Ernst von DOHNÁNYI (1877-1960)
Variations on a Nursery Song for piano and orchestra Op.25 (1913-14) [26:53]
Concertino for harp and chamber orchestra Op.45 (1952) [15:16]
Konzertstück in D major for cello and orchestra Op.12 (1903-04) [26:57]
Sofja Gülbadamova (piano)
Silke Aichhorn (harp)
Andrei Ioniţă (cello)
Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz/Modestas Pitrėnas
rec. May/June 2021 at Ludwigshafen Philharmonie
CAPRICCIO C5463 [68:14]
Capriccio are doing sterling service on behalf of Ernst von Dohnányi. Several of the orchestral works have been issued including the pantomime The Veil of Pierrette (Capriccio C5388 review) and the first Symphony and Symphonic Minutes (Capriccio C5386 review). The pianist of the current disc has already made her mark too with a double CD of solo piano works (Capriccio C5332) and the two marvellous Piano Concertos (Capriccio C5387 review). In total Dohnányi wrote seven concertante works; in addition to the two piano concertos there are two violin concertos and the three works recorded here.
The most familiar of the three is certainly the Variations on a nursery song; it was written in the years immediately prior to the first world war and anyone listening to the piece for the first time might be forgiven for thinking that the brooding, ominous introduction was a response to growing tension and a premonition of the horrors to come. Not so of course; with a twinkle in his eye Dohnányi expertly creates this dark intensity to accentuate the semi-absurdity of Ah! Vous dirai-je maman – or Twinkle, twinkle little star – played as simply as can be by the soloist. What follows are a startling range of imaginative variations from a sweeping Viennese waltz to a Sorcerer's apprentice scherzo, a music box and passacaglia. Its colourful, kaleidoscopic mix for soloist and orchestra made this a concert favourite for many years afterwards; between 1923 and 1959 for instance it appeared in 24 promenade concerts before falling out of fashion – it has only appeared in two more in the intervening 63 years. Sofja Gülbadamova plays it beautifully with no lack of technical finesse and she is well attuned to the different moods. Perhaps the off-beat chords of variation IV seem a little stiff but any concern is rapidly dismissed by the perfectly judged music box, quicksilver etude and waltz that follow in quick succession. A winning performance.
I did not know the harp Concertino and it is certainly the least known of the concertante works. It was written by the 75 year old composer as a commission for the harpist Edna Philips though she never performed it, apparently not taken with its gently romantic style; even in 1952 she could hardly have expected anything more acerbic from Dohnányi's twilight years. The pastoral first movement features the harp in an accompanying role with the winds and brass bringing out the melodies; there is some lovely writing for the horn. A brief faster section does little to change the generally autumnal mood. The central movement, a charming scherzo, follows on without a break and once again it is the winds who feature most predominantly. The mood gradually dies down though not without the bassoon trying to keep the dance going and spread chords from the harp bring us to the stately finale, a serene and reflective adagio non troppo, leaving all the virtuoso frolics to the second movement.
When I first heard the Konzertstück for cello and orchestra some forty years ago I was convinced that the opening music was the beautiful melody ever written and though I have heard many thousands of works since that time it is still in my top ten. Thankfully the melody makes several appearances and it is joined part way through the first movement by another lovely melody; listening to this piece after all these years I find I am noticing hints of Larry Adler's wonderful score to Genevieve here. After a second reflective cello solo the movement segues into the adagio and yet another rich melody for the soloist set over gently syncopated chords. There is plenty of overt passion here; Dohnányi was as fond of the big tune as Rachmaninov and he certainly knew how to write them. The final movement opens with an extended orchestral introduction and when the soloist joins it is in a lead up to the opening theme's grandest iteration yet and the movement continues, developing the themes of the first movement along the way before ending in utter tranquility.
As with the Variations on a nursery song cellist Andrei Ioniţă and harpist Silke Aichhorn in the concertino both make a strong impression and are given wonderful support by Pitrėnas and his German orchestra. The warm rich sound is perfect for this repertoire and it is safe to say that this is a wonderful addition to Capriccio's, hopefully ongoing, series.
Rob Challinor
Previous review: Leslie Wright
