Ernst Krenek: Complete Piano Concertos, Volume Two
Ernst Krenek’s seven piano concertos – four for solo piano, one for two pianos, one with violin and one with organ – form one of the major concerto-series of the twentieth century, but also one of the least familiar. This second instalment in their first complete recording reveals breath-taking bravura writing – in the virtuoso piano technique, the dazzling orchestration and the stylistic integration of serialism and good-natured recollection of Viennese tradition.
Mikhail Korzhev, piano
Eric Huebner, piano (Tracks 4 – 7)
Nurit Pacht, violin (Tracks 8 -14)
Adrian Partington, organ (Tracks 15 -20)
English Symphony Orchestra
Kenneth Woods, conductor
Listen To This Recording:
-
Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 123 (1950)*
- I. Allegro, agitato e pesante
- II. Molto adagio
- III. Allegro, molto vivace
- I. Allegro vivace
- II. Andante
- III. Allegro vivace
- IV. Adagio
- I. Andantino
- II. Allegro ma non troppo, deciso
- III. Andantino
- IV. Allegretto
- V. Lento
- VI. Allegro
- VII. Tempo di Landler
- I. Andante sostenuto
- II. Andantino
- III. Allegro energico
- IV. Andante, liberamente
- V. Adagio
- VI. Allegretto
Concerto for Two Pianos, Op, 127 (1951)*
Double Concerto for Violin and Piano, Op. 124 (1950)*
Little Concerto for Piano and Organ Op. 88 (1940)
* First Recordings
MusicWeb International :
‘I was bowled over by Krenek’s directness, which manifests itself in clear textures and material that never outstays its welcome. Indeed, Krenek also had a knack for leaving his listeners wanting more. […]
… As much as I enjoyed the first volume in this series, I have to say the second is even more to my taste. It seems everyone involved ‘clicks’ with these scores in a way that can only strengthen Woods’s – and Toccata’s – belief in this composer’s attractive oeuvre. Once more, Tregear and Korzhev provide notes from both the music historian’s and pianist’s point of view; they also find a good balance between biographical detail and musical analysis. […]
Another indispensable instalment in this important series;’
—Dan Morgan, MusicWeb International
Classical Source :
‘The keenly-awaited second volume from Toccata Classics devoted to Ernst Krenek’s four Piano Concertos has arrived, and it’s every bit as worthwhile. […]
It’s a lyrical and shared work, economical and subtle, during which Mikhail Korzhev continues his championing of Krenek’s music, joined by the impressive Nurit Pacht, matched throughout by Kenneth Woods and the English Symphony Orchestra. […]
These excellent performances are splendidly recorded, all for the first time save for Opus 88, and typical of this adventurous label the presentation is exemplary and includes essays and biographies galore.’
—Colin Anderson, Classical Source
Fanfare Magazine :
‘…a hearty endorsement yet again to Toccata Classics and these excellent musicians for revealing the existence of this unjustly neglected repertoire.’
—Phillip Scott, Fanfare Magazine, September/October 2017
Graham Rickson :
‘Mikhail Korzhev is the heroic soloist, wisely prioritising wit over brute force. […] a fascinating collection – and how refreshing to have three sets of sleeve notes, written respectively by soloist, conductor and music historian. Ken Woods’ hardworking English Symphony Orchestra acquit themselves brilliantly. Snap it up.’
—Graham Rickson, The Arts Desk
MusicWeb International :
‘The standard of performance here is every bit as good as in the earlier release recorded a year earlier, and those who enjoyed that CD need not hesitate. Not only Korzhev but his fellow soloists in the various double concertos seem to thoroughly enjoy themselves, not only in the emotionally charged nature of much of the music but also in its challenging technical demands. […]
the Krenek concertos are a real discovery.’
—Paul Corfield Godfrey, MusicWeb International
Gramophone :
‘There are still sceptics who cling to the notion that an atonal melody is a contradiction in terms. Such diehards would meet an elegant riposte with the opening of Krenek’s Fourth Piano Concerto (1951): angular in shape, yes, but hardly more so than a minor-key quartet melody of Haydn, and developed with a comparable, resourceful invention. […]
For all its evident challenges, Krenek’s solo writing always sounds pianistic in the hands of Mikhail Korshev, whose touch is necessarily robust but not clangorous in spiky dialogue with Nurit Pacht’s violin and afforded plenty of resounding space by the recording in the Wyastone Leys concert hall. I’ve only praise, too, for the supporting energy of Kenneth Woods and the English Symphony Orchestra, who play with the conviction that this is music worth believing in.’
—Peter Quantrill, Gramophone
BBC Music Magazine :
‘All the soloists on this beautifully recorded disc deliver totally committed performances. Special praise, however, is due to the English Symphony Orchestra under Kenneth Woods who negotiate this totally unfamiliar music with real flair.’
—Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine
Forbes :
‘I’ve heard a good deal of Krenek – and it’s always worth exploring this chameleon-composer and similar neglected and faded colleagues of his time and ilk – but often enough the interpretations are dutiful, rather than inspired; note-playing, mistake-avoiding renditions… like literal translations instead of poetic recreations. One would never dare perform a Berg Violin concerto like that, or dare play a Manfred Symphony so devoid of color.
“This is where Mikhail Korzhev and Kenneth Woods and the English Symphony Orchestra come in: Super-adding (or rather: revealing) so much joy and color in these mildly thorny, spunky, funky, funny works of Krenek’s (which all catch him at a tonal post-romantic respite in his constantly style-changing career), they bring to life what might otherwise have remained an academic affair of dry and thin-lipped appreciation.’
—Forbes
Classical Candor :
‘Korzhev’s piano playing is scintillating, Woods’s direction is warmly encouraging, and the orchestra is uniformly precise. […]
Pianist Korzhev gets us through it with verve aplenty, and Maestro Woods and his players accompany him with an equal zest. […]
The dialogue between the violin and piano (the violin usually dominant) [in the double concerto] is casual and intimate, the music dance-like. The performers do up the work in an elegant manner, giving it a modern yet quaintly old-fashioned feeling.’
—Classical Candor
Modern Music Review :
‘The “Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 123” (1950), in first recording incredibly enough, has a remarkable balance between piano assertions and orchestral weight. The far reaches of modern harmonic possibilities prevail, yet the orchestrational and expressive structures bring forth a highly accessible discursive fluidity.
The “Concerto for Two Pianos, Op. 127” (1951) alternates a dramatically thickened density at times, thanks to the two-pronged solo possibilities, with quieter luminescences that evoke a sort of hushed twilight feel.This is another most welcome first recording. […]
[The double concerto’s] recording of the volume once again alerts us to how fully mid-century Krenek was in control of the expressive spectrum available in the concerted form. […]
In sum this volume is a treasure of Krenek at a mid-century peak. The music is invariably excellent and moving. That so much of it is virtually unknown today is all the more reason to obtain this volume and listen deeply to it.
Highly recommended!’
—Grego Applegate Edwards , Modern Music Review
Art Desk :
‘All hail its successor, which contains just one piano concerto in the conventional sense. That’s the Concerto No 4, composed in 1950 and another example of Krenek’s gift for writing exuberant, approachable atonal music. […] Mikhail Korzhev is the heroic soloist, wisely prioritising wit over brute force.
[…] a fascinating collection – and how refreshing to have three sets of sleeve notes, written respectively by soloist, conductor and music historian. Ken Woods’ hardworking English Symphony Orchestra acquit themselves brilliantly. Snap it up.’
—Tomáš Hejzlar, Art Desk
Farhad Poupel :
‘Once more, Mikahil Korzhev shows himself at one with Krenk’s music, capable of handling the most demanding writing – are as his solo partners Huebner, Pacht and Partington. Woods draw exemplary accompaniments from the English Symphony Orchestra, all concerned with relishing the rediscovery of this forgotten titan. Terrific sounds makes this a thoroughly recommendable disc for adventurous listeners.’
—International Piano