Margaret Fingerhut - Leighton: Solo Piano Works (2010) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Piano Sonata, Op. 64: I. Lento e chiaro
02. Piano Sonata, Op. 64: II. Chorale with contrasts: Adagio molto e sostenuto
03. Piano Sonata, Op. 64: III. Toccatas and Chorale. Presto precipitoso
04. Préludes: Prelude in D Minor
05. Préludes: Prelude in D Major
06. Préludes: Prelude in E-Flat Minor
07. Préludes: Prelude in C Major
08. Préludes: Prelude in C Minor
09. Winter Scenes: I. Landscape
10. Winter Scenes: II. The Wind
11. Winter Scenes: III. Mist
12. Winter Scenes: IV. Woodsprites
13. Winter Scenes: V. By the Fireside
14. Winter Scenes: VI. Snowflakes
15. Winter Scenes: VII. Carol
16. Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 27: I. Andante, ma un poco liberamente
17. Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 27: II. Lento sostenuto
18. Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 27: III. Intermezzo
19. Piano Sonata No. 3, Op. 27: IV. Presto, molto ritmico



Kenneth Leighton was a pianist of considerable accomplishment and his activities as both a composer and a musician often centred on the piano. As a composer-pianist, he had an innate understanding of the instrument and what he described as its ‘inexhaustible possibilities’. Quite appropriately, his first published work was for the instrument, Sonatina No. 1, Op. 1a, and the last music that he wrote, before his premature death at the age of fifty-eight, was the beginning of a compendium of Preludes for piano, the partially complete result of which features in this recital. Returning to the instrument at regular intervals, Leighton often wrote through inner compulsion rather than as a consequence of a commission. The piano proved an excellent tool with which to write some of his most virtuosic and experimental music, but it also offered him a chance to compose simpler works for young players in nonetheless challenging styles.

Two of the works on this disc, recorded here for the first time, date from the years 1951 – 55, a time of self-discovery in his musical language, which included a period of study in Rome with the avant-garde composer Petrassi. Winter Scenes, a suite of seven short movements, remains unpublished and, as far as is known, was never performed in public by Leighton or any of his contemporaries. Along with the progressive Sonata No. 3, Op. 27, it demonstrates Leighton’s growing mastery of piano technique.

Margaret Fingerhut has an extensive discography on Chandos. In a recent review she was described as ‘an accomplished and stylish advocate’ (BBC Music).

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