Monday, 10.26.09, 6:00 am
Orchestral Music You Didn’t Know You Love (Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek)
Somber and very dark beauty is exuded by the “Four Songs of Prayer and Repentance on words from the Bible” that Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek (of “Donna Diana” fame) composed in 1913. This is very different music than his light-hearted, Richard Strauss-heavy work that is most gloriously exemplified by the tone-poem “Schlemihl”, Reznicek’s ‘Anti-Heldenleben’. Of course these four orchestral songs, only between two and four minutes long, still contain slight hints of Strauss, Reznicek’s friend, model, and great influence, but no more than the few hints of Gustav Mahler that also run through it. They are unquestionably gorgeous in their own right. The harmonies are not as advanced as those of Othmar Schoeck or late Mahler can be, but significantly more chromatic than in his Symphony No.1 (1903), the imposing 55 minute work that shares CD space with the songs.
A late-romantic symphony, not particular cogent, and with little sense of purpose, that First Symphony (titled “Tragic”) is still remarkably lovely as it saunters through its four movements with melodic leisureliness. Only the nervous, wispy second movement has any sense of momentum; the three other movements are languid affairs full of quotes from any romantic composer within reach. Instead of wondering what a better orchestra might have been able to extract from this work (a world premiere recording, since the manuscript of the Symphony had been lost until recently), we can enjoy—with a little patience—the performance of the Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt (Oder) under Frank Beermann for the class act it is. Together with mezzo-soprano Marina Prudenskaja (just the right, dark mix of husky and dramatic) they’re even better in the Prayer’n’Repentance songs which, even at only a sixth of this CDs 66 minutes playtime, are the primary reason for purchase and discovery. (The liner notes are a mess, the ‘English’ translation plain incomprehensible.)
Previously and since in Chamber Music You Didn’t Know You Love:
( 1 ) – Ludwig Thuille, Piano Quintets
( 2 ) – Joseph Marx, String Quartets
( 3 ) – Franz Mittler, String Quartets
( 4 ) – Felix Weingartner, String Quartets
( 5 ) – Wilhelm Bernhard Molique, String Quartets
Previously and since in Orchestral Music You Didn’t Know You Love:
( 1 ) – Friedrich Ernst Fesca, Symphonies
( 2 ) – Max Bruch, Swedish & Russian Dances
( 3 ) – Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek, Orchestral Songs, Symphony