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Rediscovering significant piano music of the past

We live in an age of mysteries. The omnipresence of today’s recordings of classical music, many of which are of little-known repertoire, might lead us to believe that there is little left of the past to discover. Yet we have only to move back in time by a little over a hundred years to find the ghosts of a forgotten Romanticism waiting to be reanimated and to present to us an aesthetic very different from that of our own age. This was the era when the piano was at the centre of musical life; at the heart of the home and at the crux of the conception of the Romantic as artist.

Romantic Discoveries Recordings seeks to present innovative world première CD recordings of piano music of the Romantic era by award-winning pianist John Kersey, informed by his extensive research into the performance history of the Romantic era, and recorded in a natural ambience evoking the acoustic of the typical Romantic salon. These recordings are not intended to be comparable to audiophile CD releases; instead, they are interpretatively faithful performances, edited by the pianist himself, that aim at an honest, direct and sympathetic portrayal of music that is often being introduced to the listener for the first time.

“A great feast for the Beethoven connoisseur” (of CD19)
James Green, author, The New Hess Catalog of Beethoven’s Works

“A true and nowadays unique artist, a pianist who has discovered a quantity of really unsung and memorable piano music…In my view, it is at the moment the most remarkable serial of unsung piano music of a high level, so not “lovely pieces” from days gone by, but the ambitious search for original and lasting works.”
Dr. Klaus Tischendorf, Burgmueller.com

From 2023 onwards, the Romantic Discoveries catalogue has been expanded to include a number of recordings of standard repertoire with which John Kersey feels a particular affinity. During 2023, over forty new CDs have been scheduled for release, including recordings made during the national lockdown of 2021 and over twenty CDs of the piano music of Walter Niemann.

All compositions recorded and released by Romantic Discoveries Recordings are in the public domain in the United Kingdom, from where all CDs are made and sent. For copyright reasons, our recordings are not available to purchase in Mexico and certain other countries which have a copyright term that differs from that of the United Kingdom.

Affiliations

Romantic Discoveries Recordings is an affiliated research centre of European-American University.

Beethoven Piano Sonatas volume 2

Beethoven Piano Sonatas volume 2
Piano Sonata no 30 in E major, op. 109 • Piano Sonata no. 31 in A flat major, op. 110 • Piano Sonata no. 32 in C minor, op. 111
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD143

Price: £18.99. Click the button below to purchase this CD securely online.

 

 

Total time: 68 minutes 45 seconds

1. Piano Sonata in E major, op 109 (1820) (20:01)

i. Vivace ma non troppo – Adagio espressivo
ii. Prestissimo
iii. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo

2. Piano Sonata in A flat major, op 110 (1821) (19:27)

i. Moderato cantabile e molto espressivo
ii. Allegro molto
iii. Adagio ma non troppo – Fuga

3. Piano Sonata in C minor, op 111 (1821-22) (29:12)

i. Maestoso – Allegro con brio ed appassionato
ii. Arietta – Adagio molto semplice e cantabile

Beethoven Piano Sonatas volume 1

Beethoven Piano Sonatas volume 1
Piano Sonata no 27 in E minor, op 90 • Piano Sonata no. 29 in B flat major, op. 106 “Hammerklavier”
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD142

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Total time: 66 minutes 40 seconds

1. Piano Sonata in E minor, op. 90 (1814) (14:55)

i. Mit Lebhaftigkeit und durchaus mit Empfindung und Ausdruck
ii. Nicht zu geschwind und sehr singbar vorgetragen

2. Piano Sonata in B flat major, op 106 “Hammerklavier” (1818) (52:21)

1. Allegro
2. Scherzo: Assai vivace
3. Adagio sostenuto
4. Largo – Allegro risoluto

In Recital at Chingford Parish Church

In Recital at Chingford Parish Church
Bach-Busoni Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, BWV552 “St Anne” • Beethoven Sonata no 30 in E major, op 109 • Fauré Barcarolles 6 and 8 • Beethoven: Bagatelles, op. 126 • Alkan: La Vision • Beethoven: Bagatelle in F minor (1826)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD141

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Total time: 67 minutes 20 seconds

1. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) transcribed by Ferruccio Busoni (1866-1924): Prelude and Fugue in E flat major, BWV552 “St Anne” (15:38)

2. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Piano Sonata no. 30 in E major, op. 109 (1820) (19:48)
i. Vivace ma non troppo – Adagio espressivo
ii. Prestissimo
iii. Gesangvoll, mit innigster Empfindung. Andante molto cantabile ed espressivo.

3. Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924):
i. Barcarolle no. 6 in E flat major, op. 70
ii. Barcarolle no. 8 in D flat major, op. 96 (8:24)

4. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Six Bagatelles, op 126 (19:58)
i. Andante con moto
ii. Allegro
iii. Andante
iv. Presto
v. Quasi allegretto
vi. Presto – Andante amabile e con moto – Tempo I

4. Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-88): Esquisses, op. 63 (2:27)
i. no. 1 La Vision

5. Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): Bagatelle in F minor (1826; unpublished)* (0:53)

Live recording taken from performances at Chingford Parish Church, London, May 2015 and *2017.

Brahms Piano Works volume 2

Brahms Piano Works volume 2
Piano Sonata no 3 in F minor, op 5 • Variations and Fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD140

Price: £18.99. Click the button below to purchase this CD securely online.

 

 

Total time: 68 minutes 50 seconds

1. Piano Sonata no. 3 in F minor, op 5 (38:20)
i. Allegro maestoso
ii. Andante
iii. Scherzo. Allegro energico
iv. Intermezzo (Rückblick)
v. Finale. Allegro moderato ma rubato

2. Variations and Fugue on a theme by Handel, op. 24 (20:27)
i. Theme
ii. Variation 1
ii.i Variation II
iv. Variation III
v. Variation IV
vi. Variation V
vii. Variation VI
viii. Variation VII
ix. Variation VIII
x. Variation IX
xi. Variation X
xii. Variation XI
xiii. Variation XII
xiv. Variation XIII
xv. Variation XIV
xvi. Variation XV
xvii. Fugue

Brahms Piano Works volume 1

Brahms Piano Works volume 1
Seven Fantasias, op. 116 • Six Piano Pieces, op. 118 • Four Piano Pieces, op. 119
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD139

Price: £18.99. Click the button below to purchase this CD securely online.

 

 

Total time: 71 minutes 17 seconds

1. Seven Fantasias, op. 116 (27:02)
i. Capriccio in D Minor (Presto energico)
ii. Intermezzo in A Minor (Andante)
iii. Capriccio in G Minor (Allegro passionato)
iv. Intermezzo in E Major (Adagio)
v. Intermezzo in E Minor (Andante con grazia ed intimissimo sentimento)
vi. Intermezzo in E Major (Andante teneramente)
vii. Capriccio in D Minor (Allegro agitato)

2. Sechs Klavierstücke, op 118 (26:57)
i: Intermezzo in A minor
ii: Intermezzo in A major
iii: Ballade in G minor
iv: Intermezzo in F minor
v: Romanze in F major
vi: Intermezzo in E-flat minor

3. Vier Klavierstücke, op. 119 (17:13)
i. Intermezzo in B Minor
ii. Intermezzo in E Minor
iii. Intermezzo in C Major
iv. Rhapsodie in E Flat Major

Brahms Violin Sonatas 1 and 2 transcribed for piano solo by Paul Klengel

Brahms Violin Sonatas 1 and 2 transcribed for piano solo by Paul Klengel
Sonata in G major, op. 78 “Rain Sonata” • Two Rhapsodies, op. 79 • Sonata in A major op 100 “Meistersinger” (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD138

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Total time: 72 minutes 3 seconds

1. Johannes Brahms (1833-97) Sonata for violin and piano no. 1 in G major, op. 78 “Rain Sonata”, transcribed for solo piano by Paul Klengel (1854-1935) (31:54)
i. Vivace ma non troppo
ii. Adagio
iii. Allegro molto moderato

2. Johannes Brahms (1833-97): Two Rhapsodies, op 79 (15:49)
i. Agitato in B minor
ii. Molto passionato, ma non troppo Allegro in G minor

3. Johannes Brahms (1833-97) Sonata for piano and violin no. 2 in A major, op. 100 “Meistersinger” (1886), transcribed for solo piano by Paul Klengel (1854-1935) (24:14)
i. Allegro amabile
ii. Andante tranquillo – Vivace
iii. Allegretto grazioso, quasi Andante

Piano Music of Frédéric Chopin volume 2

Piano Music of Frédéric Chopin (1810-49) volume 2
Polonaise-fantaisie, op. 61 • Scherzos nos. 2 and 4 • Barcarolle, op. 60 • Polonaise op. 44 • Two Nocturnes, op. 62
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD137

Price: £18.99. Click the button below to purchase this CD securely online.

 

 

Total time: 76 minutes 15 seconds

1. Polonaise-fantaisie in A flat major, op 61 (16:04)

2. Scherzo in B flat minor, op. 31 (11:00)

3. Barcarolle in F sharp major, op. 60 (10:03)

4. Polonaise in F sharp minor, op. 44 (12:08)

5. Two Nocturnes, op 62 (14:16)
i. Andante in B major
ii. Lento in E major

6. Scherzo no. 4 in E major, op. 54 (12:32)

Piano Music of Frédéric Chopin volume 1

Piano Music of Frédéric Chopin (1810-49) volume 1
Piano Sonata no. 3 in B minor, op. 58 • Two Nocturnes, op. 32 • Two Polonaises, op. 26
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD136

Price: £18.99. Click the button below to purchase this CD securely online.

 

 

Total time: 70 minutes 14 seconds

1. Piano Sonata no. 3 in B minor, op. 58 (38:04)
i. Allegro maestoso
ii. Scherzo: Molto vivace
iii. Largo
iv. Finale: Presto non tanto
The variant passages in the first movement exposition are taken from the 1845 first edition published by J. Meissonier in Paris.

2. Two Nocturnes, op 32 (11:17)
i. Andante sostenuto in B major
ii. Lento in A flat major

3. Two Polonaises, op 26 (20:49)
i. Allegro appassionato in C sharp minor
ii. Maestoso in E flat minor

Piano Music by Nikolai Medtner

Piano Music of Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951)
Canzona matinata and Sonata tragica from op 39 • Sonate-elegie (Sonata no. 3) op 11 no 2 • Sonata reminiscenza, op 38 no 1 • Sonata no. 4 in C major, op. 11 no. 3 • Sonata no. 9 in A minor “War Sonata”, op. 30
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD135

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Total time: 70 minutes 35 seconds

1. from Forgotten Melodies book 2, op. 39 nos. 4 and 5 (1920) (17:25)
i. Canzona matinata ii. Sonata tragica (Sonata no. 11)

2. Sonate-elegie (Sonata no. 3), op. 11 no. 2 (7:09)

3. from Forgotten Melodies book 1, op. 38 no. 1 (1920) (17:38)
i. Sonata reminiscenza (Sonata no. 10)

4. Sonata no. 4 in C major, op. 11 no. 3 (11:38)
“Und so das Herz erleichtert merkt behende,
Daß es noch lebt und schlägt und möchte schlagen,
Zum reinsten Dank der überreichen Spende
Sich selbst erwidernd willig darzutragen.
Da fühlte sich – o daß es ewig bliebe! –
Das Doppelglück der Töne wie der Liebe.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

5. Piano Sonata no. 9 in A minor “War Sonata”, op. 30 (16:35)

“I want to speak of music….as a country, our native country which determines our musicians’ nationality, our musicality, a country in relation to which all our ‘ideologies’, schools, individualities, are merely sides.” – Nikolai Medtner, The Muse and the Fashion.

Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 24

Piano Music of Walter Niemann volume 24
Tchaikovsky Symphony no. 6 in B minor, op. 74, transcribed by Walter Niemann • The Abode of Happiness, op. 163 (includes first recordings)
John Kersey, piano
RDR CD134

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Total time: 78 minutes 35 seconds

1. Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-93): Symphony no. 6 in B minor, op. 74 “Pathetique”, transcribed for solo piano by Walter Niemann (49:10)
I. Adagio – Allegro non troppo
2. Allegro con grazia
3. Allegro molto vivace
4. Finale. Adagio lamentoso – Andante

2. Die Wohnung des Glücks, op. 163 (13:06)
In grateful memory of his sister Elisabeth (1866-1942), with whom he had lived all his life.
i. Home
ii. Summerland
iii. A Birthday
iv Grief and Consolation
v. Epilogue

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.