The Romantic Piano Concerto, Vol. 06 Dohnányi [CD]

Like Hyperion's other releases in this series, Dohnanyi's works are not often heard since his compositions were too "behind the times" stylistically to receive much attention when they were written. The other side of this coin, and also much like Hyperion's other releases, is that these pieces are of astonishing quality and it is a real shame that so few people get to hear them.

However, I feel that the pieces on this CD are truly unique even when compared with some of the best of the other neglected late romantic piano concertos. In many such pieces (such as, for instance, the Scharwenka and Sauer or Busoni releases) the virtuosity demanded from the soloist is one of the main attractions. Dohnanyi was one of the best pianists of his day and no doubt there is plenty of virtuosity written into the score, of which the soloist Martin Roscoe is very capable. But it is almost like Dohnanyi has transcended any interest in virtuosity for its own sake. Instead, the orchestral and solo parts are seamlessly woven together as only the most mature and experienced composer could do. They cooperate to create intricate, delicately shaded music that is a real joy to listen to. It is almost impossible to discern when one melodic line stops and another begins. As an example, the last few minutes of the 2nd Piano Concerto consist of a rhythmically irresistible sequence of chords on the piano that meander everywhere harmonically but make perfect sense to the ears, and it seems Dohnanyi could have continued indefinitely if he so desired. The piano and orchestra part is eventually joined by a broad melody played by the horns which is being played about 16 times slower than the accompaniment but fits perfectly. Comparing this passage alone to the same length of music by any other composer, it's hard to think of a more impressive achievement.

I greatly appreciated the first review of this album. The first concerto is not particularly that enjoyable to my ear. However, what stands out is the second piano concerto! I fell in love with this concerto in the 1950's when I purchased a recording with the composer himself playing the piano. I believe it was on the Angel label.
Just prior to writing this review I listened to the whole concerto and then played the last movement 6 times. This review is written from a very emotional standpoint only. To my ear the second piano concerto is one powerfully beautiful piece of music which I go back to quite often.

It is certainly true that Dohnanyi was not deserving of the neglect of so much of his fine music.
It is not wholly correct to identify the source of this neglect in his being out of synch with the times.
If this were true, then we could not account for the great popularity of Rachmaninoff, Kodaly, Respighi, Khachaturian and many other well-known composers who wrote in a traditional vein.
One has to admit that Dohnanyi published several composition of a low level of inspiration, which weigh all the more heavily in an oeuvre of only 48 works.
One of his trademarks was too great a reliance on variation form. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with this, but if it occurs in one work after another, musicians will sooner or later wonder if it serves as a substitute for original invention. The other of his problems was that he sometimes began ambitious work with powerful ideas, but could not sustain them.
His Concerto No. 1 is one of the latter. It is a great lumbering affair, notable primarily for its enormous length and the fact that after a promising beginning, he ran out of ideas in the middle of it and resorts to much padding and stitching together of ill-fitting subsidiary episodes. If you listen without attending, it can sound very pleasant, with melodies of great sumptuousness surfacing from a rather nondescript "working out". But one could hardly take it seriously as a work of art. As such, it falls apart into disjunctive episodes and ultimately the logic of concerto writing goes begging.
No. 2 is a different kettle of fish. Dohnanyi learnt his own lesson and presents his material with great concision. The solo part is well integrated with the orchestral canvas, the material draws attention to itself by its superb individuation, and the whole things sweeps past you as a well-constructed whole.
It is undoubtedly a masterpiece of its genre, the neglect explicable only by the fact that Rachmaninoff, whose music seems cut from much the same cloth, achieved much greater success and put Dohnanyi in the shade.
This recording gives a fine advocacy of both works. I have heard a more incisive reading of No. 2 from (I think) Peter Katin, decades ago, which unfortunately I don't have any more. It was done at a time when Dohnanyi was as dead as a doornail in public estimation and filled up a disk devoted to the Variations on a Nursery Rhyme, which I think damaged Dohnanyi's reputation more than he deserved.
But these performances by Roscoe will serve adequately to keep his memory alive as a great pianist and orchestrator.