COMPOSERS: Vorisek
LABELS: Collins
WORKS: Piano Works
PERFORMER: Artur Pizarro
CATALOGUE NO: 14582 DDD
Not least among the benefits of the CD boom is that we can now discover that some of the minor composers whose reputations are puffed by the record companies are indeed justly neglected. This makes it all the more gratifying when a composer of genuine merit and interest is resurrected, such as Vorísek, for whose work Pizarro makes a convincing case on this disc.
Vorísek was born in Bohemia in the year Mozart died and, in thrall to Beethoven, moved to Vienna in 1813. Although Beethoven is the most obvious influence on his music, what is more interesting are the ways in which Vorísek often seems to anticipate Chopin, Schumann and, more especially, Schubert, with whom he shares a gift for unforced lyricism. Like Schubert, Vorísek exploited the impromptu form, and it is likely that Schubert knew his ‘Fantaisie’, which is in the same key as the ‘Wanderer Fantasy’, C minor. This is the most impressive piece here, harmonically adventurous, dramatic and confident. Pizarro is a compelling advocate and expertly realises the overarching clarity of Vorísek’s musical arguments. William Humphreys-Jones