Offenbach: Piano Works, Vol. 2 (2006)

The instrumental works of opera composers of the nineteenth century are almost without exception minor curiosities, and these piano works of Jacques Offenbach follow the pattern. Offenbach is said to have been quite a proficient cellist but to have been largely untutored on the piano, although he apparently had good instincts as a rehearsal accompanist, and indeed these small dance pieces -- actual waltzes and polkas rather than the concert waltzes of Chopin -- do not challenge the pianist to any great extent. The pianist's ... Read More

The instrumental works of opera composers of the nineteenth century are almost without exception minor curiosities, and these piano works of Jacques Offenbach follow the pattern. Offenbach is said to have been quite a proficient cellist but to have been largely untutored on the piano, although he apparently had good instincts as a rehearsal accompanist, and indeed these small dance pieces -- actual waltzes and polkas rather than the concert waltzes of Chopin -- do not challenge the pianist to any great extent. The pianist's right hand is largely occupied with the melody line alone, and the textural contrasts that set off the multiple strains of the longer pieces are simple ones. The music is formally simple as well, with a slow introduction invariably leading directly into one or more melodies in the prescribed dance rhythm, amplified by a strict repetition scheme. The dances don't have the up-to-the-minute quality that gives Offenbach's vocal music its zing; waltzes and polkas, and even a ländler, of... Read Less