Jenny Lin, piano.
Dan TEPFER: A Fragment of Collective Memory (May 2026)
Timo ANDRES: Fullness of Harmony (March 2026)
Greg ANDERSON: Chorale Prelude on “Vom Tode” (March 2026)
Nicolas NAMORADZE: Etude VII: Arpeggios (February 2026)
Sir Stephen HOUGH: 33 Fragments from LvB (homage to Artur Schnabel) (November 2025)
Marc-André HAMELIN: Zwischenspiel (March 2026)
David PLYLAR: Nachturno, Bild (nach A. Schnabel) (April 2026)
SONO LUMINUS DSL-92292
UPC: 053479229205
Format: CD, digital
Total Duration: 28:37
Giorgio Koukl | 14 NOV 2026
Artur Schnabel (1882–1951) was one of the most profoundly influential musicians of the 20th century, uniquely uniting the positions of two musical identities: a fiercely traditionalist pianist and a radically modernist composer. The year 2026 marks the 75th anniversary of his death on August 15, 1951, offering a moment to reflect on his dual legacy.
DSL-92292dover art (click to enlarge)
As a performer, Schnabel rejected the virtuosity of his era in favor of deep intellectual penetration and emotional rigor. He famously stated that he preferred to perform music that was “better than it could be played,” dedicating himself almost exclusively to the Austro-German masters: Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms.
Schnabel is immortalized as the first pianist in history to record the complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas, recorded between 1932 and 1935. His visionary interpretations earned him the nickname “the man who invented Beethoven” from legendary critic Harold C. Schonberg. While Schnabel the pianist looked to the past, Schnabel the composer looked far into the future. He wrote roughly 70 complex works, including three symphonies, string quartets, and various piano pieces.
If anyone is a real expert on this composer’s music, it is pianist Jenny Lin. She has recorded most of Schnabel’s piano works and continues relentlessly exploring his other music featuring the piano, such as his songs.
The Schnabel Music Foundation asked her to create a tailored piano project, inviting today’s pianists and composers to write a short piece as a “homage” for this anniversary.
The names chosen were: Dan Tepfer, Timo Andres, Greg Anderson, Nikolas Namoradze, Sir Stephen Hough, Marc-Andrè Hamelin and David Plylar.
Aside from Sir Hough and Hamelin, the others are surely less known, at least here in Europe, and this choice is logically very subjective.
Jenny Lin plays all this music with genuine enthusiasm, sometimes supplying the missing substance of the score with her art. It is a pity the whole project lasts no more than half an hour in total.
All works are written between November 2025 and March 2026.
The simple, jazzy, and effective Fragment of collective memory by Dan Tepfer plays heavily with citations, a feature shared with most other scores here. It has its own charm.
Fullness of Harmony by Timo Anders is far more daring in its complexity. Contemplative and melancholic, it reflects Schnabel’s mood magnificently.
Chorale Prelude on “Vom Tode” by Greg Anderson is far more conservative. Sometimes, despite the pianist’s efforts, it is less effective than the rest of the scores presented here.
Sir Stephen Hough concentrates his 33 fragments from LvB (homage to Artur Schnabel) in less than two minutes only, maybe too tiny a surface to be really effective, but with a lot of good ideas waiting only to be developed.
Mr. Hamelin and his Zwischenspiel is not much longer but continues in the tradition of this wonderful pianist.
The last work is the longest: Nachturno, Bild (nach A. Schnabel) by David Plylar, a nice discovery, as he may be the person who dedicated most of his time as a musicologist to Schnabel and his work. He, too, works heavily with citations and is stylistically quite complex.
Surely not a project for everyone, but as an homage to a concert pianist and composer like Mr. Schnabel, it’s a nice idea that would certainly require more development and representation of pianist-composers. ■
EXTERNAL LINKS:
- Jenny Lin: jennylin.net
- Schnabel Music Foundation: schnabelmusicfoundation.org
- Dan Tepfer: dantepfer.com
- Timo Andres: andres.com
- Greg Anderson: gregandersonpiano.com
- Nicolas Namoradze: nicolasnamoradze.com
- Sir Stephen Hough: stephenhough.com
- Marc-André Hamelin: marcandrehamelin.com
- David Plylar: davidplylar.com
Read more by Giorgio Koukl.
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