Max Reger - 6 Intermezzi Op. 45

- Composer: Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 1873 -- 11 May 1916) - Performer: Markus Becker (piano) - Year of recording: 1999 (?) 6 Intermezzi for Piano, Op. 45, written in 1900. 00:00 - 01. Sehr aufgeregt und schnell 01:24 - 02. Äußerst lebhaft, anmutig 06:18 - 03. Langsam, mit leidenschaftlichem, durchaus phantastischem Ausdruck 10:01 - 04. So schnell wie möglich, mit Humor 14:47 - 05. Mit großer Leidenschaft und Energie 18:15 - 06. So schnell wie nur irgend möglich The appearance of Sechs Intermezzi, Op. 45, composed in 1900 ushers in the beginning of Reger’s middle period of creativity. In these pieces, Reger seems to have taken the virtuosic qualities of his early period works to the limit. Because these pieces should be viewed as a transition between his early and middle periods, the harmonies employed are in principle, not radically different than the ones he had used before. Similar to the Op. 32 pieces, there is an even more liberal use of chromatic harmonies. You can hear echos of Bach, Schumann, Liszt, and Brahms. This is the kind of late romantic piano music you never hear because few pianists have the requisite technique, suppleness, and patience to learn Reger and because it was written at the turn of the century when traditional compositional styles à la Brahms weren’t fashionable (Dohnanyi, Taneyev, and many other late romantics suffer the same obscurity). Reger’s skill as an organist reveals itself in the bass lines, massive chords, double notes and stretchy legato lines-as if he’s constantly trying to make the piano sound like its bigger sister. The piece is dedicated: “Fräulein Ella Kerndl hochachtungsvollst zugeeignet“.