Kathleen Long Plays Fauré and Françaix

The English pianist Kathleen Long (1896-1968) had a wide repertoire, but was particularly noted for her performances of Gabriel Fauré's music. In he two LPs comprising today's post we cover most of her recordings of that composer, while adding Jean Françaix's always-welcome Concertino. This is the pianist's first appearance on the blog.

Kathleen Long Plays Fauré

In this 10-inch LP, Long combines three middle-period compositions by the composer with his last piano work, the Op. 119 Nocturne. The latter is often considered one of Fauré's most profound creations. It is said to reflect his struggles both with increasing deafness and the approaching end of his life. As the anonymous sleeve notes proclaim, "In conclusion, expressed with a verity that mere words could never approach, we have the lassitude, the anxiety, the regrets and the despair of man as he stands on the threshold of the inescapable hereafter."

That description may be overblown, but the performance is not. Long was an understated artist a bit like Solomon, a frequent visitor to these pages. As with Solomon, the critics' views of her playing were mixed. The New Records claimed the disc represented Long at her best, while Roland Gelatt wrote in the Saturday Review, "The pianist plays this music with loving care, albeit stodgily at times."

The recordings date from 1944 to 1950. All but the Op. 31 Impromptu had been released on 78s. The sound is consistently good.

LINK to Kathleen Long Plays Fauré

Gabriel Fauré

Fauré - Ballade, Four Nocturnes; Françaix - Concertino

This 1954 LP of Fauré with a soupçon of Françaix contains all new recordings. In it, Long continued her exploration of the elder composer with four more Nocturnes along with his Ballade Op. 19, here in the version for piano and orchestra.

The Ballade has been recorded many times (even so, it managed to end up on a CD called "The Secret Fauré"), and rightfully so. It is elegant and a bit melancholy, like much of the composer's music. In this, Long's second recording of the work, she is ably partnered by the 44-year-old Jean Martinon, at the time the principal conductor of the Lamoureux Orchestra. Here he leads the London Philharmonic. It's a strikingly good performance.

Jean Martinon

In his High Fidelity review, Ray Ericson wrote, "Miss Long is not at first hearing the most seductive of pianists. She plays with a full tone most of the time, without a wide dynamic variation, although with many fine graduations. But how alive the music sounds, from the luscious individual tones through the phrasing up to the whole span. You hear everything - the voices superbly balanced and blended, the long lines sustained so as to keep the shimmering harmonies from disintegrating. Her performances can be played time and again without ever becoming pale."

Jean Françaix

Jean Françaix's Concertino, from 1932, is very much in the vein of his orchestral Serenade, which has appeared here three times (in versions led by Louis Lane, Anshel Brusilow and Eugen Jochum). The latter disc also includes the composer's own performance of the Concertino with the Berlin Philharmonic and Leo Borchard, made just five years after the work's composition. As I commented in that earlier post, the music manages to be memorable even though the whole piece lasts less than eight minutes. I recently remastered Françaix's recording in ambient stereo.

The sound on the second Long LP is quite good; the performances are highly recommended. Both albums are from my collection, transferred by request.

Let me also mention that you can find newly remastered Jean Martinon recordings of Prokofiev's Suite from The Love for Three Oranges and Classical Symphony here. They were made with his Lamoureux forces in 1953.

LINK to Fauré - Ballade, Four Nocturnes; Françaix - Concertino