Download KRENEK Piano Concertos Nos. 1–3 • Mikhail

KRENEK Piano Concertos Nos. 1–3 • Mikhail Korzhev
(pn); Kenneth Woods, cond; English SO • TOCCATA 0323 (68:45)
Krenek: Complete Piano Concertos, Vol. 1
AUDIO CD
Toccata
Ernst Krenek (1900–1991) had a tremendous success in Vienna and
elsewhere (including New York) in the late 1920s with his “jazz
opera” Jonny spielt auf. The opera featured a black American jazz
violinist as one of the main characters. This was a primary reason for its
success, but also the reason the Nazis condemned it as the prototype of
the “degenerate” music of the Weimar republic. Eventually Krenek
settled in the United States but, despite having his music performed by
the likes of Dimitri Mitropolous, never regained his pre-war stature. The
reputation of Jonny spielt auf may have given the public a false
impression of what kind of composer Krenek was. To some extent the
opera is about the function of art: spontaneity versus formal rigor. Vast
sections of Jonny spielt auf contain nothing remotely jazzy, but are
written in a dense Expressionist language. It is a far cry from Milhaud’s
ballet La création du monde. All of Krenek’s music is basically serious
and intricate. A more typical example might be his monumental
Symphony No. 2, premiered in 1923. Both the opera and the symphony
were recorded as part of Decca’s invaluable Entartete Musik series in the
1990s.
The same year (1923) saw the composition of the first of Krenek’s four
piano concertos. On this welcome new release we get the premiere
recordings of the First and Second of these. There is a previous live
recording of the Third Concerto in existence, with Dimitri Mitropolous as
both conductor and soloist, from his inaugural performance as the
orchestra’s principal conductor on 11 December 1949, that has circulated
on obscure private labels. Volume 2 will contain the Fourth Piano
Concerto; the Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra (op. 127); the
Concerto for Violin, Piano, and Small Orchestra (op. 124); and the Little
Concerto for Piano (Harpsichord), Organ, and Chamber Orchestra (op.
88). Meanwhile this first volume fills a major gap in the repertoire, and is
fascinating in that it reveals the composer’s stylistic journey from his
tonal roots of the 1920s to his adoption of Schoenberg’s 12-tone system
during the late 1930s and beyond. Conductor Kenneth Woods calls
Krenek a “prolific chameleon,” but goes on to find an underlying unity
beneath his changes of style: a deep interest in counterpoint, and (in my
opinion) a concentration on process rather than surface attractiveness. In
his own note, pianist Mikhail Korzhev hopes that Krenek’s concertos will
become established alongside those of Bartók and Prokofiev, but I think
it unlikely. They are too abstruse. Piano Concerto No. 1 opens quietly
with the piano alone; an unusual choice for a young composer writing his
first concerto for his own instrument. Things become more exciting in the
second movement,Allegro agitato, played without a break, but there is
little Prokofiev-style showmanship to be found anywhere. That is not to
say the piece is easy: It is in F♯ after all, and Kozhev’s fluid pianism
undoubtedly belies its technical difficulty.
Korzhev also mentions Schoenberg’s Piano Concerto, and this strikes me
as an ideal comparison to make with Krenek’s Second. Here Krenek not
only uses serialism but also, in the second movement, employs that
typical form beloved of 12-tone composers, the canon. (Composed in
1937, Krenek’s work preceded Schoenberg’s by five years. Maybe it is
simply because I know it better, but Schoenberg’s concerto strikes me as
more tightly structured, and easier to follow as a result.) The opening of
the piece is again contemplative, with the piano creeping in under high
violin harmonics. Woods describes the work as Bergian, but whereas
Berg quotes a Bach chorale in his Violin Concerto, Krenek deconstructs a
quotation from Johann Strauss’s Blue Danube waltz, making a
contrasting point about musical fashions of the past. The Third Concerto
of 1946, lasting a mere 13 minutes, is different once again. Still atonal, it
boasts a flashier solo part than its predecessors, and more colorful
orchestration. I should say that in all three works Krenek’s mixing of
orchestral hues is subtle and skillfully done.
Korzhev, who previously has recorded selections from the composer’s
solo piano music, proves to be a dedicated and capable guide in this rare
repertoire. Conductor Woods (to whom we are indebted for recordings of
the symphonies of Hans Gál) is equally proficient, and the English
Symphony Orchestra gives no indication that this is not music they have
lived with for years. They reach quite a level of excitement in the second
movement of Concerto No. 2. The recording quality is excellent
throughout. So: Was Ernst Krenek a greater composer than hitherto
supposed? Here is one way to find out. I await Volume 2 with keen
anticipation. Phillip Scott