オスカル・フェルナンデス: ピアノ作品集

Nimbusレーベルからシリーズ化されている南米ピアノ音楽シリーズ。20世紀ブラジルの作曲家、オスカル・ロレンソ・フェルナンデス(1897-1948)のピアノ作品集。フェルナンデスの作品は、フランス印象派の影響を受けた初期、フォークロアやネイティブ・アメリカンのリズムとハーモニーを体系的に用いた中期、内省を強め、より普遍的に音楽言語を発展させていった後期の3つの時期に分けることが出来、ここでは1938年頃までに作曲されたロマンティックな作品と民俗的な音楽がセレクトされています。
東京エムプラス

Oscar Lorenzo Fernandez, born in 1897, was ten years younger than Heitor Villa-Lobos, and he is best known for an orchestral piece called Batuque, that is rooted in Afro-Brazilian rhythms. Yet his music generally doesnt sound much like Villa-Lobos, and this collection of his short keyboard pieces (he wrote about 80 of them) from pianist Martin Jones is welcome. Some of them are early works that follow Debussy rather than Villa-Lobos and have little specifically Brazilian content. Even in this student phase of Fernandezs career, he seems to have had a characteristic lyrical quality. The centerpiece is a trio of 1930s works called Suite Brasileira, each with three movements. Even here, Fernandez is not really a follower of Villa-Lobos. In a way, he is more conservative, but this means he can explore charming Brazilian pop genres like the modinha and the serenade-like semesta that Villa-Lobos rarely touched. He was also capable, however, of the big, public-facing Afro-Brazilian mode, as can be heard in the Jongo finale of the Suite Brasileira No. 3. Pianist Martin Jones seems to have undertaken this project out of sheer enthusiasm, and it is likely to find admirers even in Brazil; he catches a quiet tuneful quality in Fernandezs music that makes for delightful listening. The Nimbus label backs him up with ideal sound from the Wyastone Estate Concert Hall. ~ James Manheim