Hae Hyun Hwang

Jacques Ibert’s piano music isn’t exactly the most exciting part of his output, amounting to a series of short picturesque pieces written in a bland neo-classical vein, with just a hint of impressionism or humor here and there to liven up the expression. Lack of both imagination and strong features have kept these pieces away from the current concert repertoire, but on CD they make nice if quickly forgotten listening. The collection of Histoires, including the famous Le petit âne blanc (The Little White Donkey), comes off the best, along with Les rencontres, a little suite in the form of a ballet that displays some lively melodic figures underlined by slightly spicy harmonies, as in the softly swinging The Creoles. The other pieces do little else than round off the total timing of the CD. Hae-won Chang plays with charm and delicacy, with a clean and neat technique that is just what these unpretentious pieces require. The recording is well balanced and truthful.

Like many composers of his time, Friedrich Theodor Fröhlich (born on February 20, 1803) displayed signs of musical talent from a young age. After a short-lived pursuit of studying law in Basel in 1822 and the year thereafter in Berlin, Fröhlich devoted himself to his musical studies. In Berlin, he received instruction from the music pedagogues, Karl Friedrich Zelter, Bernhard Klein and Ludwig Berger.