As the piano came into its own in the mid-19th century, the Vienna-born/French-based Henri Herz (1803-1888) all but dominated the scene as a brilliant virtuoso, popular teacher, and best-selling composer. Listening to this first CD entirely devoted to his solo piano works, you can understand Herz’s one-time appeal, as well as why his music predeceased him. As the Op. 81 variations, the nocturnes, and the ballades demonstrate, Herz was a charming yet unmemorable melodist, whose intricate yet harmonically bland keyboard textures go in one ear and out the other. Flashy devices such as tremolos and repeated notes (Herz adored repeated notes) tend to wear out their welcome long after they’ve made their virtuosic point. You sense this in long stretches of the Fantasie dramatique (based upon “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”) and in Op. 158’s “Yankee Doodle” section. And Le mouvement perpetual owes its existence to Weber’s earlier and far more concise rondo finale from the Piano Sonata No. 1. Herz may not be a great composer, yet his stuff certainly is fun to digest in small doses, especially when you consider Philip Martin’s appropriately light and colorful touch, supple finger work, and marvelous sense of dramatic timing.

Herz never tried to be a ‘great’ artist, though he was often judged against such criteria; he was an entertainer. Of course the concerto lends itself perfectly to this role and his eight concertos are full of charm, almost operatic melody and scintillating virtuosity. Needless to say Howard Shelley, who has made such exceptional recordings of the concertos of Hummel and Moscheles, is just the man for the job. If we can accept that music need not be profound to be enjoyed we should join the international music press in welcoming this revival of these works, the pop music of their time.

Hyperion’s Record of the Month for June sees the thirty-fifth release in our award-winning Romantic Piano Concerto series, and three première recordings of concertos by Henri Herz.