Album

Only in Denmark is it known that composer Niels Viggo Bentzon was a also quite a good pianist, and in the late '40s Bentzon was playing so much piano that the general impression was that he would abandon his fledgling career as a composer to enter the concert arena full-time. But ultimately his desire to compose won out over his taste for the footlights, and in the 1960s, when Bentzon made some recordings of his piano music, his pianism had gone into the tank due to lack of practice. Thankfully, Bentzon had already made a splendid series of 78 rpm recordings of his pianism in his youth, and these deliciously obscure Danish 78s are compiled into one place on Classico's Niels Viggo Bentzon: Composer and Pianist.

On this compilation, Bentzon is heard in five extended works recorded between the war year of 1942 and 1951, originally occupying some 21 78 rpm sides in all, but consisting of music by only two composers: Arnold Schoenberg and Bentzon himself. This should not reflect on Bentzon's own taste as a composer; the Schoenberg selections (Opp. 19 and 25, recorded in 1946 and 1949 respectively) are pioneering efforts to say the least, but Bentzon's music is as different from Schoenberg's as a Great Dane is from a dachshund. His Toccata, Op. 10, Third Sonata, Op. 44, and Partita, Op. 38, sort of strike a middle ground between the sound of Bartók and Hindemith, but not really; his music is distinctive, and these pieces have the newspaper-like grit of war and its effects as it surrounded him. The Third Sonata, Op. 44, is a particularly ambitious piece and should come as a welcome surprise to pianists who are on the lookout for good, neglected twentieth century literature to play. The Chamber Concerto, Op. 52, is played by a powerful triumvirate of pianists, including Bentzon, Georg Vasarhelyi, and composer Herman D. Koppel, along with a small group of instrumentalists. It is more optimistic than the other works, neo-Classical in style and reminiscent of Stravinsky in a good way. Bentzon takes Schoenberg's music a tad fast by current-day standards and a couple of the pieces are played somewhat sloppily, but Bentzon's enthusiasm about them is contagious, and his readings are very energetic and never boring.

The transfers of these historic recordings are excellent with a capital "E." One will search in vain for any remnant of typical 78rpm surface noise, and the sound on Bentzon's original pieces are so clear that one can tell that the piano used on the Partita, Op. 38, was in need of a little attention. The Schoenberg selections are a bit muddy, but they are still of great interest as they are among the earliest recordings of Schoenberg's piano music made.

© Uncle Dave Lewis , Rovi

CD 1
Niels Viggo Bentzon Composer Toccata for piano, Op.10 Work Recorded 1942 Niels Viggo Bentzon Piano
1	Toccata for piano, Op.10	7:43			$1.49
Niels Viggo Bentzon Composer Partita for piano, Op 38 Work Recorded 1946 15:26 Niels Viggo Bentzon Piano
2	1.Praeambulum	2:17			$0.99
3	2.Allegro	3:20			$0.99
4	3.Intermezzo 1	3:46			$0.99
5	4.Intermezzo 2	1:30			$0.99
6	5.Fanfare - Allegro - Fanfare	4:33			$0.99
Niels Viggo Bentzon Composer Piano Sonata No.3, Op.44 Work Recorded 1949 15:05 Niels Viggo Bentzon Piano
7	1.Allegro sempre fluente e espressivo	6:16			$0.99
8	2.Presto	2:08			$0.99
9	3.Intermezzo. Largo	1:41			$0.99
10	4.Allegro ma non troppo	5:00			$0.99
Arnold Schoenberg Composer 6 Little Pieces, Op.19 Work Recorded 1949 5:25 Niels Viggo Bentzon Piano
11	1.Leicht, zart	1:12			$0.99
12	2.Langsam	1:05			$0.99
13	3.Sehr langsam	1:08			$0.99
14	4.Rasch, aber leicht	0:27			$0.99
15	5.Etwas rasch	0:28			$0.99
16	6.Sehr langsam	1:05			$0.99
Arnold Schoenberg Composer Suite for Piano, Op.25 Work Recorded 1946 16:16 Niels Viggo Bentzon Piano
17	1.Praludium: Rasch	1:00			$0.99
18	2a.Gavotte: Etwas langsam, nicht hastig	1:34			$0.99
19	2b.Musette: Rascher	1:10			$0.99
20	2c.Gavotte (da capo)	1:33			$0.99
21	3.Intermezzo	4:19			$0.99
22	4.Minuett: Moderato. Trio	4:02			$0.99
23	5.Gigue: Rasch	2:38			$0.99
Niels Viggo Bentzon Composer Chamber Concerto for 11 instruments, Op.52 Work Recorded 1951 16:40 Lavard Friisholm Conductor, Georg Vasarhelyi Piano, Collegium Musicum Copenhagen Ensemble, Niels Viggo Bentzon Piano, Herman D. Koppel Piano
24	1.Allegro moderato	4:36			$0.99
25	2.Adagio	7:25			$1.49
26	3.Allegro	4:39			$0.99