Heinrich Wilhelm ERNST (?1812-1865)
Erlkönig - Grand Caprice in G minor (after Schubert), for solo
violin, op.26 [4:07]
Variations Brillantes sur un Thème de Rossini, for violin and
piano, op.4 [14:47]
Etudes à Plusieurs Reprises (Polyphonic Studies), for solo violin,
[28:44]
Feuillet d'Album (after Stephen Heller), for violin and piano [2:28]
Elegie sur la Mort d'un Objet Chéri (introduction by Ludwig
Spohr), for violin and piano [6:45]
Trio, for solo violin [0:54]
Le Carnaval de Venise - Variations Burlesques sur la Canzonetta 'Cara Mia
Mamma', for violin and piano, op.18 [15:49]
Josef Špaček (violin)
Gordon Back (piano)
rec. Wyastone Concert Hall, Monmouth, Wales, 17-19 March 2010.
NAXOS 8.572575 [73:49]
In the great scheme of things, Heinrich Ernst is one of those composers it
is very easy to overlook, almost exclusively confined, until recently, to
corners on programmes of violin virtuosi like Maxim Vengerov, Leonidas Kavakos
and Lydia Mordkovich. Ditto this new recording of violin pieces of a seemingly
frothy nature, not least the ubiquitous, if not notorious, 'Carnival of Venice'.
Yet to pass over would be to lose out.
Calling Ernst a violin virtuoso is something of an understatement. Inspired
by Paganini in Vienna in 1828, he followed him to France where he would perform
his unpublished compositions by ear from memory. Joseph Joachim regarded him
as the greatest violinist of the age, and friends and associates included
the likes of Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Chopin and Liszt.
Though the cover portrait paints Ernst as a bit of a dandy, he did in fact
possess something not shared by all these big names: a sense of humour. Thus
his music, frequently virtuosic beyond the laws of logic, also reveals an
author who giving a cheeky wink to the audience from time to time, as if to
acknowledge the outrageous imperatives the soloist - originally Ernst himself,
as almost no one else could have succeeded - has just met. The demands of
the opening Erlkönig Caprice are typical: "The score is written partly
on two staves [...] Played presto throughout until the last bars, the
piece begins with rapid double stops with interspersed pizzicato and features
a melody line in harmonics above a driving accompaniment in the middle and
lower register of the violin." However, it is in the six Polyphonic Studies,
one of Ernst's most important works, that things get really tough! Each of
the six movements was dedicated to a leading violin virtuoso of the time -
Laub, Sainton, Joachim, Vieuxtemps, Helmesberger and Bazzini. The sheer byzantine
pyrotechnics of this and other works go some way towards explaining the otherwise
nonsensical neglect Ernst has suffered since his nineteenth century renown.
There is a further side to Ernst that makes him all the more satisfying as
a composer, and that is the lyrical sensitivity exhibited in pieces
like the Feuillet d'Album, where sheer virtuosity is eschewed for a
more contemplative, intimate sound. In this respect he is said to have been
rated more highly than Paganini himself by many. The young soloist in this
recording, Czech Josef Špaček - a former pupil of Itzhak Perlman
- does Ernst proud with a performance of elevated and sustained technical
brilliance, coupled with the application of elegant restraint where the composer
requires.
Distinguished Welsh pianist Gordon Back is an ever-dependable foil. Both performers
make their debut for Naxos with this recording.
In a way, Naxos have waited too long with this follow-up to their 2006 recording
of some of Ernst's orchestral violin works (8.557565).
Toccata Classics are already three in to their cycle (vol.
1; vol.
2; vol.
3) - six or seven volumes, the label's website appears unsure of the final
total - of Ernst's complete violin works. Their soloist is Romania-born Sherban
Lupu, one of the few to have championed Ernst's music prior to the recent
surge in interest, and plaudits so far have been glowing. Whereas Naxos and
Toccata come out about equal in audio terms, both with very good engineering
throughout. Whilst accompanying booklet notes are detailed and well written
in both cases, the biggest difference remains that it is not clear, for the
present at least, whether Naxos will even be adding to this initial disc.
As a one-off Ernst investment, however, it is very hard to fault.
Incidentally, Ernst was previously believed to have been born in 1814, as
indicated in the earlier Naxos disc. However, in his recent biography, Mark
Rowe adduces evidence for an 1812 birth, the date given by Naxos on this new
release.
Byzantion
Collected reviews and contact at artmusicreviews.co.uk
As an Ernst investment this is very hard to fault.
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