Stephen Heller wrote a significant amount of piano music, much of it for concert performance, but his etudes have outlived the rest of his music. Almost every student of piano has learned at least one piece by Heller.
Jan Vermeulen gives us the three largest sets of Heller's etudes in this two-CD package. After hearing
Vermeulen play these, it is hard not to think of them as character pieces or songs without words, and it is puzzling why no one has recorded them before. It is easy to hear that each is practicing and reinforcing a particular technique, but they are far from being boring, repetitive figurations, which is precisely what Heller intended and what makes them so enduring. The etudes range in difficulty from L'avalanche, Op. 45, No. 2, which frequently appears in student music collections, to the flashy Allegro con brio, Op. 45, No. 25, that reaches for Lisztian dazzlement. The first set, Melodic Etudes, Op. 45, also contains etudes featuring Mendelssohn-like lyrical melodies over an accompaniment split between the two hands. The second set is in "Progressing Difficulty," but
Vermeulen's dexterity makes the first one sound as inspiring as the last one. No. 15 uses lots of mordants, drone-like bass, and unison passages to paint a picture of a happy village life. In the final collection, there are more slower-paced etudes than in the previous collections. Heller intended these for developing "musical rhythm and expression," so there is more of an emphasis on the phrasing than the technical skills. With liveliness and agility,
Vermeulen brings out the charm and character of these etudes, the precise qualities that makes them appealing to students. The sound is slightly dull and distant, but it doesn't hurt the impression of
Vermeulen's playing. A minor complaint about the set: music like this that has been previously ignored in professional performance and recording deserves more detailed notes than what
Vermeulen was able to provide.