Sigfrid Karg-Elert: 4 Piano Pieces Op. 23

Sigfrid Karg-Elert - 4 Klavierstücke / Piano Pieces Op. 23 (1903)

1. Erotik 0:04
2. Valse mignonne 3:40
3. A la burla 6:52
4. Ausklang 9:05

Thomas Ang, piano

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An earlier set of pieces by Karg-Elert shows how adept he already was at controlling the harmonies of the Wagner school and his sensitivity to the sensual decadence available in the piano sound. The first piece is not his only composition with such a brazen title; "Erotikon" is also the opening movement of his later Hexameron.

The storytelling instinct pervades throughout. An outsize climax and an over-the-top flourish in the first two otherwise crystalline pieces gives way to a virtuosic romp full of etude textures (marked "with high spirits and liveliness"). The finale, written in memory of the recently-deceased Theodor Kirchner, is a moving and sincere reflection.

I like Karg-Elert's music for its warmth and craft. From looking at the amount of detail on the page it is possible to tell how much the composer cared about shaping everything he could (very much an organist reflex, I think!). The proliferation of fussy and unusual fingerings, as well as the colourful descriptions, make his music a joy to study, and it is what keeps me coming back to his music whenever I have time.