Henselt - Poème d’Amour Op. 3 (Budiardjo)

During Henselt’s lifetime, his Poème d’Amour (’Andante et Allegro concertante) was among the most famous piano pieces, captivating 19th century audiences wherever it was played. “You can tour with this alone“, was Hummel’s verdict when Henselt first played this work to his former teacher. Allegedly, it once even brought a murderer-in-hiding to confess his crimes upon incidentally hearing it at a Henselt recital. The muse and dedicatee of this piece is Henselt’s wife, the erstwhile spouse of a court physician. After she divorced her former husband, she went on to marry Henselt in 1837. This piece is a great example of Henselt’s style: wide intervalls (e.g. the tenths at 00:10), forceful climaxes, and a clear partition in noble, simple melodies in the foreground (less irregular and chromatic than Chopin) and accompaniment in the background.