Sonja van Beek & Andreas Frolich - Erich Wolfgang Korngold: Complete Works for Violin & Piano (2000) [Re-Up]

This program is the same as the ASV release of Korngold’s complete works for violin and piano, by coincidence issued at very nearly the same time. CPO violinist Sonja van Beek’s round and honeyed tone may not be the biggest out there, but it’s just right for this setting. Her intonation is better than Derek Hahn’s, the violinist on ASV. Both she and pianist Andreas Frölich successfully navigate the many moods of Korngold’s Violin Sonata, although Frölich is freer with the rhythm than ASV’s Andrew Ball. Some listeners may wish for a wider, looser vibrato at times, but van Beek captures just the right blend of nobility and charm in the engaging and technically challenging Scherzo. CPO’s sound isn’t as full as it might be, so van Beek’s upper register occasionally sounds anemic.

The duo plays beautifully in Korngold’s own transcription of Marietta’s Lute Song from Die tote Stadt–and Frölich is especially effective in adding warmth and color to this music. The rest of the program is equally delightful, highlighted by van Beek’s impish harmonics–always in tune–in the Caprice fantastique, and the lazy dreaminess of the Tanzlied des Pierot (also arranged from Die tote Stadt). Violinist Toscha Seidel has a bit more schmaltz and swing in his rendition of the Much Ado About Nothing suite (Complete Victor Recordings set on Biddulph), but van Beek’s version is more technically polished and arguably just as satisfying. In all, this is a disc for Korngold fans and for listeners interested in accessible, intelligently written, skillfully played violin music.

Review by David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com

Korngold composed his Violin Sonata in G, in 1912 when he was only fifteen. He was encouraged to write it by Carl Flesch and Artur Schnabel; and it was they who premiered it. The Violin Sonata is a virtuoso piece placing high and, in part, extreme demands on the violinist; and the piano part often has dense textures. It is classical-Romantic in idiom with emotion enough but without the 'heart-on-sleeve' effulgence we have come to associate with the operas and the film music. There are difficulties of co-ordination through Korngold's complex rhythmic and dynamic writing. Tonally, the sonata recalls compositions from Zemlinsky (Korngold's teacher) and the late-Romantic coloration of Schönberg. Added to this complexity, is the unusual if not extraordinary shape of the Scherzo which at nearly twelve minutes duration, here, is longer than any of the other three movements. This scherzo covers a wide range of emotions. Although it is undeniably Viennese in character, there is violence and heavy drama, ruminative material and quasi-military figures well as the dance material (particularly waltz measures) that one associates more with a scherzo. Andreas Frölich's attack consistently impresses but van Beek sometimes gives the impression that she is holding back - a more emotional involvement would not have gone amiss.

I have to say that I was disappointed in this same tentativeness in the two pieces from Die tote Stadt. These are dreamily romantic; but here the playing is too matter-of-fact, little commitment, little romance. Things improve when there is a chance to show off technique in the imaginatively quirky witches' music that is Caprice fantastique. The salon music that is the Serenade from Der Scheemann is nicely judged, so too is the 'verbal-melancholy' of the Song of Heliane.

But the most memorable music and most instantly appealing is the popular Much Ado About Nothing suite. Here it is a sparkling confection with the beautiful coy 'Mädchen im Brautgemach' (one of Korngold's loveliest melodies) contrasting with the amusingly clumsy gait of 'Halzapfel und Schlehenwein' (anticipating the Sherwood Forest music from The Adventures of Robin Hood). Next there is the blissfully romantic Gartenscene, and, in conclusion, the merriment of 'Mummenschanz'.

A valuable addition to the Korngold discography that would have benefited more from more expressive playing.

Review by Ian Lace, MusicWeb-International.com

Exact Audio Copy V1.1 from 23. June 2015

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Korngold / Complete Works for Violin & Piano - Sonja van Beek & Andreas Frolich

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foobar2000 1.2 / Dynamic Range Meter 1.1.1
log date: 2016-04-15 14:03:31

––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Korngold / Complete Works for Violin & Piano - Sonja van Beek & Andreas Frölich
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DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR14 -0.48 dB -19.65 dB 9:41 01-Violin Sonata op. 6 in G - Ben moderato, ma con passione
DR15 -0.10 dB -19.33 dB 11:52 02-Violin Sonata op. 6 in G - Scherzo. Allegro molto (con fuoco)
DR14 -0.29 dB -20.44 dB 8:00 03-Violin Sonata op. 6 in G - Adagio. Mit tiefer Empfindung
DR14 -0.19 dB -20.30 dB 8:51 04-Violin Sonata op. 6 in G - Finale. Allegretto quasi Andante
DR12 -7.05 dB -25.81 dB 4:20 05-Tanzlied des Pierrot from »Die tote Stadt« op. 12
DR13 -6.56 dB -26.22 dB 5:10 06-Mariettas Lied zur Laute from »Die tote Stadt« op. 12
DR14 -0.77 dB -20.87 dB 4:47 07-Caprice fantastique Wichtelmännchen
DR12 -4.14 dB -21.02 dB 2:24 08-Serenade from the ballet pantomime »Der Schneemann«
DR15 -0.23 dB -21.81 dB 3:27 09-Gesang der Heliane from »Das Wunder der Heliane«
DR12 -4.01 dB -22.02 dB 3:26 10-Much ado about nothing op. 11 - Mädchen im Brautgemach
DR15 -0.57 dB -20.97 dB 2:21 11-Much ado about nothing op. 11 - Holzapfel und Schlehenwein
DR14 -1.21 dB -22.55 dB 5:35 12-Much ado about nothing op. 11 - Gartenscene
DR12 -0.33 dB -18.08 dB 2:08 13-Much ado about nothing op. 11 - Mummenschanz
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

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