By contrast with last week’s intense Ustvolskaya, this week we move to sunnier climes with a listen to Portuguese Piano Music performed by Sofia Lourenço.
The large and diverse collection of CDs that we are currently processing contains a fair amount of Portuguese classical music, about which I know very little – so time to listen and learn! Both composers featured on this disc were pioneers in the development of a distinctively Portuguese style in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, both were virtuoso pianist-composers, and both came under the influence of Liszt. The works by João Guilherme Daddi (1813 – 1887) have a beguiling and wistful quality to them, for the most part; the opening Andante Cantabile is typical, with Romantic flourishes leading to a touching waltz. Everything is restrained and quite delicate, evoking salon music – indeed, private salon concerts were a mainstay of Portuguese musical life at the time. Daddi evokes this rarefied atmosphere with mastery in the four short works featured here.
Of a later generation, José Viana da Mota (1868 – 1948) had a more Central European education studying with Scharwenka and von Bülow, among others. The music performed here shows a more obvious attempt to fuse a Portuguese folk style with German Romanticism, with both sets of Cenas Portuguesas Opp. 9 & 18 utilising folk-like melodies to evocative effect. On a grey, autumnal day in the Pennines, the lazy and sun-drenched scenes brought to mind were particularly welcome! The Ballada Op. 16 is an altogether more substantial piece, Lisztian and virtuosic in nature and more ambitious in dramatic range. Adventurous sonorities are explored and there is less dynamic restraint, giving the music a wilder and more intense edge. But overall there is nothing challenging on this disc, nor will you find much in the way of high drama, just plenty of sunshine and charm. It could be perfect for a summer evening with a glass of wine on the terrace.
The pianist, Sofia Lourenço, certainly captures the Romantic heart of this music with a liberated and exuberant performance that is nonetheless delicate and graceful when required. The sleeve notes are particularly useful, sketching a much-needed background to the musical scene in Portugal at the time. As a gentle introduction to Portuguese classical music, I enjoyed this, and can’t wait to listen and learn more. Watch this space!