VON REZNICEK Violin Concerto. Till Eulenspiegel
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: E(mil) N(ikolaus) von Reznicek
Genre:
Orchestral
Label: CPO
Magazine Review Date: 12/2016
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 68
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CPO777 983-2
Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
Goldpirol: Idyllische Ouverture |
E(mil) N(ikolaus) von Reznicek, Composer
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra E(mil) N(ikolaus) von Reznicek, Composer Marcus Bosch, Conductor |
Wie Till Eulenspiegel lebte |
E(mil) N(ikolaus) von Reznicek, Composer
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra E(mil) N(ikolaus) von Reznicek, Composer Marcus Bosch, Conductor |
Konzertstuck for Violine and Orchestra |
E(mil) N(ikolaus) von Reznicek, Composer
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra E(mil) N(ikolaus) von Reznicek, Composer Marcus Bosch, Conductor Sophia Jaffé, Violin |
Prelude and Fugue |
E(mil) N(ikolaus) von Reznicek, Composer
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra E(mil) N(ikolaus) von Reznicek, Composer Marcus Bosch, Conductor |
Nachtstuck |
E(mil) N(ikolaus) von Reznicek, Composer
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra E(mil) N(ikolaus) von Reznicek, Composer Marcus Bosch, Conductor |
Author: Hugo Shirley
I think that’s being a little optimistic. In that work’s first movement we ramble through a series of violin concerto tropes that largely sound familiar – there are echoes of Mendelssohn’s, and on a couple of occasions I fully expected the orchestra to burst in with Tchaikovsky’s big polonaise theme. The third movement, based on an ‘original Scottish dance’, feels like a very distant relation to the finale of Korngold’s Concerto. The central movement is lyrical, thoughtful and greatly more cohesive – one can understand why Reznicek kept that movement but replaced the outer ones to produce his later Violin Concerto.
The Goldpirol idyllic overture has plenty of the composer’s characteristic unexpected and humorous touches, mixing brief snatches of pastoral idyll with a few martial interjections and a bit of brassy galumphing. But it also feels rather bitty and inconsequential. Similar complaints might be made regarding the How Till Eulenspiegel Lived symphonic interlude, from the opera Reznicek completed in 1900. Beyond Straussian comparisons, it’s intriguing mainly for a stylised evocation of olde worlde pageantry that seems to look forward to film music.
More consistently satisfying is the Fugue, on a whole-tone subject and in which the composer’s imagination is disciplined by a formal process; the preceding Prelude is another slightly rambling hotchpotch. Best of all is the concluding Nachtstück: lyrical, wistful and occasionally punctuated by delicate muted-horn jabs, it’s a gem.
The performances under Marcus Bosch are very decent and affectionate, and Sophie Jaffé is a sweet-toned soloist in the Konzertstück. No revelations here, but well worth a listen if you’re curious about a figure once hailed, as the booklet tells us, as the equal of Strauss and Pfitzner.
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