Search - Frank Martin, Julie Adam, Christine Logan :: Frank Martin: The Complete Piano Music

Frank Martin's Complete Piano Music in Excellent Performance

Nicholas A. Deutsch | New York, NY USA | 01/29/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This welcome issue brings together for the 1st time on disc all the works by the great Swiss composer Frank Martin (1890-1974) for solo piano, piano 4-hands or 2 pianos. CD 1 covers the weightier solo pieces, not only the '8 Preludes,' the 'Fantasy on Flamenco Rhythms' and 'Guitare' (a transcription of the '8 Short Pieces' for guitar), but 3 shorter works, all excellent. CD 2 is generally lighter in tone, leading off with a sparkling version of the 'Overture & Foxtrot' for 2 pianos (composed for a marionette theater) and proceeding to the Ravelian 'Color of Time [or Weather] Pavane,' '2 Easy Pieces' and a charming set of variations on 'Au clair de la lune' written for Martin's young daughter and his wife. Last of all comes his transcription for 2 pianos of the 'Etudes for String Orchestra.'

Hungarian-born Julie Adam, now living in Australia, is an ideal interpreter. She commands the technical chops (no easy matter) and shows a real affinity for Martin's world. The versions of 'Guitare' and the 'Fantasy' in particular rank among the best I've heard. Christine Logan proves an equal partner in the duo pieces, and the sound is very good. In addition, Adam provides thoughtful and well-researched notes, although she does get the story of Perrault's fairy tale 'Peau d'Ane' slightly wrong (to be fair, so do many others) and there's one delightful mistranslation: In 'Les Grenouilles, le Rossignol et la Pluie' - the 2nd of the '2 Easy Pieces' - 'grenouilles' means 'frogs,' not 'crickets' (that would be 'grillons'). A fine and much-appreciated addition to the Martin discography. Highly recommended."