CARL LOEWE (1796-1869): Piano Music, Vol. 2 - Grande Sonate Brillante in E Flat, Op. 41, Abendfantasie, Op. 11 (First Recording), Die Frühling - Eine Tondichtung in Sonatenform, Op. 47, Biblische Bilder, Op. 96.

Description: The half-hour-long “Spring”of 1824 has descriptive titles for its four movements (“Daybreak”, “Nature”, “Country Life” and “Dusk”) and some of its themes hint at Beethoven’s Pastoral symphony. The 1819 sonata uses a single motif, almost a forerunner of the Romanticcc leitmotif, and treats the entire four-movement piece as a big sonata structure. Simple and sincere, the three “Biblical Pictures” of 1844 were likely intended for amateurs while the 1817 “Evening Fantasy” was Loewe’s first piano piece and combines Classicism with a forward gaze toward Romanticism. Linda Nicholson (c.1839 Erard fortepiano).