Vincent d'Indy; Albéric Magnard - Piano Sonata; Promenades (Sofia Andreoli)

Information

Composer: Vincent d'Indy; Albéric Magnard

• Indy - Piano Sonata in E Minor, Op. 63
• Magnard - Promenades, Op. 7

Sofia Andreoli, piano

Date: 2024

Label: Piano Classics

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Review

Vincent d’Indy was one of those composers – Cherubini was another – whose works are valued by music lovers because of their integrity and craftsmanship but who will never reach a wide audience because of their lack of a strong melodic gift. In his own time d’Indy was a very significant figure. He founded the music college the Schola Cantorum, where his pupils included Magnard, Roussel, Canteloube, Honegger and Milhaud. As a composer he was greatly influenced by César Franck, of whose music he remained a champion, and also by Wagner – he attended the premiere of the Ring in 1876. His own compositions are rarely heard nowadays, his Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français just about managing to cling on to the fringe of the repertoire. However, he has been reasonably well recorded, though you will have to search to find some of his works.

D’Indy wrote a fair amount of piano music; Michael Schäfer’s survey on the Genuin label runs to three discs. His sole Piano Sonata is much the largest and most important of these. This is a massive work lasting nearly three quarters of an hour, with two longer outer movements framing a shorter middle one. The opening movement begins with a kind of fanfare, after which we have a long theme, which is the subject of several variations. The idiom is rich and chromatic, very similar to that of Franck’s two big piano works, the Prélude, Chorale et Fugue and the Prélude, Aria et Final. The middle movement is a scherzo with two trios and is in complete contrast with the first movement, lighthearted and, surprisingly, written in 5/4. The finale brings back the fanfares but leads to another long winding theme which is developed in various ways before the main theme of the first movement returns in a big climax which leads to a quiet end. In this movement we occasionally hear the whole-tone scale, surprising since d’Indy became very reactionary and in his later years disapproved of Debussy and other more recent composers. This is an impressive work but difficult to love because of the restless chromaticism and the fact that the themes are not very memorable.

Magnard is best remembered not for his life or work but for the fact that he died defending his home from the advancing German army in 1914. As a composer he was successively a pupil, colleague and friend of d’Indy and another disciple of Franck. His four symphonies are probably his best-known compositions though there are also a few chamber works. Here we have his Promenades, a set of character pieces based on French towns. These rather reminded me of the earlier pieces in Liszt’s Années de pèlerinage, though Magnard has a surprise in making his penultimate piece, Trianon, a fugue. These are all charming pieces, slighter than d’Indy’s big sonata but attractive.

The young Italian pianist Sofia Andreoli offers fluent pianism, a complete command of the challenging textures of the d’Indy, and she brings light and shade to his sometimes clotted textures. She is equally persuasive in Magnard’s miniatures. The recording is excellent and the booklet notes helpful. Those who want to explore French music beyond the standard works will enjoy this.

— Stephen Barber

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Vincent d'Indy (27 March 1851 – 2 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher, who sought to reform French music through the influence of César Franck and the Bach-Beethoven-Wagner tradition Germanic. Known for meticulous composition and lyrical expression, he produced important operatic and symphonic works, including Symphonie sur un chant montagnard français and Istar. In 1894, he co-founded the Schola Cantorum in Paris, promoting Gregorian chant and early music studies. D'Indy also collected and arranged folk songs and influenced many composers through his teaching and writings.

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Albéric Magnard (9 June 1865 – 3 September 1914) was a French composer. He was a student of Théodore Dubois, Jules Massenet and Vincent d'Indy. Magnard wrote his first two Symphonies under d'Indy's tutelage, and dedicated his Symphony No. 1 to him. Magnard's primary musical influences were contemporary French composers, particularly César Franck. His whole musical output numbers a total of just 22 opus numbers; along with the symphonies and operas are a handful of chamber works. Magnard became a national hero in 1914 when he refused to surrender his property to German invaders and died defending it.

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Sofia Andreoli is an Italian pianist. She began studying classical music at age fourteen and graduated with highest honors from the Cesare Pollini Conservatory in 2016. Trained under Mattia Ometto, Jan Michiels and Konstantin Bogino, she has performed at major venues and festivals in Italy and abroad. Andreoli is particularly active in chamber music and vocal repertoire, collaborating regularly with German soprano Henrike Legner and clarinetist Francesco Cristante. In 2021, she released her debut album, dedicated to the early piano works of Frédéric Chopin, reflecting her longstanding commitment to the composer's music.

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