Entertaining visions of England from a pupil and friend of Beethoven
Ferdinand Ries (1784–1838), pupil, friend and biographer of Beethoven, made London his home from 1813 to 1824. The Piano Concerto No 7 was composed in 1823, the year before he returned to the Rhineland (its subtitle Farewell Concerto from England was added by the publisher); the Variations on Rule, Britannia were composed in Hastings in 1817…while the tune for the Variations, Op 170, though not identified as such in the score, turns out to be “Soldier, soldier will you marry me / With your musket, fife and drum”. In brief, a trio of England-related works that might have been specially written to fit neatly onto one CD.
Are they worth hearing? Not if you require spiritual nourishment or intellectual stimulation, but if you enjoy brilliant display pieces whose untroubled function is to dazzle and entertain, then Ries is your man. Hummel is the model for the piano-writing (with some fascinating passages prescient of Chopin and Mendelssohn), though the extended first movement of the Concerto, with its lengthy and quirky cadenza, is at times in danger of attempting a faux Beethovenian profundity. As on Volumes 1 and 2, the excellent Christopher Hinterhuber has his work cut out and delivers the goods in sparkling, empathetic fashion…he now has the benefit of the RLPO. The role allotted to them is, to be frank, not demanding. The booklet (Allan Bradley, also responsible for the performing editions) is first-rate, as is the recorded sound.
Jeremy Nicholas, Gramophone, September 2009