Erich Wolfgang Korngold; Joseph Marx - Piano Concertos (Marc-André Hamelin)

Information

Composer: Erich Wolfgang Korngold; Joseph Marx

• (01) Marx - Romantisches Klavierkonzert in E major:
• (04) Korngold - Piano Concerto for left hand in C-sharp major, Op. 17

Marc-André Hamelin, piano
BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra
Osmo Vänskä, conductor

Date: 1998
Label: Hyperion
http://www.hyperion-records.co.uk/dc.asp?dc=D_CDA66990

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Review

Lush as lush can be – that’s the Joseph Marx Romantisches Klavierkonzert. It’s all the most wildly romantic concertos you can think of rolled into one huge pianistic feast. Without sounding too much like the wine expert Jilly Goolden, it’s early Scriabin, it’s Korngold (particularly in the ravishing slow movement), it’s Debussy (I’m thinking of the Fantasie for piano and orchestra here), it’s Delius, it could even at times be the grandaddy of all those 1930s and 1940s quasi-piano concerto film scores. From the very first bar you know why Joseph Marx (1882-1964) gave the concerto the epithet Romantic.

Though by no means a profound piece, it’s a delight to listen to and a work of exceptional craftsmanship also. Its pianistic difficulties are legion and this could well be the reason for the work’s neglect since the 1920s. Jorge Bolet had it in his repertoire but this is the first commercial recording of the piece. As ever Marc-Andre Hamelin delivers the music with consummate ease.

After a similar period of neglect Korngold’s left-hand Piano Concerto is making a remarkable comeback on disc. Unlike many of the pieces composed for Paul Wittgenstein after he lost an arm in the First World War, this one actually makes a virtue out of all the inevitable spread-chords trickery required when writing for one hand. Listening to the Concerto afresh it struck me how incredibly difficult it would be to play it with both hands and still make it sound the way the composer intended – perhaps this was why Wittgenstein enjoyed playing it so much. Whatever, it’s a splendid work that thoroughly deserves its current revival. Its gladiatorial solo part certainly emphasizes the ‘struggle’ inherent in the concerto form, but it is certainly not a concerto in the traditional sense, more, as Brendan Carroll suggests in the booklet-notes, a symphonic poem for piano and orchestra.

Hamelin’s main rival here is a fine account by Howard Shelley and Matthias Bamert on Chandos. Shelley’s approach is, overall, more luxuriant perhaps, but Hamelin’s reading has plenty of poetry as well and is allied to tremendous power and authority. I’m sure I will vacillate between these two performances, but for now Hamelin just gets my recommendation. Korngold fans will want both, and of course there’s the marvellous Marx Concerto to get acquainted with. An inspired coupling. Good recorded sound, and superb accompaniment from the BBC Scottish SO under Osmo Vanska.

-- Michael Stewart, Gramophone

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND: *****
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/jun99/korngold.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Romantic-Piano-Concerto-Vol-Korngold/dp/B0000063BP

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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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Joseph Marx (May 11, 1882 - September 3, 1964) was an Austrian composer, teacher and critic. He studied philosophy, art history, German studies, and music at Graz University, earning several degrees including a doctorate. As a composer Marx is chiefly remembered for his vocal music contributions, particularly his more than 150 lieder, with about two dozen of them used symphonic accompaniment. His style is characterized by Slavonic and Italian elements, often with an impressionistic kind of lyricism. His "Romantic Piano Concerto" was Jorge Bolet's favorite among the great virtuoso concertos.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Marx

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Marc-André Hamelin (born September 5, 1961 in Montreal, Quebec) is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical brilliance of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has made recordings of a wide variety of composers with the Hyperion label. He is well known for his attention to lesser-known composers especially of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and for performing works by pianist-composers. Hamelin has also composed several works, including a set of piano études in all of the minor keys.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marc-Andr%C3%A9_Hamelin

http://www.marcandrehamelin.com/

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