Ernst Krenek: Music for Chamber Orchestra
These five works for chamber orchestra by Ernst Krenek (1900-91) were written between 1931 and 1979 — both before and long after Krenek abandoned Hitler's Austria for California. They demonstrate that serial music, in capable hands, does not have to abandon the virtues of more conservative idioms: the emotions embraced here range from translucent lyricism, via powerful dramatic utterance, to uneasy existentialist humour.
Agata Zubel, soprano
Mathias Hausmann, baritone
Leopoldinum Orchestra, chamber orchestra
Ernst Kovacic, conductor
Listen To This Recording:
- Von Vorn Herein, Op. 219 (1974)
- Die Nachtigall, Op. 68a (1931)
- Im Tal der Zeit, Op. 232 (1979)
- Movement 1
- Movement 2
- Movement 3
- Movement 4
- Movement 5
- Movement 6
- Movement 7
- Movement 8
- Movement 9
- Movement 10
- The Dissembler, Op. 229 (1978)
Static and Ecstatic, Op. 214 (1971-72)
MusicWeb International :
‘…As a determined non-practitioner of systematic –isms, Krenek invariably spins surprises throughout the course of each of these works. …There are excellent performances from both singers, and Agata Zubel is as acute in her perceptive reading of early Krenek as Hausmann is in the more stylistically variegated pleasures of the older composer. The recording in the Hall of Radio Wrocław is first class. Presiding over his soloists and the Leopoldinum Orchestra is a man best known as a violinist, Ernst Kovacic. He proves a splendid agent through which we can experience Krenek’s endlessly fertile and imaginative music.’
—Jonathan Woolf, MusicWeb International
Fanfare Magazine :
‘Warsaw’s Chamber Orchestra Leopoldinum will need neither recommendation nor resumé for those who hear this disc; the musicians, their instruments, and their ensemble are perfection. Ernst Kovacic is an Austrian violinist as well as conductor; he has been director of the Leopoldinum since 2007 and has a marvelous feel for Krenek’s idiom. […]
This Toccata Classics CD is a model of fine production values. Magisterial performances and honest, well-balanced sound aid Krenek’s eloquent music; the booklet includes complete texts and translations, plus artist bios and a list of orchestra personnel. It is an absolute must for Krenek fanciers, and everyone should hear The Nightingale.
—James H. North, Fanfare Magazine March/April 2013