Ernst KRENEK (1900-1991)
Complete Piano Concertos - Vol. 1
Piano Concerto No. 1 in F sharp major, Op. 18 (1923) [30:24]
Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 81 (1937) [24:51]
Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 107 (1946) [12:58]
Mikhail Korzhev (piano)
English Symphony Orchestra/Kenneth Woods
rec. 12-13 September 2015, Wyastone Concert Hall, Wyastone Leys,
Monmouth, UK
TOCCATA CLASSICS TOCC0323 [68:45]
I suspect many of us came to the music of Ernst Krenek
via his opera Jonny spielt auf, recorded as part of Decca’s
Entartete Musik series. What a revelation that was, yet it’s
just one of the composer’s many works that span all genres. Not
surprisingly it’s Toccata Classics, well known for winkling out
less-familiar repertoire, that’s embarked on this pioneering project
to record Krenek’s piano concertos. At the keyboard is the Russian
pianist Mikhail Korzhev, who has already given us a mouth-watering selection
of Krenek’s works for solo piano (Phoenix Edition 129). On the
podium is Kenneth Woods, whose traversal of Hans Gál’s symphonies
alerted us all to the music of that inexplicably neglected composer.
All four have been reviewed on these pages: No.1;
No.
2; No.
3; and No.
4. These individual issues are also available as a 2-CD set (Avie
AV2322).
Thanks to the jazz-influenced Jonny Krenek was one of many
artists accused of degeneracy by the Nazis; he eventually emigrated
to the United Sates in 1938, where he added teaching to his skills as
a writer and composer. His varied worklist charts the development of
music in the twentieth century, including a handful of electronic pieces
written between 1956 and 1971. The three concertos recorded here reflect
that eclecticism, moving from the lyrical No. 1 (1923) to the serial
No. 2 (1937) and then to the devil-may care brilliance of No. 3 (1946).
In his booklet essay music historian Peter Tregear notes that the composer
and pianist Eduard Erdmann (1896-1958) was the driving force behind
Krenek’s First Piano Concerto; indeed, he was the soloist at the
premiere in December 1923. Cast in four movements the work delights
from its very first, doodling bars. Resolutely tonal it has a warmth
and amplitude that, while rooted in a more Romantic age, is no less
enjoyable for that.
The English Symphony, which began life as the English String Orchestra
in 1978, is a very decent band whose alert and sensitive accompaniment
is a pleasure to hear. Woods is a model of discretion, allowing Korzhev
all the time and space he needs to elaborate on Krenek’s engaging
tunes and fleeting baroqueries. After the good-natured Moderato
comes the Allegro agitato, whose nicely contained virtuosity
suggests a work of metropolitan suavity designed to stimulate as well
as entertain. It’s a very distinctive and oddly seductive sound-world,
the music economically scored yet always colourful and, at times, surprisingly
inward.
Korzhev is not a self-aggrandising pianist, so one gets the full measure
of Krenek's imaginative writing. For instance, his light and pensive
pianism in the little Adagio is just delightful; the concerto
has a chamber-like intimacy here, and both soloist and conductor calibrate
their responses accordingly. Even the vigorous Allegro moderato
(Tempo di Menuetto) is judiciously done. The witty conversations
between piano and orchestra are a treat, and that artfully introduced
dance tune - heralded by Korzhev at 7:20 – morphs into a bouncy
little number that had me grinning from ear to ear.
What a terrific start to this programme. Apart from the fine music-making
the recording – engineered by Ben Connellan – is full, detailed
and well balanced. The concert hall at Wyastone Leys proves as grateful
an acoustic as ever, with the listener comfortably ensconced in the
best possible seat. Even the dodecaphonic second concerto, commissioned
by the Concertgebouw to celebrate their 50th anniversary, comes across
with a degree of character and feeling that’s sure to endear it
to those who normally fight shy of serialism.
Indeed, the Andante dolcissimo, celeste – the start of
which seems to be materialise from nowhere – has a stubborn skein
of lyricism that accords with Tregear’s assertion that Krenek
was more of an explorer than an obsessive where such techniques were
concerned. That said, the orchestral writing has plenty of pith –
just sample the Allegro assai, con ferocità – and it's
clear this music holds no terrors for the ESO. Indeed, those dark, brassy
interjections could hardly be voiced with more confidence than they
are here.
Korzhev is just as clear and communicative in this concerto as he is
in the easeful Op. 18 – listen to how well he articulates the
central Quasi cadenza - and the ESO play with thrilling focus
and trenchancy throughout. As before the recording is immediate without
being overbearing, and that makes for a more congenial encounter with
music that could so easily seem relentless and/or opaque. In short,
everything here conspires to provide an ideal introduction to this splendid
piece.
Krenek wrote his Third Piano Concerto for Dimitri Mitropoulos and the
Minneapolis Symphony, who premiered it in November 1946. I’ve
listened to a rip of Mitropoulos conducting the NYPO from the keyboard;
even allowing for the atrocious sound the performance seems a little
chaotic at times. Predictably Korzhev, Woods and the ESO are far more
controlled and consistent; for a start they actually make sense of the
work, which is rather more than Mitropoulos and his forces could manage.
The concerto’s five movements – the longest of which lasts
3:49, the shortest 1:41 – gets off to a very energetic start that
reminds me of Prokofiev at his glittering and propulsive best. The ensuing
Andante sostenuto may be a wispier thing, but everyone remains
utterly focused on the task at hand. Krenek is full of surprises, though;
for instance there are moments in the Adagio that could be
the accompaniment to an Expressionist silent by Murnau, Lang or Pabst.
The prominent harp part is also an unexpected touch; as for the finale
it’s both bluff and brilliant. Something of a cliff-hanger, it
leaves me impatient to hear more. As a bonus Korzhev and Woods provide
additional notes/perspectives on the pieces played. Now if only all
booklets were this good ...
First it was Gál, but now Kenneth Woods brings his proselytizing zeal
to Krenek; pianist Mikhail Korzhev seems just as passionate about these
pieces.
Dan Morgan
twitter.com/mahlerei
Other Krenek discs from Toccata Classics: Piano
Music ; Chamber
Music
