Julius Isserlis – Piano Music
Sam Haywood
Hyperion CDA68025
The Isserlis family name is familiar to most by virtue of cellist Steven whose career has its own impressive discography. The music of his grandfather Julius is, however, a recent discovery and makes its first recorded appearance on this disc by pianist Sam Haywood.
Haywood is a long time friend of the Isserlis family. It was Haywood who found the manuscripts and early published music of Julius Isserlis among the family papers, and it was Haywood who set about editing, correcting and recording these works for Hyperion.
Born in 1888 in Moldova (then a part of Russia) Julius was a child prodigy who earned his admission to conservatories in Kiev and Moscow and the attention of the great musicians of the day such as Taneyev. The rise of Bolshevism and Nazism in Europe severely restricted career options for the young pianist and composer. He was fortunate to escape the continent with his family and settle in England where he spent the rest of his life teaching and performing.
He seems to have been a master of the short form, writing brilliant little pieces of every kind, skillfully evoking a wide range of moods…very French and very Russian. The Ballade in A Minor for cello and piano, with a cameo by grandson Steven, is the longest work and offers some hint of what Isserlis might have achieved had he written more frequently on a larger scale.
This recording is something of an Isserlis family project, but offers a very fine example of hitherto unheard music.
