Handel: Keyboard Suite, HWV 428 in D minor (Suite de pièce Vol. 1 No. 3)

Multiple award-winning Dutch pianist, Daria van den Bercken, displays her exceptional talent and passion for Handel’s keyboard music with her debut album on Sony Classical.

Her project, ‘Handel at the Piano’ is aimed at familiarising a worldwide audience with the keyboard works of George Frideric Handel. Daria recently addressed the TEDx Conference in Amsterdam on the subject of first reactions to music, particularly Handel, where she argued that creating opportunities is part of the musician’s work.

Daria is known for her innovative and unusual performance spaces, which include impromptu concerts in her home, performing in South America suspended from a crane above the audience, and being towed through the cobbled streets of Amsterdam while seated at a piano.

She has appeared as a guest on ‘Pauw & Witteman’, a Dutch late-night talkshow, to perform and discuss ‘Handel at the Piano’ to a 1.3 million viewers.

Daria has performed with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Christoph Poppet, JoAnn Falletta, Ivan Meylemans and Shi-Yeon Shung and has studied with Murray Perahia and Leon Fleisher among many notable pianists.

ECM New Series debut for the exceptional Russian-born pianist Lisa Smirnova, playing Handel’s Eight Great Suites (1720), also known as “The Eight London Suites” or “Suites de Pièces pour le Clavecin” – by any name, major pieces in the keyboard literature. Outstanding artists from Glenn Gould to Keith Jarrett have been drawn to these suites, but there are very few recordings of all eight, either on piano or harpsichord, currently on the market. Smirnova opts for the modern piano. She had been working rigorously on the Suites for five years prior to undertaking this recording, making many discoveries.

The 1720 edition of Suites – HWV 426-433 – is considered by many the most important collection of Handel’s early works. Published by the composer himself, it includes works from both his Hamburg and English periods, all extensively revised by the composer, right through the printing process.

Educated at Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Salzburg Mozarteum, and with Maria Curcio and Robert Levin, Smirnova (born in Moscow, currently living in Austria) burst onto the classical scene in 1992 with a well-received debut at Carnegie Hall when she was only 20. In 1993, she received the Brahms Prize at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the first pianist ever to be honoured with this award, and her concert activities have extended to international concert podia in Europe, Asia and the USA. She has a long relationship with the Far East – since 2007 she has been Artistic Director of the Nagasaki-Ojika International Music Festival.

Smirnova’s repertoire extends across the centuries – she has collaborated with contemporary composers including Kancheli, Silvestrov and Rihm, and won international awards for her recordings of Bach on MDG. Other widely-praised recordings include her account of Bloch’s works for viola and piano with Daniel Raiskin, on BMG/Arte Nova.

The Russian pianist Dina Ugorskaja has studied singing, specialising in early music, and has also composed. Her family left Russia in 1990 and Urgorskaja is now based in Munich. She has performed at many festivals and has collaborated with conductors such as Jurowski. Her piano repertoire spans a wide range from the Baroque to contemporary and chamber music.

Handel has the reputation of a free thinker regarding the composition of his suites. His keyboard works combine a formal freedom with a rhetorical mastery in a way that undoubtedly reflects his improvisatory gifts, for which he was famous. The music in these pieces is very lively in its invention, and exhibits an enthusiasm in allying the structure with very different styles. The large-scale works of 1720, all completely different from one another, are a synthesis inspired by elements of the German and Italian styles. He seems to have had little interest in the form of the suite per se. Formal unity is most often achieved through common thematic use.

The diverse origins of the music make the collection of suites a microcosm of Handel’s eclectic style. Following his highly acclaimed recording of the Johann Mattheson harpsichord suites, Cristiano Holtz presents a splendid interpretation of the Handel suites.

Günther Ramin's Moscow recital was recorded in the Small Hall of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. The bonus item is Bach's Jesu Nun Sei Gepreiset BWV 41, recorded in Leipzig in 1950 with Ramin conducting the Thomanerchor Leipzig and Gewandhausorchester Leipzig.

Handel’s solo keyboard music has for too long been overshadowed by his operas, oratorios, and orchestral music. This comparative neglect seems unjust in view of the considerably large quantity of keyboard music which exists amongst his massive output.

Handel was one of the first composers to free the keyboard suite from the formal constraints of Allemande, Courante, Sarabande, Gigue frequently used by German composers of the seventeenth and early eighteenth century, such as Froberger.

Gilbert Rowland first studied the harpsichord with Millicent Silver. Whilst still a student at the Royal College of Music, he made his debut at Fenton House 1970 and first appeared at the Wigmore Hall in 1973.

His mentors have included Kenneth Gilbert and Fernando Valenti. Recitals at the Wigmore Hall and Purcell Room, appearances at major festivals in this country and abroad, together with broadcasts for Capital Radio and Radio 3 have helped to establish his reputation as one of Britain's leading harpsichordists.

His numerous records of works by Scarlatti, Soler, Rameau and Fischer have received considerable acclaim from the national press. The recording of the 13-CD set of Soler sonatas with Naxos was completed in 2006. He also recorded a CD of Sonatas by Albero for London Independent Records two years ago, which was released in 2009. This is his first recording for Divine Art.

Handel’s keyboard suites may be among his lesser-known works, but the so-called ‘Eight Great Suites’ of 1720 are true masterpieces of the genre.

This volume, containing the first four, showcases his extraordinary versatility, imagination and contrapuntal skill, as well as his willingness to break with tradition.

Handel skilfully weaves together a wide range of forms, including fugues, a toccata, Italianate airs and Baroque dances.