Korngold devotees will undoubtedly have already acquired these three piano sonatas via Matthijs Verschoor’s recording on the Etcetera label – a disc that was warmly received in these pages by Geoffrey Horn. With no comparisons to contend with GH rightly focused on the charm and “winning tunes” of these works and noted, too, that the recording was “clean, close and detailed”. However, comparing this new CD with Verschoor’s I have to say that, by and large, Geoffrey Tozer’s performances are the ones that I will find myself returning to more often. Despite Verschoor’s often dynamic, spirited and finely poised readings Tozer seems more in tune and far more involved with this music, especially in the Second and Third Piano Sonatas.
The Third is a beautifully crafted and glowingly elegant performance full of memorable incident and sharply contrasted moods. The second movement is given an exceptionally poetic and moving reading and should in itself persuade any listener of the desirability of this disc. The Second Sonata (dedicated to Korngold’s teacher Zemlinsky and premiered by Artur Schnabel in 1911) is a more imposing and grandly designed sonata and Tozer tackles it accordingly, producing a very ‘orchestral’ and full-bodied reading. The finale is given an especially characterful performance.
Only in the First Sonata do I marginally come down in favour of Verschoor’s reading, where in terms of breadth and dramatic sweep (most notably in the first movement) he certainly seems to have the edge over Tozer. It is perhaps worth mentioning, too, that only here are Verschoor’s and Tozer’s timings for individual movements more or less identical; elsewhere Tozer tends to be marginally faster which I think contributes to his success in projecting these sonatas. To crown Tozer’s achievement the piano sound has been beautifully captured and engineered.'