Classical Music: Schurmann - Orchestral Works

Schurmann: Orchestral Works

Man in the Sky (Concert Overture); Gaudiana (Symphonic Studies) Piano Concerto*; Romancing the Strings

Ben Gernon BBC Philharmonic
*Xiayin Wang piano

Chandos CHAN 20341
Chandos.net

No, there isn't a typo; this is a disc of Gerard Schurmann’s orchestral works. According to Paul Conway's notes, Schurmann (1924–2020) was a composer, pianist, and conductor who was born in Kertosono, Java, which was part of the Dutch East Indies at the time. The family lived within earshot of the resident gamelan orchestras at the Sultan’s Palace, and hearing the pentatonic scales and intricate rhythms of this traditional Indonesian music made a lasting impression on the young Gerard.

Be prepared, because, as Conway writes, although his harmonic language absorbed aspects of serialism, Schurmann never confined his material inside strict tone-rows, preferring instead to adapt some of the discipline of a restricted palette to very personal artistic ends.

The disc begins with a brief overture that Schurmann adapted from his film music for the 1957 Ealing film of the same name, Man in the Sky.

Then follows The Piano Concerto (1972–73), which was written for the great British pianist John Ogdon (1937–1989), who premièred the work with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Berglund on 21 November 1973 at the Guildhall, Portsmouth. It’s a difficult work to perform, but from its captivating opening, Xiayin Wang gets to grips with the demanding solo part. Paul Conway describes it quite accurately as ‘within the context of a well-balanced structure in which two equally substantial movements complement each other successfully. The first is mainly fast and offers an exhilarating rollercoaster ride through a welter of notes, while the second includes an expansive slow section and is generally sparer and more introspective in mood.’

Wang delivers a wealth of brashness, dissonance, energy and syncopation with an ostentatiousness and magnetism that, despite its structure, draws the listener into the depth of the work. The mysterious and dark opening of the second movement would make a wonderful soundtrack to a movie; there is plenty of drama, intensity and freneticism, and Wang’s virtuosity is breathtaking at times; her piano produces all the different elements that the score requires. 

Romancing the Strings, a collection of six brief variations on Schurmann's original theme for a Disney feature that eventually aired as Dr. Syn - Alias the Scarecrow, is among the other works on this excellent disc. This delightful composition deserves a wider audience.

The programme concludes with Gaudiana, a set of Symphonic Studies for orchestra inspired by the work of the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, which was first performed by the Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona i Nacional de Catalunya under Rumon Gamba in December 2005. Schurmann has a knack for excellent, mysterious openings to his compositions, and Gaudiana is no exception. There’s lots to enjoy here too, as Conway points out in his excellent notes. There are snatches of a folk-like piccolo tune accompanied by tom-tom, which approximates the Catalan pipe, the flabiol, in music inspired by a Catalan folk dance, the sardana.

Schurmann is a composer who may not appeal on first listen, but stay with him because after the second and third, the listener will come to appreciate his contributions. Ben Gernon and the BBC Philharmonic rise to the challenge of promoting Schurmann, which they do with empathy and attention to detail in bringing out the orchestral colour.