Reznicek: Schlemihl; Raskolnikoff
M. Jurowski, WDR Sinfonieorchestra Koln
cpo 999 795-2

5/5

Reznicek's 'Kein Heldenleben'

I came to this work late, having earlier obtained and reviewed Reznicek's
subsequent tone poem, 'Der Sieger' ('The Winner').  For more information
about Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek (1860-1945) please see my 'Sieger'
review here at MCML.  The two works go together (and there was a third,
'Frieden' ['Peace'] but it has been lost).  This earlier (1912) 45-minute
work is about one of life's anti-heroes, immortalized in the Yiddish
word 'schlemiel.' This is the guy who can't do anything right and whose
life goes from bad to worse.  Unfortunately this is an apt description
of the composer's own life.  (Actually he was more of a 'schlimazel',
but that's pedantry on my part, I suppose.) What is touching is that not
only did he know it, he was able to make ironic fun of it.  And what he
does here in 'Schlemihl' is to turn Richard Strauss's self-congratulatory
'Ein Heldenleben' and 'Sinfonia domestica' on their heads by writing a
satirical 'Anti-hero's Life' that uses what had become the cliches of
Strauss's style.  But he does such a good job of it that the work itself
comes close to being every bit as good as Strauss's.  OK, maybe Reznicek
is not quite the genius that Strauss was, but he certainly had immense
talent.  I found myself listening and re-listening to this work and each
time identifying new felicities I hadn't noticed before. And even without
the detailed program (supplied in the CD's booklet, complete with timings)
supplied by the composer--for instance, there is a passage in the 'Orgy'
section where the object of the schlemiel's attention is 'eine nackte,
dicke Hexe mit Hangebauch' ('a fat naked witch with hanging-down
belly')--the music is enjoyable, particularly if one is fond of Strauss's
or Mahler's style.  Strauss and Wagner are quoted, or hinted at, slyly
as are quotes of 'Ach, du lieber Augustin,' the Dresden Amen (is he
teasing Bruckner's fondness for that?) and, inevitably, 'Dies Irae.' In
a way this piece, in its nose-thumbing, could be considered an extremely
expert precursor of Gerard Hoffnung's or P.D.Q.  Bach's music; it certainly
is as funny as any of their productions.  But it is also a work that can
stand on its own, without the listener having any awareness of the musical
antecedents or the objects of the satire.  Quite an accomplishment, I'd
say.  And, lest you worry about it, there are some extraordinarily lovely
'straight' passages (as in 'The Woman' [Movement III]) and at the very
end.

Also included is the much-later (1929)'Raskolnikoff,' a 'fantasy overture'
inspired by the main character in 'Crime and Punishment.' A serious
piece, with no satire anywhere in sight, it is a moving work infused
with a melancholic beauty. It shows what Reznicek could do when he wasn't
being ironic.

The performances here, by the WDR Symphony Orchestra of Cologne, under
the expert direction of Michail Jurowski, are all one could ask.  One
hopes that this and 'Der Sieger' are only the beginning of a series of
Reznicek's recordings that will come our way.  Make no mistake, Reznicek
is a major discovery after many years of neglect.

The booklet notes by Eckhardt van den Hoogen, clearly a strong advocate
for Reznicek's music and apparently a moving force in getting this music
recorded, are convoluted and inelegant in both his German original and
in the even clunkier and occasionally incomprehensible English translation.
But that shouldn't detract from the worth of this presentation.

Recommended.

Review at
   http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000174LOS/classicalnetA/

Scott Morrison