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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