JULIUS WERTHEIM (1880-1928): Piano Works - 4 Préludes, Op. 2, 2 Préludes, Op. 5, Variations sur un thème original, Op. 4, 2 Impromptus, Op. 6, 3 Weisen im polnischen Folkston, Op. 13.

Description: Wertheim was a member of a prominent Jewish family who maintained an important salon in Warsaw among whose regulars during the first decade of the 20th century were the young Artur Rubinstein, Josef Hoffman and Paweł Kochanski. Rubinstein was deeply influenced by Wertheim's approach to the playing of Chopin’s music, and stated later that he had largely drawn his own inspiration for playing Chopin from Wertheim's 'deep and intuitive understanding of his genius.' The six Preludes are Romantically melancholy and gloomy and while the two large Impromptus (around nine minutes each!) drape songful lyricism around dramatic and complex central sections but the major work here is the 32-minute set of Variations which the young composer dedicated to the renowned pianist, Wilhelm Backhaus. Many of Wertheim’s manuscripts were lost when most of Warsaw was burned by the Germans in WW II so this well-filled (80 min.) release hints of a major loss to European musical culture. Elżbieta Tyszecka (piano).