianist. It appears there is no technical problems available for her at the keyboard. Combine that with ultra sensitivity and the ability to produce orchestral sounds from her piano along with her ability to negotiate each of Hofmann's pianistic gems with deep expression. Ms. Biasini was a child prodigy in her native Italy, and among her teachers one finds names such as Byron Janis, Nikita Magaloff and Alexis Weissenberg to name just three. Biasini must have been an exemplary student in every respect! She made her American debut at Spoleto-Charleston, South Carolina. Here's a pianist I hope to hear more from, especially in rare Romantic piano repertoire. She is made for it.

The recording was made in New York in Joseph Patrych's studio on a rich sounding Hamburg Steinway. The piano tone is natural and vivid, and covers the pianistic audio spectrum and complete range of colour and sound from ppp to fff and beyond. Only in one piece did I detect an edit, in the Kaleidoscope, which passes quickly. The editing was done elsewhere, not at the Patrych studios.

We have here a bonfide ecumenical disc: an Italian pianist recorded in the USA by an American recording engineer, using a German piano with the CD also manufactured there. It all melds together perfectly to create an outstanding disc of piano music that should be heard in more recitals.

Five stars, and very highly recommended.

Dear Lance, I have been told by an old lady who used to
work at the Curtis Institute that Hofmann's hands were very small
and this is one of the reasons why Steinway built for him a special
piano. I have not seen it but it is owned by someone in Philadelphia
or at least it was in the 1980s. Just a bit of gossip!

Regards,
Agnes.

Agnes, I love this kind of gossip! Among the changes Steinway made, from what I understand, is that the keys themselves were longer. This would tend to make the finger portion (the white and blacks themselves) "balance" differently, perhaps causing a lighter touch for greater digital dexterity. But this could also be accomplished through the lead weighting of the keys themselves. One questions this however, because the action frame for each model of a piano is basically fairly standard, width-wise and lengthwise. The structural and dimensional changes of the keybed and piano itself would not/could not change all that much unless the entire instrument changed proportionately. I'm not sure if any of this makes sense trying to put it in print. But given the caliber of artist that Mr. Hofmann was, I'm sure Steinway & Sons bent over backwards to do everything possible for the man who was more than casually interested in the mechanics and principles of the art of piano making.

A few years ago, I developed an e-mail and telephone friendship with a man named Mordecai Shehori who lived on Riverside Drive in NYC. He and Horowitz were also great friends. Shehori, who now resides in Las Vegas I believe, had a Steinway concert grand in his apartment that belonged to Josef Hofmann and it had a gloriously rich and resonant sound, judging from the sound on recordings. Shehori produced his own recordings on his own CD label, Cembal d'amour using this piano. I'm now wondering if this could be the instrument you speak of, once being in Philadelphia. I vaguely recall Shehori mentioning that that's where the piano came from originally, the estate of Josef Hofmann. I'm not sure how accurate my memory recollection is at this point, but it makes for good gossip, too!