Album

Unlike Padrewski, Artur Rubinstein, and Vladimir Horowitz, Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler's name is not one that immediately springs to mind when the subject of the great pianists of the early twentieth century is broached. Her name is most likely to be known to those who collect piano rolls, are well-versed in the histories of recital pianists, or have heard her piano roll performances reproduced from LP records older than this reviewer. In her own day, however, Zeisler would have been one of the first pianists music fans would have thought of. Among her contemporaries were Ferruccio Busoni, Sergey Rachmaninov, and Moriz Rosenthal, all still in their prime and touring widely. This generation of pianists regarded Zeisler as an equal in terms of pianism, and after you experience Pierian Recording Society's two-disc survey Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler, Pianist, perhaps so shall you.

Zeisler only made piano rolls, never pursuing the alternate method of making phonograph recordings. Zeisler's rolls were made for Welte-Mignon, the Welte system being the reproducing roll device of choice for concert pianists, as it recorded a maximum amount of the player's touch, pedaling, and degrees of volume. Zeisler was a player equipped with a tremendous amount of strength in her arms. Her Chopin is quite different from the norm established nowadays—a lot of it is loud, played with energy and gusto, in the manner of Liszt. Zeisler's turbulent and stormy Beethoven Piano Sonata, Op. 111, is a marvel—you wont believe it's coming from a piano roll. The second disc is made up of encore pieces, some rather rare, all being delightful and interpreted with an ear toward variety of approach. The Welte reproducing piano used by Pierian Recording Society is in excellent shape, and the recording has the perspective of a parlor, rather than that of a concert hall, so that none of the piano's sound is compromised by reverberation. There is quite simply no other way on Earth to hear her work than through the medium of the reproducing roll, and Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler, Pianist is about as ideal a tribute to it as one could ever want.

© Uncle Dave Lewis , Rovi

CD 1 of 2
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Scherzo No.2 in Bb-, Op.31 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
1	Scherzo No.2 in Bb-, Op.31	10:11			$1.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer 2 Nocturnes, Op.48 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
2	No.1 in C-	6:08			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Scherzo No.1 in B-, Op.20 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
3	Scherzo No.1 in B-, Op.20	8:13			$1.49
Frédéric François Chopin Composer Sonata No.2 in Bb-, Op.35 Work 24:09 Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
4	1.Grave. Doppio movimento	7:58			$1.49
5	2.Scherzo	5:46			$0.99
6	3.Marche funèbre: Lento	8:55			$1.49
7	4.Finale: Presto	1:30			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer Piano Sonata No.32 in C-, Op.111 Work 20:54 Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
8	1.Maestoso: Allegro con brio ed appassionato	8:53			$1.49
9	2.Arietta: Adagio molto semplice e cantabile (Theme and Variations)	12:01			$1.99
CD 2 of 2
Moritz Moszkowski Composer Etude for piano "La jongleuse," Op.52, No.4 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
1	Etude for piano "La jongleuse," Op.52, No.4	1:38			$0.99
Domenico Scarlatti Composer Pastorale (unspecified) Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
2	Pastorale (unspecified)	4:07			$0.99
Domenico Scarlatti Composer Sonata in E, K.20, L.375 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
3	Sonata in E, K.20, L.375	3:05			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer 3 Waltzes, Op.70 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
4	No.1 in Gb	2:24			$0.99
Howard Brockway Composer Serenade, for piano Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
5	Serenade, for piano	3:47			$0.99
Anton Rubinstein Composer Barcarolle No.1 in F-, Op.30, No.1 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
6	Barcarolle No.1 in F-, Op.30, No.1	4:39			$0.99
Moritz Moszkowski Composer Liebeswalzer, for piano in Ab, Op.57, No.5 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
7	Liebeswalzer, for piano in Ab, Op.57, No.5	4:06			$0.99
Eduard Schutt Composer Croquis et Silhouettes, for piano, Op.87, No.4 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
8	Croquis et Silhouettes, for piano, Op.87, No.4	2:50			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer 3 Waltzes, Op.64 (includes 'Minute Waltz' and famous Waltz in C#-) Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
9	No.1 in Db ('Minute')	2:00			$0.99
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy Composer Songs without Words, Book 5, Op.62 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
10	4.Allegro con anima in G	2:06			$0.99
Cécile Chaminade Composer Le Retour, Op.134 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
11	Le Retour, Op.134	3:24			$0.99
Johannes Brahms Composer 4 Klavierstücke, Op.119 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
12	4.Rhapsody in Eb	6:21			$0.99
Eugen d'Albert Composer Suite for piano in D-, Op.1 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
13	Gavotte and Mussette	4:36			$0.99
Frédéric François Chopin Composer 2 Nocturnes, Op.27 Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
14	No.2 in Db	5:28			$0.99
Ludwig van Beethoven Composer The Ruins of Athens, Op.113 (incidental music) Work Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
15	5.Marcia alla turca: Vivace ('Turkish March')	2:46			$0.99
Johann Sebastian Bach Composer Toccata and Fugue in D-, BWV565 (famous organ work; authorship questionable) Work 9:20 Fannie Bloomfield Zeisler Piano
16	1.Toccata	3:14			$0.99
17	2.Fugue	6:06			$0.99