Aude St-Pierre was born in Montreal and studied piano with André Laplante, among others. Most of her career has been spent in Europe, which probably explains why she is less well known here than other young pianists of her generation. She has a solid, fluid technique that makes her at home in the Romantic repertoire. This album is an excellent opportunity to discover the rather forgotten voice of Maria Herz (née Bing), a German composer who died in 1950 in the United States. Herz’s career was a patchwork of prolific and silent periods. The destiny of a woman before feminism, that is. Children, a husband in the war (the First), then death from Spanish flu, forced exile by the Nazis, and so on. In spite of it all, she has managed to weave an interesting musical web, coloured by an assumed romantic personality, but distinct if you listen carefully. The programme opens with a series of Variations on a Prelude by Chopin (Op. 28 No. 20), totally in the spirit of the admired composer, but with some very fine explorations of various parts (rhythmic motifs, harmonic progressions, etc.) of the original work. Herz stands out for the expression of precise knowledge framed in simple, yet communicative and elegant writing.
It goes on with 12 (Waltzes) Ländler, a group in which a little of both genres are present, but in a non-stereotypical way. This series of miniatures (the longest is 1:50) is exquisite, and testifies to the composer’s deep knowledge of the genre and her talent for attractive melodic formulas. Underneath a pastoral aspect inspired by folklore, Maria Herz’s pages are imbued with great refinement and a generous yet modest expressive temperament. Anyone who loves Chopin or Schumann cannot fail to be immensely seduced by these twelve little gems.
The Sonata in F minor from 1922 is the most substantial piece on the programme, clocking in at almost 25 minutes. It is also the one that reveals Maria Herz’s musical abilities at their best. Here, the composer sculpts a much fuller and more complex edifice of sound, with a harmonic development that reminds us, for the first time on the album, that the lady lived at the beginning of musical modernity and was aware of it. It is tempting to look to Medtner for an equivalent in the abundant gestures and harmonic complexity that are nonetheless dependent on Romanticism.
Aude St-Pierre displays an elaborate expressive depth and an impressive technique. We want to hear more from Maria Herz and Aude St-Pierre.
A very warm recommendation for this album full of hidden treasures.
