Ernő Dohnányi; Leó Weiner - Orchestral Works (Roberto Paternostro)

Information

Composer: Ernő Dohnányi; Leó Weiner

• Dohnányi - Tante Simona, Op. 20: Overture
• Dohnányi - Suite in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 19
• Dohnányi - American Rhapsody, Op. 47
• Weiner - Serenade for Small Orchestra in F Minor, Op. 3

ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

Roberto Paternostro, conductor

Date: 2021

Label: Capriccio

http://capriccio.at/ernst-von-dohnanyi_suite

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Review

Talk about coincidental musical similarities. The opening of the overture to Dohnányi’s one-act opera buffa Tante Simona (1911 12) is a dead ringer for the opening of Vaughan Williams’s Sixth Symphony (1944 47) though thereafter, once Dohnányi’s impish sense of humour has established itself, any resemblance with VW and his battle-haunted symphony goes out of the window. The Suite in F sharp minor (1908 09) also suggests various resemblances, whether past, present or future. The tonally wide ranging first movement is a set of variations reminiscent of Dvořák, while the elegant Scherzo recalls early Rachmaninov. The Rondo fourth movement starts out like Mahler (ie the Rondo-Burleske from the Ninth Symphony) and by 6'50" we’re in the land of Brahms, specifically the German Requiem with its mournfully tapping timpani.

The American Rhapsody, an equally appealing but much later work (1953), opens to a darkened variation on ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ before calling on other tuneful local treasures including ‘Turkey in the straw’. It’s a fairly big piece (14'16"), very well played and recorded – versions under Mathias Bamert (Chandos, 4/99) and John Farrer (ASV) aren’t quite so immediate – and similar in scale to various orchestral tone poems by Strauss and Smetana, whose styles Dohnányi’s own often resembles.

If all this suggests that Dohnányi reflects the voices of other composers rather than his own, this isn’t at all what I intend. He was very much his own man, and my references serve merely to outline the overall sound of what is on offer.

Leó Weiner’s Op 3 Serenade (1906) witnesses a definite shift from Straussian exuberance to a Hungarian (or maybe Jewish) local accent, the opening movement full of major/minor shifts and hurdy-gurdy effects, whereas for the second we could as well be in the world of Skalkottas’s Greek Dances. Come the third, tenderness takes over – this really is lovely – whereas the finale represents nationalist light music at its finest. Capriccio provides the excellent ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra under the sympathetic direction of Roberto Paternostro with warm, detailed sound that’s especially strong at the bass end of the spectrum. So if you’re up for a sequence of colourful late-Romantic pieces that fight shy of post-Wagnerian decadence, you’ll likely love this enterprising programme.

-- Rob Cowan, Gramophone

More reviews:
ClassicsToday  ARTISTIC QUALITY: 9 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

https://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2021/Sep/Dohnanyi-Weiner-C5380.htm

https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/orchestral/dohnanyi-weiner-orchestral-works

https://www.classicalmusicdaily.com/2021/09/paternostro.htm

https://www.amazon.com/Orchestral-Works-Ernst-von-Dohnanyi/dp/B096ZS25F4

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Ernő Dohnányi (July 27, 1877 – February 9, 1960) was a Hungarian conductor, composer and pianist. He was director of the Budapest Academy of Music from 1934 to 1943. Dohnányi's compositional style was personal, but very conservative; his music largely subscribes to the Neoromantic idiom. Although he used elements of Hungarian folk music, Dohnányi is not considered a nationalist composer. As a conductor, he was among the first to conduct Bartók's more accessible music and make it more popular. As a teacher, his pupils included Géza Anda, Annie Fischer, Georg Solti and Georges Cziffra.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernő Dohnányi

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Leó Weiner (16 April 1885 – 13 September 1960), was one of the leading Hungarian music educators. He studied at the Academy of Music in Budapest with János (Hans) Koessler, winning numerous prizes there. He was appointed music theory teacher at the Budapest Academy of Music in 1908, professor of composition in 1912 and professor of chamber music in 1920. Among his many students were Fritz Reiner, Georg Solti, Peter Erős, Béla Síki, János Starker and György Sebők. As a composer, Weiner's compositions were strongly influenced by the early Romantics from Beethoven through Mendelssohn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le%C3%B3_Weiner

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Roberto Paternostro (born 1957 in Vienna) is an Austrian conductor. He studied with Hans Swarowsky in Vienna, and later with György Ligeti and Christoph von Dohnányi in Hamburg. From 1978 to 1984 he was assistant to Herbert von Karajan. Paternostro was Generalmusikdirektor of the Württemberg Philharmonic (1991-2000), the Staatstheaters Kassel (1997-2007), and Music Director of the Israel Chamber Orchestra (2009-2013). He was awarded the prestigious ECHO Klassik Award in 2012. Paternostro regularly holds master classes and serves as member of jury on invitations of Deutsche Musikrat.
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roberto_Paternostro
http://www.robertopaternostro.com/

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