Piano Music of Ernst Krenek – Stanislav Khristenko

Recommendation

This is really interesting and very enjoyable music! If you have an interest modern piano music (Krenek wrote all of these pieces between 1922 and 198 that pushes the Romantic envelope but doesn't ever tear it, give this a try.

The disc opens with Ernst Krenek’s Second Piano Sonata. Immediately, you’ll be reminded of Gershwin – but it quickly becomes skewed, like you are listening to Gershwin through an aural prism. Just when you feel like you know where a passage is melodically and harmonically headed, Krenek throws a musical curveball. I remember as a kid at the amusement park walking across a floor made of panels that were slowly and randomly tilting. Just when you get your balance on one panel and step to the next, you have to find your balance again. Krenek’s piano music does this to your ear.

It’s playful with frequent subtle and not so subtle superimposed jazz elements (at several points, it “swings”!), and is constantly alluring. Krenek’s music is also to be taken seriously. Glenn Gould wrote of the Piano Sonata No. 3 “Altogether one of the most impressive assertions in the contemporary piano repertoire.”

These are very fine performances by Ukrainian pianist Stanislav Khristennko. Sound interesting? Give it a try.

Album Overview

When Glenn Gould performed his last public piano recital in Los Angeles on April 10, 1964, he included Ernst Krenek´s Piano Sonata No. 3 - alongside works of Bach. This is a clear indication of Krenek´s significance as a twentieth-century composer.

This new CD by Oehms Classics also presents Krenek´s seven-part cycle Echoes from Austria - an homage to the homeland which drove him out and in which he is still underrated today.

Source: Oehms Classics

Ernst Krenek	Composer: Ernst Krenek Ernst Krenek (August 23, 1900 – December 22, 1991) was an Austrian, later American, composer of Czech origin. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including… read more
Stanislav Khristenko	Performer: Khristen Stanislavko Stanislav Khristenko’s performances has captivated audiences on four continents since his first solo recital at the age of eleven. The Washington Post wrote “it was clear that Khristenko knows how to spin a story; his pacing… read more

  

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