Rozsa wrote copious quantities of piano music, including two sets of variations, two character-piece collections, and a sonata. The Variations pour Piano op. 9 and Bagatellen op. 12, both composed prior to his Hollywood days, are stellar examples of triadic music spiked with mild dissonance. Echoes of composers as diverse as Debussy, Bart6k, Kodály, Rachmaninoff, Dohnanyi, and Prokofiev can be heard here, though these pieces are not style studies. Both compositions are meaty listens excellently written, with the Bagatellen being this listener's pick of the disk.
The composer's later pieces are of variable quality, though all possess at the very least a solid compositional technique and sparklingly idiomatic piano writing. Most are still resolutely tonal in sound. Kaleidoscope op. 19, while a capable enough set of miniatures with attractive moments, somehow fails to reach the special excellence of the Bagatellen. This likely results from three considerations: the work's tune-driven (as opposed to structure-driven) ethos, its somehow less kinetic, less supple sense of rhythm and its at times rather film-score-like harmonic language (featuring prominent elements of filtered Ravel and Debussy which nowadays sound perhaps a bit too dated). The Vintner's Daughter op. 23, a set of variations that would be R6zsa's last work for piano, is a decidedly better listen. This composition nicely blends a French-derived folkiness (due in no small part to the theme's origin) with elements of Les Six and Bart6k. Its primarily transparent textures are most welcome on this recording. And like good variation sets, it cogently clumps its smaller entities into a larger structural overview. The ambitious Sonata für Klavier op. 20 shows that R6zsa was equally adept at handling large-scale genres. This piece is the least triadic of all, redolent of dissonant-period Bart6k and Prokofiev, yet possessing a distinctive voice. The work's earnest energy rhythmic sense; this is a fine composition indeed. Originally written for the 1975 film Providence and scored for strings and keyboard; the initial piano sketch is played here. It's a slight, moody bauble with hints of Debussy and MacDowell.
Pianist Sara Davis Buechner's performances are first-class all the way, excellently combining attention to detail with fiery demonstrativeness. Except for a mild amount of distortion in the coda of the Sonata's finale, sound quality and production values are fine.
This CD is a pleasure to hear, greatly recommended to all and a must-listen for those seeking out worthy off-the-beaten-track triadic compositions.
David Cleary