Fantasias for Piano - Martin Cousin presents some unexpected treats, performed with effortless and expressive virtuosity

The Fantasia is a form that has been used by many composers since the sixteenth century, and has its roots in a sense of improvisation. There are therefore many choices a pianist could make when forming a programme around the genre, but pianist Martin Cousin has certainly taken us down an unexpected path on his latest recording. He begins with Kenneth Leighton’s (1929-1988) Fantasia Contrappuntistica, Op. 24, not a well-known work, but one of great interest across its five linked sections. From a majestic opening Maestoso, it quickly moves to a virtuosic, even wild Toccata, full of angular lines, and ending with pealing bells before dying away. This leads into a lugubrious Chorale, beginning in intense lower registers of the instrument, before working its way steadily upwards, the hymn-like line threading through the chordal textures. The work ends with not one but two fugues, the first darkly jerky, developing into constant, running movement, and the second races on faster, before returning to the dramatic maestoso mood of the opening briefly to end the work. Cousin’s playing is clearly articulated, and he contrasts well the almost intellectual starkness of the fugal writing with the more dramatic chordal textures. The mood of Lawrence Rose’s (b. 1943) Piano Fantasia, Op. 24 (dedicated to Cousin) that follows is not dissimilar, its six movements embracing angular, fugal writing within a constantly shifting chromatic soundworld. But there is perhaps a broader range of styles here, from the almost whimsical, light opening to the weightier, almost Brahmsian variations in the Largo, and the bouncier, almost quirky conclusion to the fourth movement Allegro. Cousin drives through the rhythmic, Bach-like second movement  Allegro, with tight articulation of the angular lines, and his rapid finger work high up the keyboard in the second Allegro is highly impressive, as is the tender Andante in the final movement. From there, we jump into a completely different world, with Rachmaninov’s (1873-1943) five Morceaux de Fantasia, Op. 3. Cousin now relishes the thicker, more sustained textures, yet still gives the opening Elégie a singing, swinging lilt, to contrast with the more passionate movement of the central section. His energy at the conclusion is thrilling, as is the fiery central section of the famous Prélude that follows. The Mélodie’s melodic line is initially slightly on the heavy side, but he builds the texture well, and the Polichinelle is great fun, with orchestral textures and impressive virtuosity. The Sérénade that ends the set certainly has a mediterranean feel to its rich, swinging waltz, which provides a perfect link to the final work on the disc, Manuel de Falla’s (1876-1946) Fantasia Baetica. It was dedicated to Artur Rubenstein, but apparently he abandoned it after playing it a few times, deeming it too long and not playable enough. However, Cousin makes a strong case for it here, and what it lacks in melodic line, it makes up for with imaginative textures, from the guitar-like opening, through harp-like glissandi to more percussive repeated note patterns and weighty statements. There are plenty of cascading, dramatic flourishes, certainly evoking that improvisatory sense of a fantasia, and its insistent, hammering repetition builds via more watery glissandi and limpid clustered chords to an astonishingly virtuosic conclusion. Cousin takes us a long way from the more inwardly intellectual world of the Leighton and the almost Shostakovich-like Rose, via richly expressive Rachmaninov to the wildly expansive de Falla, all the while demonstrating effortless command virtuosity in the highly varied styles. 

Various. 2025. Fantasias for Piano. Martin Cousin. Compact Disc/Download. Convivium Records CR103.