FRIEDRICH GERNSHEIM (1839-1916): Piano Music, Vol. 2 - Sonata No. 1 in D Minor, 4 Klavierstücke, Op. 61, Fantasie in G Minor, Op. 27, Romanze in F Sharp, Op. 15, Capriccio in E Minor, Geschwind-Marsch in C (all First Recordings).

Description: Even as a teenager, Gernsheim was attracting attention as a virtuoso-composer, earning comparisons with Mozart. The works here document the emergence of his own musical personality, from an early sonata (1853), which has a Mozartian opening and a Beethovenian slow movement, via a dalliance with Schumann, until, in the 1895 Klavierstücke, he reaches a mature style comparable to Brahms in its emotional range and depth. Jens Barnieck (piano).