Album

The great accomplishment of Bartók's was the same as that of the Anna Magdalena Bach Book: it was a set of pieces for student pianists that also compelled the attention of the adults in the room. And some of the declines in fortune experienced by classical music (and the novel) in recent decades are surely attributable in part to the low quality of works written for children during this period. This collection of works by German composer Bertold Hummel will help to rectify that problem, and they're a delight to listen to. Bartók is certainly the model; Hummel writes little pieces, about a minute long, that are nearly all either descriptive or illustrative of basic musical forms. There is also a three-movement Sonatine for piano, Op. 56a, whose movements are more abstract but hardly longer or more complex. Like Bartók, Hummel introduces specific modern techniques—the Barcarole, track 29, from the Kleines Klavieralbum für meine Enkelkinder, Op. 103d (Little Piano Album for My Grandchildren), uses tone clusters, for example. As compared with Bartók, the music here is generally more tonal, although Hummel feels free to abandon a tonal center when it makes intuitive sense to do so. As clearly and straightforwardly presented by pianist Markus Bellheim, this is children's music for the twenty first century, not bound by orthodoxy of any kind and open to neo-tonal approaches, jazz and popular influences, and system-based techniques as the situation requires. Piano teachers and family members who want to encourage young people musically should definitely hear these pieces, which may well send them in search of the printed music.

© James Manheim, All Music Guide

CD 1
Bertold Hummel Composer Klavierstücke für Kinder, Op.56b Work 11:55 Markus Bellheim Piano
1	1.Präludium - Prelude	1:05			$0.99
2	2.Leierkasten - Barrel Organ	1:10			$0.99
3	3.Marsch der Zinnsoldaten - March of the Tin Soldiers	1:19			$0.99
4	4.Die klagende Nachtigall - The wailing Nightingale	1:17			$0.99
5	5.Ostinato	0:58			$0.99
6	6.Kleine Melodie - Little Melody	1:09			$0.99
7	7.Bimmelbahn - Puffing Billy	1:11			$0.99
8	8.Elegie für einen Spatzen - Elegy for a Sparrow	1:12			$0.99
9	9.Tanz im Mondlicht - Dance in the Moonlight	1:15			$0.99
10	10.Ballspiel - Ball Game	1:19			$0.99
Bertold Hummel Composer Sonatine für Klavier, Op.56a Work 6:49 Markus Bellheim Piano
11	1.Allegro	2:15			$0.99
12	2.Elegie	2:34			$0.99
13	3.Vivace	2:00			$0.99
Bertold Hummel Composer Tastenspiele, for piano ("A Small Piano Album for my Grandchildren"), Op.103d Work 22:53 Markus Bellheim Piano
14	1.Semper idem	1:37			$0.99
15	2.Präludium - Prelude	1:39			$0.99
16	3.Kleine Melodie - Little Melody	2:06			$0.99
17	4.Karawane - Desert Caravan	1:49			$0.99
18	5.Wiegenlied - Lullaby	1:52			$0.99
19	6.Choral - Chorale	1:27			$0.99
20	7.Scherzando	1:13			$0.99
21	8.Budenzauber - Knees-up	0:37			$0.99
22	9.Volkslied - Folk-song	1:33			$0.99
23	10.Der Clown - The Clown	0:54			$0.99
24	11.Fingerspiel - Finger Movements	1:15			$0.99
25	12.Ständchen - Serenade	1:49			$0.99
26	13.Der Kuckuck - The Cuckoo	1:02			$0.99
27	14.Elegie - Elegy	1:34			$0.99
28	15.Kleiner Marsch - Little March	1:01			$0.99
29	16.Barkarole - Barcarole	1:25			$0.99
Bertold Hummel Composer Mimis Tastenspaß, for piano Work 2:51 Markus Bellheim Piano
30	1.Kleine Fanfare - Little Fanfare	0:39			$0.99
31	2.Gute Laune - Good Mood	1:10			$0.99
32	3.Kleiner Fasnachtsmarsch - Short Carnival March	1:02			$0.99
Bertold Hummel Composer Waltzes (3), for piano 4 hands, Op.95f Work 7:57 Birgit Urban Piano, Markus Bellheim Piano
33	1.Kleiner Walzer - Little Waltz	1:53			$0.99
34	2.Eine kleine Reverenz - A little Obeisance	3:11			$0.99
35	3.Hochzeitswalzer - Wedding Waltz	2:53			$0.99