Ernő Dohnányi; Leó Weiner - Orchestral Works (Roberto Paternostro)

Information

Composer: Ernő Dohnányi; Leó Weiner

• Dohnányi - Tante Simona, Op. 20: Overture
• Dohnányi - Suite in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 19
• Dohnányi - American Rhapsody, Op. 47
• Weiner - Serenade for Small Orchestra in F Minor, Op. 3

ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra

Roberto Paternostro, conductor

Date: 2021

Label: Capriccio

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Review

Talk about coincidental musical similarities. The opening of the overture to Dohnányi’s one-act opera buffa Tante Simona (1911 12) is a dead ringer for the opening of Vaughan Williams’s Sixth Symphony (1944 47) though thereafter, once Dohnányi’s impish sense of humour has established itself, any resemblance with VW and his battle-haunted symphony goes out of the window. The Suite in F sharp minor (1908 09) also suggests various resemblances, whether past, present or future. The tonally wide ranging first movement is a set of variations reminiscent of Dvořák, while the elegant Scherzo recalls early Rachmaninov. The Rondo fourth movement starts out like Mahler (ie the Rondo-Burleske from the Ninth Symphony) and by 6'50" we’re in the land of Brahms, specifically the German Requiem with its mournfully tapping timpani.

The American Rhapsody, an equally appealing but much later work (1953), opens to a darkened variation on ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ before calling on other tuneful local treasures including ‘Turkey in the straw’. It’s a fairly big piece (14'16"), very well played and recorded – versions under Mathias Bamert (Chandos, 4/99) and John Farrer (ASV) aren’t quite so immediate – and similar in scale to various orchestral tone poems by Strauss and Smetana, whose styles Dohnányi’s own often resembles.

If all this suggests that Dohnányi reflects the voices of other composers rather than his own, this isn’t at all what I intend. He was very much his own man, and my references serve merely to outline the overall sound of what is on offer.

Leó Weiner’s Op 3 Serenade (1906) witnesses a definite shift from Straussian exuberance to a Hungarian (or maybe Jewish) local accent, the opening movement full of major/minor shifts and hurdy-gurdy effects, whereas for the second we could as well be in the world of Skalkottas’s Greek Dances. Come the third, tenderness takes over – this really is lovely – whereas the finale represents nationalist light music at its finest. Capriccio provides the excellent ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra under the sympathetic direction of Roberto Paternostro with warm, detailed sound that’s especially strong at the bass end of the spectrum. So if you’re up for a sequence of colourful late-Romantic pieces that fight shy of post-Wagnerian decadence, you’ll likely love this enterprising programme.

— Rob Cowan

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Ernő Dohnányi (27 July 1877 – 9 February 1960) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and conductor. Dohnányi studied in Budapest at the Royal Academy of Music. As a pianist he traveled widely and established a reputation as one of the best performers of his day. In 1948 he left Hungary as a political exile and became a U.S. citizen in 1955. Dohnányi's music, which was chiefly influenced by Johannes Brahms, was late Romantic and conservative in style, and after 1910 he occupied only a minor place among contemporary Hungarian composers. His works include three symphonies, a ballet, three operas, and chamber works.

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Leó Weiner (16 April 1885 – 13 September 1960) was one of the leading Hungarian composers and music educators of the first half of the twentieth century. He was born in Budapest and later studied at the Budapest Academy of Music, where he taught from 1908 to 1949. Among his many notable students were conductors Antal Doráti and Georg Solti, violinist Tibor Varga, cellist János Starker and pianist György Sebők. As a composer Weiner published about 30 works, including a string trio, three string quartets, two violin sonatas, five divertimenti for orchestra, a symphonic poem, and numerous chamber and piano pieces.

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Roberto Paternostro was born in 1957 in Vienna where he studied at the University under Hans Swarowsky. Further studies include under György Ligeti and Christoph von Dohnányi in Hamburg. From 1978 to 1984 he was assistant of Herbert von Karajan in Berlin. From 1991 to 2000 he was General Music Director of the Württembergische Philharmonie, from 1997 to 2007 GMD of the State Theatre in Kassel, and from 2009 to 2013 Music Director of the Israel Chamber Orchestra. Paternostro received the ECHO Klassik Award in 2012. He is regularly holding master classes and served as a jury in competitions.

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