Stephen Heller: Works for Piano

Hungarian pianist Ilona Prunyi presents several works by fellow Hungarian Stephen Heller. Heller was a modest composer and concert pianist, and a teacher who spent most of his career in Paris. A few of his piano etudes are what are known today, if any of his works are known at all. The liner notes accompanying this disc are surprisingly honest. They don't try to inflate Heller's stature as a relatively minor nineteenth century composer, nor do they try to pass off the character pieces here as unjustly ignored concert masterworks. These are works with just enough interesting writing and emotional content to please both pianist and listener. Heller was obviously influenced by both Viennese and Parisian composers. There are hints of Chopin-esque filigree in the Polonaises and his waltz rhythms in the Sérénade, Op. 56. Heller's Ballade, Op. 121/1, is more like a Schubert Impromptu than like a Chopin allade, always resolving moments of doubt with happier moments of security. Although Heller uses traditional Romantic character piece titles, the works that go with them are not always what the title implies. The Polonaises do have the expected rhythm of the dance, but the Rêverie de Gondolier and the aracrolles are almost completely without that gentle rolling motion associated with the feeling of drifting through Venetian canals. The Sérénade begins quietly, but is not peaceful, and it grows more passionate as it progresses, before finishing more nocturnally serenely. The amount of drama in these works is more than is found in Chopin or Schubert, but it is still quite in proportion with the music, and Prunyi knows how to maintain that sense of balance between the music and the sentiment. She has a clean and clear legato that builds excitement in the running scales of the Impromptu, Op. 129/2, and the Intermède de Concert, Op. 135/2. The roiling riplets of the other Impromptu from Op. 129 seem to give it a hint of Spanish exoticism, until the second, more Germanic song-like theme comes in. Prunyi gives listeners a taste of Heller's unassuming music that is appealing for its construction as much as for its sound. ~ Patsy Morita, All Music Guide