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| Although the modern guitar reached its first maturity during the early 19th century, most of the greatest composers of the era had little if any direct contact with the instrument. When the guitar was occasionally used by Schubert or Von Weber for instance, it was usually to |
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 | The Romantic GuitarNot Rated
Released: 1998 |
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| Although the modern guitar reached its first maturity during the early 19th century, most of the greatest composers of the era had little if any direct contact with the instrument. When the guitar was occasionally used by Schubert or Von Weber for instance, it was usually to accompany lieder or for a modest role in chamber music. By the late 19th century, the romantic style tended toward a grander expression that made the intimate voice of the guitar an increasing rarity. It is therefore a special pleasure to find solo piano pieces by the great composers of the German Romantic era that are well suited to the particular poetry of the guitar.
The guitar was a popular house instrument in Vienna during the first third of the nineteenth century and was certainly part of Schubert’s musical milieu. In fact, the voicing of his harmony is often surprisingly guitaristic which has allowed many of his smaller dances to be arranged for the instrument. The two Allegrettos in this collection are of a somewhat larger scale than usual and are important mature works that lend themselves to transcription because of their relatively lean textures and chordal writing. The sixth Moment Musicaux was originally published separately in 1824 and is a wonderful example of the subtlety of Schubert’s harmony. The C minor Allegretto (played here in A minor) from 1827 is almost a seventh Moment Musicaux in spirit and is dedicated to Schubert’s friend Ferdinand Walcher on the occasion of his departure for Venice. Both pieces have that particularly Schubertian quality of hovering between contentment and sadness, and contain contrasting trio sections before a return to the opening material.
Schumann took great joy in writing his Album for the Young, op. 68, and was able to be very much himself while writing in a relatively simple and direct style for young pianists. The small scale and transparent textures of these works allow many of them to be played on the guitar, and since they inhabit more of the guitar’s range and sound than they do of the piano’s, they perhaps take on new weight in these versions. While some of the pieces are childlike in the relative simplicity of their emotion (e.g. Melodie), a piece like Frühlingsgesang has some of the same bittersweetness in Schumann’s response to springtime as does the opening song of Dichterliebe. The pieces in op. 68 that were given only asterisks for a title (***) were probably written as homages to Schumann’s friend Mendelssohn, who had recently died. Indeed, these pieces have an inflection of melody that is reminiscent of the latter’s style. The Wiegenliedchen (Little Cradle Song) is from one of the collections that Schumann published in the latter part of his life of various small pieces he had written earlier. The arpeggiated style of the writing lends itself naturally to performance on the guitar.
While most of Brahms’ piano music is too thickly textured for the guitar, his op. 39 Waltzes were written in a lighter Viennese style that is more suitable for the instrument. Yet even when writing music in his favorite popular dance genre, Brahms displays a great diversity of subtle poetic expression and many of the waltzes contain in miniature, characteristic features of his most serious style. For instance, the second waltz played here (No. 10) is evocative of the opening of the Fourth Symphony and the famous Waltz in Ab (No. 15, transcribed to A major) is much like the second theme of the first movement of the Second Symphony. The selection on this recording retains the original order of the cycle from Nos. 8 through 12 and concludes with No. 15, which is often performed alone.
Heinrich Marschner is generally considered to be the most important German opera composer between Von Weber and Wagner. Schumann in his role as music critic, in a number of instances refers favorably to Marschner and to the particularly German quality of his sensibility. The Opus 4 Bagatelles are beautifully written idiomatic miniatures for the guitar, and in contrast to the conservative nature of much guitar music of the period, are completely in keeping with the burgeoning spirit of early German Romanticism. The majority of the bagatelles are cast in binary dance forms with contrasting trios.
---Notes by Allen Krantz.
The transcriptions of Schubert, Schumann and Brahms by Allen Krantz are published by the International Music Company in a volume entitled The Romantic Guitar (Catalog No. 3443).
Allen Krantz
Composer/guitarist Allen Krantz is a graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory and Stanford University. A multi-talented musician, Allen Krantz has received critical acclaim as a composer, solo guitarist and chamber musician. As a performer, he has appeared throughout the United Stated including appearances at Carnegie Hall, Saratoga and the Phillips Collection in Washington, with his diverse programs often featuring original compositions.
Allen Krantz is composer in residence for the Philadelphia based chamber ensemble 1807 & Friends, which has premiered a number of his chamber compositions. Charles Dutoit has conducted members of the Philadelphia Orchestra in his anyone lived in a pretty how town at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center and in Philadelphia, and a number of his chamber pieces have been recorded for the DTR label, including the CD Summer Music (DTR9506), a recital with flutist Deborah Carter which contains two of his works.
Recent compostions include a string quartet, a small symphony for saxophone quartet and guitar(electric) and The Cryptic Composition of Sherlock Bach—for narrator and quintet, the latter two commissioned by the Music at Gretna festival. His unique collaboration with Janet Eilber, Martha Graham Company soloist, has resulted in three works for chamber ensemble featuring dancer/narrator and guitar, based on American poetry. withoutborders, for solo piano and inspired by oriental rug designs, was premiered by Clipper Ericson in October 1998 and An American Town for string orchestra was recently performed at Michigan’s Village Bach Festival and the "Moscow Autumn-98" festival in Russia.
Allen Krantz heads the guitar program of The New School Institute at Temple University and has performed and taught nationwide as an Affiliate Artist. International Music is currently publishing a series of his arrangements of solo and chamber music for the guitar.
Producer: & Engineer Bob Sellman
Associate Producer and Artist & Repertoire Coordinator: William Marsh
Recorded April 1998 in the Longwood Gardens Music Room, Kennett Square, PA
Cover by Rittenhouse Graphics, Macungie PA
Cover picture: Alexx Stehman
This Direct-To-Tape Recording was mastered using two Schoeps microphones and recorded using Sony digital recording equipment. No limiting, equalization, or compression were used during its mastering or manufacture.
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