Dohnányi

In terms of a First symphony being the establishment of a recognizable voice of a respective country, Ernst Von Dohnanyi (1877-1960) was an Hungarian equivalent to England's Sir Edward Elgar. Dohnanyi, however, was a little-known, overshadowed force of 20th Century Hungarian music, largely due to the popularities of both Bela Bartok & Zoltan Kodaly. His works, especially his two symphonies, therefore continue to suffer from obscurity. But, here comes the rescue, at least in part. Leon Botstein & the London Philharmonic brings the First symphony from the coldness of obscurity with this excellent, probing Telarc recording. It's rival Chandos recording, released in March of 1999, features Mathias Bamert & the BBC Philharmonic.

Of all the works Ernst von Dohnányi wrote for the stage, only his ballet pantomime The Veil of Pierrette (Capriccio C5388) received any particular acclaim. His concert music, however, was received much more warmly. This sixth Capriccio volume of Dohnányi's late romantic, sensual music that is deeply rooted in the Austro-German classical tradition features three of his concertos. Apart from two piano concertos and two violin concertos, Dohnányi wrote three more, which are concertos in all but name: Variations on a Nursey Song (for piano and orchestra), Concertino (for harp and chamber orchestra), and Konzertstück (for cello and orchestra), the titles subtly hinting at their specific character.

This packed four cd set is a bargain in quantity and quality. Dohnanyi can be great, as in his Decca Mozart
symphonies 35-41, wind concerti and sinfonia concertnte k364 et al. I heard him live once with the Boston SO: a supremely dramatic and large-scaled Schubert Unfinished and a terrific Brahms Violin Concerto with Frank Peter Zimmermann.

A scant two years after they passed out of international copyright, the Czech Praga label re-coupled and re-released three of EMI's 1956 recordings of the music of Hungarian-American composer Ernö Dohnányi on this 2008 disc: his Variations on a Nursery Song and Second Piano Concerto with Adrian Boult leading the Royal Philharmonic and his Konzertstücke for cello and orchestra with Walter Süsskind leading the Philharmonia Orchestra. Janos Starker is the soloist in the latter work while the composer, a tremendously talented pianist, serves as the soloist in the former works. In all three cases, the performances are about as fine as one could possibly hope.

Having never liked Mahler's Fifth as much as 1-4 and the 6th, I approached this recording with some trepidation. To my ears, Boulez was too cerebral, Bernstein too hysterical, and Barbirolli too rhythmically loose. But Dohnanyi, one of the most underrated conductors of our time (the others being Chailly and Mackerras) gives here an outstanding performance of the symphony, finding an incredibly valid mid-point between lyrical warmth and muscular power. My one complaint was the second movement, which is not quite as frightening as one might like, yet the way Dohnanyi finishes his phrases and connects the disparate sections of each movement leave one breathless with wonder.

This review is actually to mention and comment briefly on competing recordings of Dohnanyi chamber works, primarily the First Piano Quintet, an amazing, melodic, well-crafted work from Dohnányi's student years and his Opus 1. Every movement has its felicities, including the catchy final movement with its 5/4 meter and obligatory fugal ending. There are competing versions of that work recorded by the Gabrieli Quartet with Wolfgang Manz, piano; the Vanbrugh Quartet, with Martin Roscoe, piano; and the Takacs Quartet with András Schiff.

This programme is something of a memorial to Daniel Majeske who died from cancer in November 1993 after being Concert Master of the Cleveland Orchestra for 25 years. Christoph von Dohnanyi honours his memory in a written note, and Majeske's performance of Mozart's Sinfonia concertante, K364, recorded two years before his death, celebrates his searching, highly cultivated solo playing.