Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Piano Sonatas (Michael Schäfer)

Information

Composer: Erich Wolfgang Korngold

• (01) Sonata No. 1 in D minor
• (04) Sonata No. 2 in E major, Op. 2
• (08) Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 25
• (12) Four Little Caricatures for Children, Op. 19
• (16) Tales of Strauss, Op. 21

Michael Schäfer, piano
Date: 2004
Label: Profil

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

For a detailed musical discussion of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s three piano sonatas, I refer to my review of André de Groote’s interpretations (type Q4583 in Search Reviews). Here I also weighed de Groote’s serviceable yet rather monochrome traversals against superior sonic and interpretive competition from Geoffrey Tozer (Chandos) and Matthijs Verschoor (Etcetera). If anything, Michael Schäfer surpasses his distinguished colleagues in several respects. He commands a huge, golden sonority and a supple technique that effortlessly deals with Korngold’s thick chords and frequent double octaves. In addition, Schäfer brings a wider range of textural diversity and flexible phrasing to the table, resulting in greater charm and character all around. This chiefly plays out in the first two sonatas’ scherzo movements and in the Third Sonata’s inner movements.

Following the delightful, unpretentious Op. 19 children’s pieces, Schäfer plays Korngold’s Tales of Strauss, a potboiler of Strauss-family melodies that proves surprsingly uninteresting in the context of like-minded Strauss concoctions by Rosenthal, Friedman, Tausig, Grunfeld, and others of that ilk. Without taking anything away from Martin Jones’ excellent performance on Nimbus, Schäfer’s more indulgent, volatile temperament takes top honors. Just compare his impassioned dive into the introductory measures leading into the Blue Danube with Jones’ relatively sober approach, and you’ll hear for yourself. Profil’s sonics may not match Chandos or Etcetera for close-up warmth and richness, but they certainly do Schäfer’s terrific pianism justice. [6/30/2005]

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday

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Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897 – November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born composer and conductor. He was a noted pianist and composer of classical music, along with music for Hollywood films, and the first composer of international stature to write Hollywood scores. Along with such composers as Max Steiner and Alfred Newman, he is considered one of the founders of film music. Overall, he wrote the score for 16 Hollywood films, receiving two Oscars. Korngold's serious music, with his late romantic style, has recently undergone a re-evaluation and a gradual reawakening of interest.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich_Wolfgang_Korngold

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Pianist Michael Schäfer was born in Tübingen in 1956 and studied piano under the professors Robert-Alexander Bohnke, Paul Buck, Hugo Steurer, Klaus Schilde and others. Schäfer enjoys wide renown as one of the most versatile soloists, chamber music partners and song accompanists. He has long been a welcome guest artist on the concert podium in Europe, Asia and Africa. He has been Professor for Piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich since the age of 31. Many of his students have gone on to win prizes at international music competitions as well as to pursue careers on the concert stage.
https://simc.jp/en/profile/michael_schafer/

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