Search - Juliusz Zarebski, Marian Mika :: Juliusz Zarebski: Piano Works

Pleasant Piano Music Pleasantly Played

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 09/27/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"There's a reason you probably never heard of Juliusz Zarebski (1854-1885), described as 'Liszt's favorite student' in several sources that I read about him. That's because he's a good but not great composer, at least on the basis of the piano works presented here, and unless you're Polish you've probably never heard a note of his music. I vaguely recall hearing good things about his Piano Quintet, but I've never heard it.



The works recorded here, and nicely played by Polish pianist Marian Mika, fall mostly into the category of piano miniatures. I hear little here that would be beyond the abilities of a moderately advanced piano student. Perhaps some of the 'Les Roses et les Épines' ('Roses and Thorns') suite and possibly the 'Grande Polonaise' and the 'Tarantelle' require more than modest skill. Most of the works here are from the same mold as Mendelssohn's 'Songs without Words' or, more aptly, Grieg's smaller piano pieces. They are pleasantly tuneful and harmonically conservative; I doubt anyone would be offended by them. But by the same token, few would be really taken with them, either.



It is hard for me to imagine who the audience for this CD would be other than perhaps Poles nostalgic for those pieces of Zarebksi's they heard in childhood or piano teachers looking for possible intermediate teaching pieces. After listening carefully to it three times I suspect I won't be reaching for it again.



Clear recorded sound.



Scott Morrison"