Erich Wolfgang Korngold - Piano Sonatas (Michael Schäfer)

Information

Composer: Erich Wolfgang Korngold

• Sonata No. 1 in D minor
• Sonata No. 2 in E major, Op. 2
• Sonata No. 3 in C major, Op. 25
• Four Little Caricatures for Children, Op. 19
• Tales of Strauss, Op. 21

Michael Schäfer, conductor

Date: 2004

Label: Profil

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Review

For a detailed musical discussion of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s three piano sonatas, I refer to my review of André de Groote’s interpretations (type Q4583 in Search Reviews). Here I also weighed de Groote’s serviceable yet rather monochrome traversals against superior sonic and interpretive competition from Geoffrey Tozer (Chandos) and Matthijs Verschoor (Etcetera). If anything, Michael Schäfer surpasses his distinguished colleagues in several respects. He commands a huge, golden sonority and a supple technique that effortlessly deals with Korngold’s thick chords and frequent double octaves. In addition, Schäfer brings a wider range of textural diversity and flexible phrasing to the table, resulting in greater charm and character all around. This chiefly plays out in the first two sonatas’ scherzo movements and in the Third Sonata’s inner movements.

Following the delightful, unpretentious Op. 19 children’s pieces, Schäfer plays Korngold’s Tales of Strauss, a potboiler of Strauss-family melodies that proves surprsingly uninteresting in the context of like-minded Strauss concoctions by Rosenthal, Friedman, Tausig, Grunfeld, and others of that ilk. Without taking anything away from Martin Jones’ excellent performance on Nimbus, Schäfer’s more indulgent, volatile temperament takes top honors. Just compare his impassioned dive into the introductory measures leading into the Blue Danube with Jones’ relatively sober approach, and you’ll hear for yourself. Profil’s sonics may not match Chandos or Etcetera for close-up warmth and richness, but they certainly do Schäfer’s terrific pianism justice. [6/30/2005]

— Jed Distler

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Erich Wolfgang Korngold (May 29, 1897 – November 29, 1957) was an Austrian-born composer and child prodigy, hailed as a genius in early 20th-century classical music. He gained early fame for his operas, particularly Die tote Stadt (1920), before fleeing Nazi-occupied Austria in the 1930s. In Hollywood, Korngold became a pioneer of film music, composing lush, romantic scores for films like The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), which won him an Academy Award. He wrote scores for 16 Hollywood films in all, and is considered one of the founders of film music, along with Max Steiner and Alfred Newman.

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Michael Schäfer, known for his versatility as a soloist, chamber musician and accompanist, performs widely across Europe, Asia and Africa. A professor of piano at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München since age 31, he has mentored many prize-winning students and serves as a juror at international competitions. Schäfer is especially dedicated to reviving neglected composers, with acclaimed CD recordings that have earned honors such as the Diapason d'Or. His discography includes works by d'Indy, Friedman, Charpentier and others. He also performs in the piano trio Then-Bergh – Yang – Schäfer.

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