Carl Ditters Von Dittersdorf Ester Oratorio (ferenc Szekeres) (1987)

Neben dem überaus erfolgreichen Singspiel Doktor und Apotheker haben es gerade noch Dittersdorfs originelles Kontrabasskonzert, mit Abstrichen wohl auch seine Sinfonien nach Ovids Metamorphosen geschafft, sich im Bewusstsein des Klassikpublikums zu halten. So dürften die dem klassischen Konzerttypus folgenden Klavierkonzerte A-Dur (1779) und B-Dur (1773) des gebürtigen Wieners und hoch geschätzten Violinvirtuosen und Opernkomponisten Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf (1739-1799) nur einem kleinen Kreis von Insidern bekannt sein, wenngleich das A-Dur-Konzert in der Bearbeitung als Harfenkonzert vermutlich bekannter ist.

After listening to this inspired oratorio, it’s clear why Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf was recognized in his day as Franz Joseph Haydn’s primary competitor. It’s a lovely work, loaded with drama, style, and expertly crafted instrumental and vocal writing. From the dramatic dotted rhythms and churning string sequences of the overture to the resounding spirited choral fugue finale, Dittersdorf’s music masterfully propels his grandiose subject matter, commanding attention more profoundly than any recorded vocal/choral work in recent memory (and this one’s more than two and a half hours long!).

Heinz Holliger is widely considered the greatest oboe virtuoso of modern times. He is also a noted composer and conductor; as a composer he is one of the few who has maintained a strict adherence to serial procedures. Holliger has been the recipient of many prizes, including the Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau in Germany, and he is an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Baron von Dittersdorf’s attractive personality and inventiveness as a composer shines through in every movement of the three charming symphonies featured on this world première recording. Composed in the 1780s around the time of his famous ‘Ovid’ Symphonies, the three symphonies included here abound in brilliant orchestral writing and quirky, infectious melodies.

Carl Maria von Weber's piano music, with the exception of Invitation to the Dance, is not nearly as well known as his operas, but it deserves more attention. Michael Endres makes a strong case for the music in this two-disc set. The most significant works, the four sonatas, are full of drama, colorful pianism, and lyrical melodies, particularly in Endres' hands. The sonatas are on a similar scale to those of Beethoven and Schubert, with the drama built of sharp contrasts in key, humor, and dynamics, and with beautiful, cantabile slow movements. Weber, like Beethoven, also took advantage of the size and scope of the piano's sound. Endres vividly brings out the drama and the brilliance of virtuosic passages, while maintaining a sense of refinement and ease with the music. The waltzes are particularly polished, but Endres' also recognizes their folk elements and gives them a wonderful energy and sparkle. The showpieces of Weber's piano works are the sets of variations, obviously written to impress audiences. Again, Endres handles the technical challenges easily and cleanly. In the second set here, the Variations on the aria "Vien'qua dorina bella," he is always aware that the theme was originally a vocal work, playing with song-like phrasing and coloring. The sound of the recording could be a little richer, but it doesn't hurt Endres superb performance.

Weber’s chamber music – just these three pieces if you don’t count the duos – clearly shows him on the cusp between Classical and Romantic. The Quartet for piano and strings, written in his early twenties between 1807 and 1809, begins with a Haydnesque gracefulness and politeness which is gradually invaded by more unruly harmonies and textures; the dramatic slow movement looks ahead to Schumann, while the closing fugue of the finale dresses 18th-century procedures in 19th-century colours. Then there’s the element of virtuosity which is a hallmark of the early Romantic era, in the showy piano part of the Quartet, which Weber wrote for himself, the concerto-like clarinet part in the Quintet with strings, designed for the pioneering Heinrich Baermann, and all three parts of the tuneful Trio for flute, cello and piano. The talented members of the pan-European Gaudier Ensemble are perfectly equipped to convey these different aspects of Weber’s musical personality, with the fleet-fingered pianist Susan Tomes leading the way in the Quartet and Trio, and Richard Hosford in the Clarinet Quintet recalling contemporary descriptions of Baermann’s own effortless brilliance.

Weber’s genius is most succinctly and most engagingly represented in his overtures. He was an inspired melodist, a brilliant orchestrator and a consummate designer of single-movement structures which – although their primary function was to create the appropriate atmosphere in the theatre or opera house – are entirely convincing as separate items in the concert hall. Brought up in a theatrical family and heir to many disappointments, Weber was acutely aware of the risks involved in mounting any kind of stage production: a well written overture, presenting the best of the musical material in a self-contained form, was an insurance against total failure.

This publication aims to be the first of two volumes, the second of which will contain the other two sonatas. Believe me, this project has not been driven by the wish to add yet another complete recording of complete works to the catalogue. What it has been driven by is a real desire to redress the balance and to ensure Weber's compositions receive the attention they so richly deserve.