Max Reger - Piano Concerto; 6 Intermezzi (Joseph Moog)

Information

Composer: Max Reger

• (01) Piano Concerto in F Minor, Op. 114
• (04) 6 Intermezzos, Op. 45

Joseph Moog, piano

Deutsche Radio Philharmonie

Nicholas Milton, conductor

Date: 2021

Label: Onyx

https://onyxclassics.com/release/reger-concerto-6-intermezzi-op-45/

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Review

Very much in the mould of the Brahms D minor, Reger’s Concerto opens with thundering timpani and wrenching thematic phrases in the strings, and the first solo entry is equally striking in its power and dynamic heft. What’s missing though, among all the rich harmony and romantic fervour, is consistently memorable melodic material and a sense of direction. The more lyrical second theme shows pianist Joseph Moog’s strengths in characterising line and texture, but exposes some unevenness in the tuning and regulation of his instrument.

The slow movement, based on Passion Chorales, has more coherence, but still its fair share of note-spinning, although it’s warmly and sensitively played all round. In the finale, the ghost of Brahms again raises its head, and there is a sense of fun in the lighter parts of this dance-like movement, but much is relentless and over-scored, and there’s little that the performers can do to ameliorate this. On the plus side, there’s a wide dynamic range, well projected by the recording.

Structurally clearer and better proportioned are the short Intermezzi, where there’s a greater feeling of rhythmic and thematic concentration. The second, fourth and sixth are all in ternary form, with the outer puckish sections framing a more chromatic trio, sometimes with the slow tread of a chorale. Moog has the virtuosity to negotiate Reger’s finger-twisting demands, as well as the tonal resources for the chordal textures of the other intermezzi. If you like the idea of Brahms on steroids, you’ll like these.

-- Martin Cotton, BBC Music Magazine

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Max Reger (19 March 1873 – 11 May 1916) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, organist, and academic teacher. Born in Brand, Bavaria, he studied music theory in Sondershausen, then piano and theory in Wiesbaden. Reger produced an enormous output in just over 25 years, nearly always in abstract forms, but few of his compositions are well known in the 21st century. He first composed mainly Lieder, chamber music, choral music and works for piano and organ, and only turned to orchestral compositions later. Among Reger's students were Joseph Haas, Jaroslav Kvapil, Rudolf Serkin and George Szell.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Reger

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Joseph Moog (born December 26, 1987 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein ) is a German pianist and composer. He studied with Bernd Glemser at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg and with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover. Moog performs classical, romantic and modern piano repertoire internationally, and has made a name for himself by performing numerous rarities. Moog was named Young Artist of the Year in 2015 at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards, and also is a double winner of the International Classical Music Award (ICMA).
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Moog
https://www.josephmoog.com/

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