Dohnanyi Gulbadamova

Of the works Ernst von Dohnányi wrote for the stage, only his ballet pantomime The Veil of Pierrette receive any particular acclaim. His concert music, meanwhile, was much more warmly received. With this already sixth recording of his late romantical, sensual music, deeply rooted in the Austro-German classical tradition, Capriccio presents three of his concertante works.

Ernst von Dohnányi displayed an interest in a range of inventions throughout his life, so it's unsurprising that around 1909–10 he became one of the main promoters of pianos that used a semicircular keyboard. There had long been experimentation in creating the most comfortable keyboard possible, with all the keys at the same distance from the pianist, facilitating the same body and hand positions throughout the keyboard's full range.

Ernst von Dohnanyi’s piano works are influenced by the late romantic era, with different character pieces woven together as a cycle like the late piano works of Brahms. Dohnanyi first made his mark on the music scene as a pianist. He made his debut in Berlin in 1897 and was at once recognized as an artist of extremely high merit. Similar success followed in Vienna, and then he toured Europe. After he began composing, the piano was his natural instrument to write for.

Ernst von Dohnányi was one of the most versatile and influential musicians of his time, but his stage works, orchestral compositions (including symphonies and concertos) and numerous chamber music pieces are now seldom played.

Of the works Ernst von Dohnányi wrote for the stage, only his ballet pantomime The Veil of Pierrette receive any particular acclaim. His concert music, meanwhile, was much more warmly received. With this already sixth recording of his late romantical, sensual music, deeply rooted in the Austro-German classical tradition, Capriccio presents three of his concertante works. Apart from two Piano Concertos and two Violin Concertos, Ernő Dohnányi wrote three more, which are concertos in all but name "Variations" (for piano and orchestra), "Concertino" (for harp and chamber orchestra), and "Konzertstück" (for cello and orchestra); the names subtly hinting at their specific character.

Ernst von Dohnányi est l'un des compositeurs les plus polyvalents et les plus influents de son époque. Ses oeuvres sont rarement jouées aujourd'hui. Le présent album rassemble deux de ses dernières partitions d'inspiration directement romantique (au sens "fin du XIXe siècle"), dans le style de la pure tradition classique austro-germanique. En effet, le langage musical de ces concertos pour piano, par les motifs rythmiques, les mélodies, les harmonies sans oublier l'orchestration, sont très proches de Brahms. Sofia Gülbadamova poursuit ici son exploration des oeuvres pour piano de Dohnányi, puisqu'elle a déjà réalisé une intégrale du pour piano solo pour Capriccio (« une interprétation énergique, émouvante ») d'après le magazine anglais "Gramophone'. Elle est rejointe ici par Ariane Matiakh, musicienne attentive à révéler le meilleur de l'orchestration puissante du compositeur hongrois.