• Felix Blumenfeld (1863-1931) was a virtuoso pianist, a celebrated conductor and a renowned teacher whose class comprised the likes of Simon Barere, Marija Grinberg and Vladimir Horowitz, to name but a few. But he was also a composer of an œuvre of breathtaking beauty and originality, sadly neglected for a long time, but gaining more and more recognition nowadays.
• Blumenfeld was born in the Ukraine, into a family of Austrian-Jewish and Polish origins (his mother was a cousin of the composer Karol Szymanowski, whereas the famous pianist and pedagogue Heinrich Neuhaus was his nephew). He was in close contact with the musical giants of his age: Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Borodin and Lyadov.
• Like many composers of the so called Silver Age, the majority of Blumenfeld’s compositions are for the piano. His music is rooted in the late Russian Romantic tradition in which a national voice can be heard, while the pianistic writing is undeniably inspired by Chopin, though also the influence of other composers such as Adolf von Henselt and Franz Liszt may be traced. Much of his output also shows the influence of Wagner in its bold chromaticism.
• The 24 Preludes Op. 17 are clearly modeled on Chopin’s Op. 28. While much of the pianism is Chopinesque, it is often expanded upon, with technical devices taken further, while the music itself is undeniably Russian in its adoption of folk song and orientalism.
• Mark Viner took the musical world by storm by his innovative concert programs and CD recordings containing rarely heard repertoire from unjustly forgotten romantic composers. His Alkan, Thalberg and Chaminade recordings earned him 5 star reviews and Editor’s Choice from Gramophone, The Guardian, Sunday Times and International Piano. He is the Chairman of the Liszt and Alkan Societies. An excellent scholar as well he wrote the extensive liner notes for the booklet himself.
