A new CD recording has been issued by Romantic Discoveries Recordings.

Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 21
Introduction and Toccata, op. 106 • Hermitage, op. 140 • Sevillana, op. 63 • Romantic Suite, op. 189 • A Day at Schloss Dürande, op. 62 • Five Little Poesies, op. 11 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD131

Total time: 72 minutes

1. Introduction and Toccata, op. 106 (5:34)

2. Eremitage – little pictures from an old park, op. 140 (15:40)
i. Menuett on the Nature-Theatre ii. Leda with the Swan iii. Little Chinese Temple iv. Little Mosque v. Rococo Pavilion vi. Gate of the Sphinx vii. Marble Fountain viii. Before a pillared bust of the young Beethoven ix. Ancient Temple Ruins

3. Sevillana, Spanish airs for piano, op. 63 (12:26)
i. Romanza ii. Mandolinata iii. Boléro iv. Serenata

4. Romantische Suite after words by Alexander Pushkin, op. 189 (10:20)
i. On the Volga – Barkarole ii. Ballet in the Garden – Gavotte iii. Horn Music – Alla Caccia iv. Fireworks Music – Folk Dance

5. Ein Tag auf Schloss Dürande, Romantic novel in six chapters after words by Eichendorff, op. 62 (15:22)
i. The Castle on the Mountain (Heroic Präludium) ii. Sarabande iii. Midday Silence in the Castle Park iv. At the Forest Spring (Idyll after the Hunt) v. Foreign Bagpiper (Burleske) vi. Gallant Entertainment (Gigue)

6. Fünf kleine Poesien, op. 11 (12:25)
i. Capriccietto ii. Mazurka iii. Little Waltz iv. Rococo (Menuetto scherzando) v. Arietta

Our thanks go to Nicolo Figowy and Steffen Herrmann for their generous loan of scores.

Walter Niemann was regarded in 1927 as “the most important living piano composer who knows how to make music from the piano in a subtle and colorful way, although he often enters the field of salon music” (H. Abert, Illustrated Music Lexicon). This most sensitive and introverted master of the piano devoted his life to composition and musical scholarship, also performing his music in concerts and radio broadcasts. Niemann’s vast output for the piano is only now starting to become more widely known. Although his style is generally unashamedly conservative, he was one of the very few German composers to explore Impressionism in music, and this also reflected a fascination with the Far East. Elsewhere, Niemann’s imagination takes us from much Baroque recreation to large-scale epic sonatas, Schumannesque miniatures and even the exploration of early jazz styles. His understanding of the capabilities of the piano was complete, and his works include both collections for young pianists and mature works that exploit the full range of pianistic effect and make significant demands on the performer.