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Joseph MARX (1882-1964)
Six Pieces for Piano (1916) [50:05] Herbst-Legende (undated) [5:05] Carneval (undated) [2:46} Canzone (undated) [2:54] Die Flur der Engel [3:43]
Tonya Lemoh (piano)
rec. July 2006, concert hall, Royal Academy of Music, Aarhus, Denmark. CHANDOS
CHAN10479 [54:38]
Tonya Lemoh has
brought some intricate and fascinating music back to life
in this recording of Joseph Marx’s Six Pieces for Piano from
1916. A staunch conservative, Marx became one of Vienna’s
most respected theory and composition professors after the
Second World War, but his music, except for several collections
of songs, would take some years to come to light. His monumental Eine
Herbstsymphonie was premiered by no less a master conductor
than Felix Weingartner in 1922, and lay inexplicably silent
until 2005.
An unashamed
romantic, Marx was completely convinced, contrary to his
contemporary Arnold Schoenberg, that traditional western
tonality still held the key to artistic expression through
music. With the explosion of the twelve-tone system of composition
between the world wars, Marx found himself on the receiving
end of frequent criticism for his conservatism. Only in the
years since his death has his music come to be appreciated
for its original and highly polished compositional style.
The Six Pieces open
with a Rhapsodie, cast in three sections. Structurally, we
are reminded of Brahms, and harmonically one can hear Reger
and even Mahler, except in the case of Marx, the ideas are
kept in tighter control and the listener has a definite feeling
of actually going somewhere. The Prelude and Fugue are remarkable
for their contrapuntal intricacies. The Arabeske was
undoubtedly influenced by Ravel and Debussy with its dreamy
arpeggios and its somewhat elusive and jazzy harmony. The Ballade is
a serious and somewhat melancholy work, very Lisztian in
its virtuosity. The closing Humoreske is quirky and
rife with odd-ball twists of harmony and rhythmic jauntiness.
The recital is
rounded out with four unpublished and undated works: a solemn
and surprisingly dramatic Herbst-Legende; a delightfully
dreamy little night-piece deceptively named Carneval;a
beautifully lyrical Canzone that is reminiscent of
Chopin and Die Flur der Engel, a quiet and beautiful
miniature tone poem for piano.
Australian-born
Tonya Lemoh has thought this music through thoroughly and
has arrived at interpretations that are the perfect complement
to the works. She delivers deft and fleet finger work where
necessary, is very conscious of balance and voicing in the
contrapuntal works, and for the sheer romantic pieces, she
provides a rich, sonorous tone. This music is a real find,
and Ms. Lemoh is an outstanding ambassador for it.
Kevin Sutton
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