Korngold: Piano Concerto, Op. 17; Marx: Romantisches Klavierkonzert

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The Korngold on this disc is another of those works composed for Paul Wittgenstein, the one-armed pianist who was also the dedicatee of Ravel's Piano Concerto in D for the Left Hand, Prokofiev's Fourth, and many other fine works. We owe Wittgenstein a major debt because, although he was a pretty awful pianist (and could seldom play the pieces he commissioned), he certainly got major composers to put out some of their best efforts for him! Korngold brought all of his orchestral wizardry to bear on this sumptuous score--one of his biggest and boldest. Joseph Marx's Romantic Concerto, for two (very busy) hands, is a knockout too. Marc André Hamelin, one of the greatest keyboard virtuosos, makes playing each of these impossible works seem like a piece of cake. --David Hurwitz

Amazon.com
How can as sumptuous and ear-tickling a work like Marx's Romantic Piano Concerto have been neglected all this time? True, its lavish style was passé by the time it appeared in 1919. But everything proceeds in even, predictable patterns of four and eight bar phrases, and the tunes are memorable. Korngold's Left Hand Concerto is cut from more Modernist cloth, although one might take its lyrical outpourings to be more "corn" than "gold." Be that as it may, Marc-Andre... read more

Korngold: Piano Concerto, Op. 17; Marx: Romantisches Klavierkonzert

Korngold: Piano Concerto, Op. 17; Marx: Romantisches Klavierkonzert, Music, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Joseph Marx, Osmo Vänskä, Glasgow BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Marc-André Hamelin, Classical, Classical Composers, Concerto, Piano Concerto

Average customer rating:

Magnificent Marx ... Claustrophobic Korngold

Excellent Korngold, Superlative Marx

Best recording of the Korngold to date...

The Korngold is interesting, Hamelin good as always, but...

Two lesser-known concerti with Hamelin at his best

Korngold: Piano Concerto, Op. 17; Marx: Romantisches Klavierkonzert

Manufacturer: Hyperion UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Korngold, Erich Wolfgang | ( K ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B0000063BP
Release Date: 1998-02-10

Tracks:

Romantisches Klavierkonzert in E major: Lebhaft (Allegro moderato)
Romantisches Klavierkonzert in E major: Nicht zu langsam (Andante affettuoso)
Romantisches Klavierkonzert in E major: Sehr lebhaft(Allegro molto)
Piano Concerto in C sharp for the left hand, Op. 17: Piano Concerto in C sharp for the left hand, Op. 17 - I
Piano Concerto in C sharp for the left hand, Op. 17 - II
Piano Concerto in C sharp for the left hand, Op. 17 - III
Piano Concerto in C sharp for the left hand, Op. 17 - IV
Piano Concerto in C sharp for the left hand, Op. 17 - V
Piano Concerto in C sharp for the left hand, Op. 17 - VI
Piano Concerto in C sharp for the left hand, Op. 17 - VII
Piano Concerto in C sharp for the left hand, Op. 17 -VIII
Piano Concerto in C sharp for the left hand, Op. 17 -IX
Piano Concerto in C sharp for the left hand, Op. 17 -X

Amazon.com

The Korngold on this disc is another of those works composed for Paul Wittgenstein, the one-armed pianist who was also the dedicatee of Ravel's Piano Concerto in D for the Left Hand, Prokofiev's Fourth, and many other fine works. We owe Wittgenstein a major debt because, although he was a pretty awful pianist (and could seldom play the pieces he commissioned), he certainly got major composers to put out some of their best efforts for him! Korngold brought all of his orchestral wizardry to bear on this sumptuous score--one of his biggest and boldest. Joseph Marx's Romantic Concerto, for two (very busy) hands, is a knockout too. Marc André Hamelin, one of the greatest keyboard virtuosos, makes playing each of these impossible works seem like a piece of cake. --David Hurwitz

Amazon.com

How can as sumptuous and ear-tickling a work like Marx's Romantic Piano Concerto have been neglected all this time? True, its lavish style was passé by the time it appeared in 1919. But everything proceeds in even, predictable patterns of four and eight bar phrases, and the tunes are memorable. Korngold's Left Hand Concerto is cut from more Modernist cloth, although one might take its lyrical outpourings to be more "corn" than "gold." Be that as it may, Marc-Andre Hamelin processes these notey scores with poker-faced cool, in a steady, unruffled manner that cuts through the music's caloric excess like lye through grease. --Jed Distler

Customer Reviews:

Magnificent Marx ... Claustrophobic Korngold.......2007-05-06

Most people would think the Korngold work would be the melodious one here. And also the one with the better orchestration. How wrong they would be! Korngold rumbles and grumbles his way through the concerto with lots of "sturm und drang" and very little memorable music. And the orchestration is far less inventive than so many of his other compositions such as the Violin Concerto, the Cello Concerto, the Symphony and (especially) the operas Die Tote Stadt and Die Kathrin.

The Marx Piano Concerto is the "find" here. What a marvelous composition this is! And in a great performance that really does it justice, too. Just sit back and let the good sounds wash over you. This CD merits 5 stars on the strength of the Marx work alone.

Excellent Korngold, Superlative Marx.......2004-05-11

The Korngold Concerto is one as much for orchestra as it is for the Piano. It's primary challenge is formal, as a broad sonata form is used very freely to present many ideas based upon a variant of his "motive of the happy heart". In its way, it is rather forward looking, the harmony pointing towards the 3rd String Quartet and the late Symphony in F#.

The Marx is the gem of this disc. If you only know Marx as a composer of songs (and he was one of the greatest at lieder writing) you will be shocked. The melodic material is memorable, particularly the 2nd subject of the first movement and the primary Rondo theme of the 3rd movement. The piano writing is of the utmost brilliance, yet never seems to be so for its own sake. It just fits. Harmonically, Marx is extremely ingenious working within an expanded tonal framework. If you listen closely you will hear this tonal framework undermined by constantly shifting lines in the middle register, which lends the work a more complex feeling than the title "Romatisches" implies. The concerto is more subdued than the composer's large orchestral canvasses, but still has the characteristically Marx sound: an all-consuming love of nature seemingly conveyed by endlessly imaginative detail in extension of melodic material.

It's really amazing music. Hamelin is very good as always. (Try to hear the Jorge Bolet aircheck for an interesting contrast in the interpretation of the Marx. He is far more poetic, if less fiery.) This cd gets 5 stars because the Marx is one of the absolute greatest of Piano Concerti. You must hear it.

Best recording of the Korngold to date..........2003-07-23

I agree with one of the previous reviewers: the Marx concerto is certainly the weaker of the two on this CD. It almost sounds like a combination of the worst aspects of late romanticism (cheesy orchestration, excessively flashy piano part, rambling structure, etc.). Not my cup of tea. The Korngold concerto is much more satisfying (IMHO). True, its narrative structure is not flawless, but it holds together well enough (like Liszt's Sonata in B minor, it's basically one gigantic sonata-allegro movement, encompassing a "slow movement" and a "scherzo" in the development section). It contains some of Korngold's most interesting harmonic progressions (the initial presentation of the opening theme, for example), and the writing for the left hand is very effective (almost as ingenious as that in Ravel's left hand concerto). There is only one other modern recording of the Korngold concerto (on the Chandos label), but the present recording is hands down much better -- it has more thrust and forward momentum, and certain details like inner lines and splashes of colour (like some of Korngold's characteristic harp arpeggios) come across much more clearly. What's more, Hyperion's sound is far superior to the Chandos recording. If you're interested in the rarely recorded and rarely performed Korngold concerto, this is the CD to get.

The Korngold is interesting, Hamelin good as always, but..........2003-03-29

The Marx concerto is a slagging, tepid thing, and I'm not sure what would inspire Hamelin to record this one in particular, if simply to display his hyper-virtuosic skills yet again. The Korngold is a great piece, however. I guess Hamelin's Busoni concerto really raised my expectations. I'd love to see Hamelin record Ornstein's piano concerto or some such unknown masterpiece, rather than the banal Marx...

Two lesser-known concerti with Hamelin at his best.......2002-11-08

Once again, Marc-André Hamelin delves into far corners of the piano world and delivers fearless performances of two seldom-played pieces. The Korngold, written for Paul Wittgenstein who also commissioned masterpieces such as the Ravel "Left Hand" Piano Concerto, is marvelously satisfying and should be performed more often. Sumptuously written for both the piano and the orchestra, it is filled with memorable moments. I like the Marx, also, even if it is (perhaps) not quite up to the level of the Korngold. Never mind: these are pieces that deserve to be heard more often, especially when performed like this.

In recording after recording, Hamelin proves that he is one of the most brilliant pianists working today. Often choosing neglected repertoire, he illuminates as very few artists do - and invariably with stunning playing. After hearing his performance of the Korngold, you might walk away thinking that it is the finest piano concerto ever written - at least while the final chords linger in your mind.

Osmo Vänskä, the conductor-designate of the Minnesota Orchestra, also deserves credit for his outstanding direction and balancing of these immense forces, and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra is superb. Hyperion offers typically clear, wide-ranging sound, and excellent program notes as well. (This is but one of an impressive Hyperion series called "The Romantic Piano Concerto," including many large-scale works which are all but forgotten.)

An unusual find, and for piano lovers, perhaps essential.

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