Wohin?

When listening to Hyperion Records' new disc of the music of Julius Isserlis, it proves impossible to separate what you hear from the experiences of its composer. Isserlis, pictured here with his grandson, the cellist Steven Isserlis, was born in what is now Chișinău in Moldova, then part of Russia. He studied with Taneyev in Moscow and Widor in Paris and became a well-regarded pianist, with performances in America and, on his return to Russia, a post at the College of the Imperial Philharmonic Society in Moscow. He then married Rita Rauchwerger in 1916, the daughter of a wealthy music-loving Jewish family from Odessa.

Julius's already peripatetic life became increasingly hectic during the War years, with the Bolsheviks quickly approaching Odessa. The family tried to escape, but were prevented from reaching the port by fighting between the approaching Reds and those defending the city. So it was in 1922, when Lenin issued a decree that 12 Russian musicians should tour internationally as Soviet ambassadors, that Isserlis finally left Russia, now somewhat reluctantly, travelling with his family to Riga, Berlin, Prague and then to Vienna, where they lived until 1938, when Julius was lucky enough to be in Britain during the week of the Anschluss. Finally, after years of never truly settling, the family made a home in London, with Julius giving recitals at the National Gallery, Wigmore Hall and around Britain during World War II.

The current disc features a number of works from the predominant body of his output, that of piano music. There is an unmistakable Slavic note to many of the pieces, minor and melancholy in mood. Harmonically, there is something of the richness of Szymanowski, with a dose of Viennese sentiment. And, of course, there are moments of great virtuosity too. But despite these and obvious Chopin homages, you can't help feeling that the music craves a centre, a home, some sense of permanent place, rather than its constant flirtation with a variety of idioms. Perhaps the most evocative of the works on this beautifully produced disc, played with charm and refinement by Sam Haywood, is 'Warum?' Why? Isserlis might well have written a companion piece, 'Wohin?' Where to? Click here to order a copy.  

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