Federico Mompou - Silent Music (Jenny Lin)

Information

Composer: Federico Mompou

1. Música Callada: Book 1: I. Angelico
2. Música Callada: Book 1: II. Lent
3. Música Callada: Book 1: III. Placide
4. Música Callada: Book 1: IV. Afflitto e penoso
5. Música Callada: Book 1: V. ([M.M.] crochet = 54)
6. Música Callada: Book 1: VI. Lento
7. Música Callada: Book 1: VII. Lento
8. Música Callada: Book 1: VIII. Semplice
9. Música Callada: Book 1: IX. Lento
10. Música Callada: Book 2: X. Lento - cantabile
11. Música Callada: Book 2: XI. Allegretto
12. Música Callada: Book 2: XII. Lento
13. Música Callada: Book 2: XIII. Tranquilo - très calme
14. Música Callada: Book 2: XIV. Severo - sérieux
15. Música Callada: Book 2: XV. Lento - plaintif
16. Música Callada: Book 2: XVI. Calme
17. Música Callada: Book 3: XVII. Lento
18. Música Callada: Book 3: XVIII. Luminoso
19. Música Callada: Book 3: XIX. Tranquillo
20. Música Callada: Book 3: XX. Calme
21. Música Callada: Book 3: XXI. Lento
22. Música Callada: Book 4: XXII. Molto lento e tranquilo
23. Música Callada: Book 4: XXIII. Calme, avec clarté
24. Música Callada: Book 4: XXIV. Moderato
25. Música Callada: Book 4: XXV. ([M.M.] crochet = 100)
26. Música Callada: Book 4: XXVI. Lento
27. Música Callada: Book 4: XXVII. Lento molto
28. Música Callada: Book 4: XXVIII. Lento
29. Secreto (from Impresiones intimas)

Jenny Lin, piano

Date: 2011

Label: Steinway & Sons

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Review

Música Callada (Music of Silence) is a very special work, one of the most beautiful and elusive in the entire piano repertoire. It is extremely difficult to perform. On the one hand, there’s the temptation to stretch each piece out hypnotically, if monotonously, while quicker speeds preserve the music’s melodic essence at the expense of much of its atmosphere and harmonic richness. For although much of the music is indeed quiet, and none of it moves quickly, it is all meaningful.

Mompou himself found the perfect balance between incident and repose, and of all the pianists since, Jenny Lin arguably comes closest to doing the same, only in much better sound. It’s not so much that her tempos match Mompou’s own (she’s actually not copying him–it would hardly be possible in a work containing 28 individual pieces), but rather that her phrasing and sense of timing let the music breathe and sing with its own special poetry. To take just one example, consider the sadness that Lin finds in the fourth piece, “Afflitto e penoso”, by allowing the piece’s harmonic color time to speak simply and eloquently.

Another secret of her success is the splendid equilibrium between left and right hands. The treble gleams, bell-like, while the sonorous bass lines carry the music right through the many pauses, aided in no small degree by discretely timed use of the pedals. “Secreto”, from the early Impresiones intimas, makes the perfect encore and rounds out the program in a most satisfying way. If Música Callada represents Mompou’s masterpiece, then this beautifully engineered disc must be its finest modern recording. It deserves a home in every serious piano music collection.

— David Hurwitz

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Federico Mompou (16 April 1893 – 30 June 1987) was a Catalan Spanish composer and pianist. Trained in Barcelona and later at the Paris Conservatory under Isidor Philipp, he absorbed influences from Satie and Debussy while developing a distinct style rooted in Catalan musical idioms. After gaining recognition in Paris, he returned to Barcelona in 1941 during World War II. Mompou's recordings of his works for the Spanish label Ensayo are noted for their sensitivity and elegance. His music is widely performed and recorded by such pianists as Arthur Rubinstein, Alicia de Larrocha, Stephen Hough and many others.

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Jenny Lin (born 1973) is a Taiwanese-born American pianist. She studied in Vienna, Baltimore and Geneva with teachers including Noel Flores, Julian Martin and Dominique Weber. She also worked with Leon Fleisher, Richard Goode, and others. She has performed with orchestras worldwide and premiered works by composers such as Stefano Gervasoni and Unsuk Chin. Her performances have included venues like Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Kennedy Center. Lin has released over 50 recordings, and is creator of Melody's Mostly Musical Day, a children's musical picture book and concert.

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