Dohnányi: Viel of Pierrette/Suite/Variations on a Nursery Theme

Ernst von Dohnanyi (Composer), Matthias Bamert (Conductor), BBC Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Howard Shelley (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Howard Shelley
• Orchestra: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Matthias Bamert
• Composer: Ernst von Dohnanyi
• Audio CD (June 22, 1999)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Chandos
• ASIN: B00000J8QW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #56,372 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Ernst von Dohnányi (1877-1960) produced only a small catalogue of works during his lifetime and for much of that time, as a concert pianist, he was largely regarded as the successor to Franz Liszt--he was that good. These works are in the tradition of late-19th-century European romanticism, but they have their own rich character. Dohnányi's compositional forte is the theme and variations. The three works on this disc are exemplary in this regard, especially the exuberant Suite in F Sharp Minor. His exposure to Liszt also had the benefit of appreciating the piano's playful side, as in the Variations on a Nursery Theme--the nursery theme here being "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". Matthias Bamert and the BBC Philharmonic are in superb form here (with Howard Shelley on piano). A typical--and topically very good--Chandos release. --Paul Cook

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous post-romantic -- with spice!, December 13, 1999

By	Christopher Rosevear (Hampshire, UK) - See all my reviews

The Variations on a Nursery Theme are well known, the Suite in F# minor and Veil of Pierrette much less so. Hopefully this recording will set things to right and we shall here these pieces performed in concert more often.

If you have a taste for post-romantic music, you must listen to this; all the sumptuous orchestration of Richard Strauss and Franz Schmidt but with a distinctly middle-European flavour and wonderful sense of self-irony.

The performance has some of the best wind section playing of recent years -- what was the BBC Northern Orchestra has matured in the BBC Philharmonic into an ensemble that stands with the finest in the world. The woodwind, particularly the reeds, have delicious moments to enjoy and produce a performance that should be every instrumentalist's MUST HAVE list.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All-around great performances, July 9, 2007

By	Classic Music Lover (Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews

Beginning with the rarest item on this CD, the Pierrette's Veil ballet suite is a world premiere -- except for the final Waltz, which is also available on a Mercury CD with Antal Dorati and the Philharmonia Hungarica. The Waltz movement is memorable, but the rest of the score is just okay. The Suite in F# used to be more popular on orchestra concerts "back in the day" -- I even own an old 78 rpm Victor album set dating from the early 1930s. In the early stereo era, the Sir Malcolm Sargent/Royal Philharmonic and Milton Katims/Seattle Symphony versions were the ones to have. This performance is vital and exciting -- tempos are swift and things never have time to lag. The solo passages, of which there are many in this piece, are of virtuoso quality.

Most classical music buffs will be at least a bit familiar with the Nursery Tune Variations (and absolutely everyone will be familiar with the "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" theme). To my mind, Messrs. Shelley and Bamert make their performance the best version available on disk today (although it's hard to beat the classic Julius Katchen/Sir Adrian Boult/LPO recording on London/Decca that dates back to the early days of stereo). Pianist Shelley makes everything sound so fresh and alive, and the orchestral accompaniment by Bamert and the BBC players is sympathetic and spot-on.

This is quite an enjoyable disk of some very pleasant, engaging music -- you will not be disappointed.