Since 1989, Danacord has compiled CDs from the annual Rarities of Piano Music Festival held at Schloss vor Husum series in Northern Germany. This series often introduces to the catalog pieces of piano music, both current and historic, for the first time, and serves an opportunity to hear first-class piano soloists that, for whatever reason, are out of the locus of the recording companies. The volume representing the 2006 Festival is more of a mixed bag than some of the other ones are; most of the pieces are really short, and really do not provide any single artist with enough airtime to make a distinct impression. The redoubtable
Cecile Licad is heard in two early Scriabin Impromptus totaling about 10 minutes; while it is splendid, one wants to hear more. Russian pianist
Eldar Nebolsin comes off exceptionally well in a pair of Soler sonatas, a part of the repertoire where he has not previously demonstrated his proficiency in the few recordings he has made so far. Many of the tracks are strangely mismatched in terms of sound;
Jonathan Plowright's rendering of Walter Rummel's transcription of a Bach aria is a little too quiet in comparison to the rest of the album. Certainly, this perspective is meant to represent the sound as it was heard in the Schloss, but DaCapo needed to establish at least a baseline level of volume to facilitate comfortable listening throughout the disc. The only work of substantial length included is
Pancho Vladigerov's Sonatina concertante, Op. 28, performed by
Marc-André Hamelin. While it is an interesting piece, and
Hamelin certainly plays it well, it's a little less interesting than the Bortkiewicz Sonata No. 2 in C sharp, performed by
Nadejda Vlaeva, with only the third movement of the latter work included. As an overall listening experience, aside from considerations of artist and repertoire, Danacord's Rarities of Piano Music Festival at Schloss vor Husum from the 2006 festival can make for relaxing listening. For pianophiles, though, this will be a collection of hors d'oeurves rather than the main course, and one served in inconsistent sound quality; odd, as everything here is recorded in the same room, with the same piano and with a presumably identical microphone setup.