For too many years, Ernst Toch was a figure rarely encountered,
certainly never in the concert hall (in over 40 years of concert
going I’ve never heard a work of his live) and seldom on record.
There have been some valuable LP recordings of his work – William
Steinberg and the Pittsburg Symphony recorded the 3rd
Symphony, which they commissioned, on Capitol (P8364 and it
was re-issued in the 1990s in the EMI Matrix series EMI
5658682) and it’s a fine performance. The 5th Symphony
was recorded by the Louisville Orchestra, under Robert Whitney
(now available on TROY 0212 with music by other composers or on
Louisville First Edition FECD035 where it is coupled with other
Louisville recordings of Toch’s Peter Pan, Notturno
and the Miniature Overture). An handful of chamber
works appeared over the years on various American labels – the
1st Violin Sonata and some piano music on Mainstream
S502, together with the notorious Geographical Fugue for
speaking chorus. More recently, CPO has done Toch proud by recording
the complete Symphonies and String Quartets as well as the fine
Cello Concerto and the Dance Suite, op.30.
So
why has it taken so long for us to catch up with this composer?
I think the answer is fairly easy to find. There’s the obvious
time it takes, after the death of a composer, for the public to
“re-discover” him even though, to some of us, he never went away!
– Alan Rawsthorne, for instance, has only recently started to
gain the recognition he deserves, thanks, mainly, to Naxos’s major series of recordings of his music – but the second reason
is more pertinent. Toch’s music is non-tonal. It isn’t atonal,
far from it, but he treats tonality with a very free mind, and
because of this, his music doesn’t flow as easily as some – Hindemith
for instance. There are, I have always felt, to be similarities
with Hindemith, the same bluff sense of humour, the same questioning
use of form and tonality, the superb craftsmanship in the construction
of their works. But Hindemith is a more tonal composer and thus
it’s easier to follow his argument, even in his biggest instrumental
works, such as the Die Harmonie der Welt Symphony (a work
well worth getting to know in Blomstedt’s magnificent San Francisco
recording on Decca 4752642). But I digress.
So
what do we have on this disk? A bright and zesty Violin
Sonata gets things off to a sparkling start. It’s quite
short but really full of good things. The Burlesken
are a different matter. The word "burlesque"
derrives from the italian burla, which means a joke,
or the original French word burlesque, which confirms
a piece of art as ridiculous and slightly outrageous, but
mainly in a funny way. Basically, burlesque means "in
an upside down style". These three pieces certainly do
that. Ths first one is serious, but yet it has a quirkiness
about it, the fast middle one continues the idiosyncrasy,
whilst the final piece, named The Jugglar, is a rollicking
encore piece. The Three Impromptus
for solo cello are from a much later period in Toch’s life
and they’re more thoughtful, more contemplative, more subtly
humorous.
The
main work here is a big Piano Quintet and the names
of the four movements – The Lyrical Part, The Whimsical
Part, The Contemplative Part and The Dramatic
Part – seem to sum up Toch’s compositional outlook. The
first, lyrical, movement is rich and thickly textured with
a strong vein of lyricism and Toch keeps a forward driving
Allegro tempo until the end, when a slow, quiet, coda brings
matters to rest. The Whimsical Part is a skittish scherzo
with contrasting middle section, it is most comical and not,
perhaps, what you might expect from this composer. The
Contemplative Part is full of gentle lyricism, and there’s
a touch of real pathos. The Dramatic Part is all headlong
rush and terse argument and, this might come as a surprise,
there’s more than a slight hint of Korngold in some of the
writing!
Ernst
Toch is a very fine composer and it is to be hoped that we
can now get to grips with his large and varied catalogue.
He deserves our attention and this excellent disk, with fine
performances and crystal clear recording, is another step
along the way.
Bob
Briggs
see also Review
by Jonathan Woolf
