The keyboard music of Joseph Marx forms a small part of his output
as compared to his works in other genres. Except for these Six
Pieces, it has not been published until recently, if at all;
there is some disagreement on the subject. This disc contains
about two-thirds of his works for piano. There are also ten works
for organ.
The four ‘unpublished”
works here all have a similar autumnal feel to them. It is to
be remembered that the idea of autumn was of great importance
to the composer and is the subject of his masterpiece the Herbstsymphonie.
These works are on a much smaller scale but demonstrate less
of the diffuseness that sometime plagues Marx’s works in other
genres.
I was slightly surprised
by the Herbst-Legende. Although it has reminiscences
of Chopin and Scriabin, as does much of the music on this disc,
it was more modernistic than I expected of Marx. There is an
underlying melancholy that pervades all four of the individual
pieces. Carneval also carries the title Nachtstück
and this is far more appropriate for the music, where that
same element of sadness is even more evident. The use of half-steps
here is fascinating. The Canzone is more typical of the
common conception of Marx and I found it the least interesting
of the four uncollected pieces. Die Flur der Engel (the
Angel’s Meadow) is a full-fledged miniature tone-poem and the
most serene of the four pieces. It also shows a great interest
in structure and well demonstrates the sense of flow that Marx
singularly possessed.
In 1916 Marx was
moving from the vocal works for which he is best known to
instrumental forms. The Six Pieces is one of the
finest examples of this trend, which also corresponds to an
increase of interest in structural concerns. The Six Pieces
cover a wide range of forms and rhythmic styles and as a
set is important in understanding the composer’s total oeuvre.
The Rapsodie is tripartite work of great drive and metric
originality. The underlying tone continues the melancholy of
the four pieces previously discussed. A Prelude and Fugue
is not something we might expect from Marx. Interestingly,
the Praludium sounds a lot like Rachmaninoff. The fugue
is extremely stately and even when increasing in volume and
speed never loses this stately element. The contrapuntal ability
demonstrated at the end is truly impressive. In spite of the
typical charm of the Albumblatt this piece also possesses
interesting elements of pentatonicism and impressionism, especially
harmonically, proving the composer open to new trends. The most
interesting piece of the six is the Arabesk. This is
based on quartal harmonies and also contains impressionistic
elements. It is fascinating from start to finish. It’s
second section contains the origins of the first movement of
the composer’s Castelli Romani. The Ballade does
not seem to have a program, being a study in development through
the use of metrical unevenness. It is perhaps the most passionate
piece of the six and this is probably explained by the dedication
to “Frau Anna”, presumably a reference to Anna Hansa, his lifelong
love. The last piece is enjoyable, though somewhat slight, though
not without surprises.
Tonya Lemoh studied
the piano on four different continents and presently teaches
at the University
of Copenhagen as
well as being a member of the well-known Ensemble Nordlys. She
handles Marx’s music with appropriate flow and serenity while
not letting it degenerate into becoming indistinct or unmemorable
– criticisms sometimes levelled at Marx’s music. She also has
sureness of touch and the needed sense of clarity. The Concert
Hall of the Royal
Academy in Aarhus
has a sound that would be dry and rather metallic for music
of many composers, but did not intrude on the proceedings here.
Chandos already has
a recording of four of Marx’s choral works “in the can” and has
promised the Herbstsymphonie, while CPO has just released
a selection of the orchestral music and has announced discs of
lesser-known songs, the second violin sonata, the piano quartets
and the organ music. All of this will go a long way to make up
for the demise in mid-stream of the ASV Marx series. Perhaps Ms.
Lemoh can contribute by recording the six piano works not covered
by this disc.
William Kreindler
see also Review
by Kevin Sutton
Tonya Lemoh
(piano) 
