Moszkowski, Maurice

Moritz Moszkowski

Première Suite d’Orchestre, Op. 39

(b. Breslau (Wroclaw) 23 August 1854 – d. Paris, 4 March 1925)

I. Allegro molto e brio p.3

II. Allegretto giojoso p.60

III. Tema con Variazioni p.98

IV. Intermezzo p.143

V. Perpetuum mobile p.156

Preface

Born into a Jewish family in what was then Prussia, Moritz Moszkowski lived most of his adult life in Berlin and Paris.  He entered the Leipzig Conservatory at the age of 10 and became a professor of piano at 17 – a considerable achievement that testifies to his prodigious talent as one of the great pianists.  It did not last, though, for his health failed during his thirties, forcing him to abandon playing in public.  Nevertheless, he remained a respected conductor, a regular at the Royal Philharmonic Society in London.  He was also a noted piano teacher, whose pupils included Josef Hofmann, Wanda Landowska, Vlado Perlmuter and Thomas Beecham.

He is (perhaps unfairly) remembered today mainly as the composer of piano pieces for the ‘salon’ market.  In the days when most middle-class homes had a piano, Moszkowski was one of those who supplied original music of moderate difficulty (his sister-in-law, Cécile Chaminade, was another).  It is sad that we come across Moszkowski’s works today most often amongst piles of old piano music in thrift shops, for he had a true melodic gift, an understanding of contrapuntal writing, and a flair for orchestration.  Apart from some 200 accomplished piano works, Moszkowski also wrote opera (Boabdil der letzte Maurenkönig, produced in Berlin, Prague and New York in 1892-3) [See MPH score 863]; a ballet Laurin (1896); several orchestral suites; a tone-poem Jeanne d’Arc;  a Violin Concerto (1882) and two Piano Concertos (1875 & 1898).

He once wrote to a friend, listing his musical abilities and adding “besides these extensive acquirements I can play billiards, chess, dominoes and violin, and can ride, imitate canary birds, and relate jokes in the Saxon dialect…”

The First Orchestral Suite dates from 1885 and is dedicated to the Royal Philharmonic Society in London.  It is in five movements and is of symphonic proportions, beginning with an Allegro molto e brio that has something of the energy of the opening of Schumann’s Rheinische-symphonie.  The following Allegretto giojoso is lightly-scored, leading to a third movement that is a set of eight variations on a theme announced at the outset by clarinets.  There is a variety of moods, including an agile flute solo (var. 3) and a csárdás (var. 4).  The delicate allegretto of the Intermezzo (in fact a minuet and trio) enjoyed a separate existence since Moszkowski published it as a piano solo.  The last movement, a Perpetuum mobile, brings his suite to a close in a burst of con bravura energy.

The first performance was given on 2 June 1886 in St James’s Hall, London, conducted by the composer.  Moszkowski was recalled twice after the performance.

Phillip Brookes, 2014

For performance material please visit IMSLP  (http://imslp.org)