Search - Hans Pfitzner, Werner Andreas Albert, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra :: Hans Pfitzner: Violin Concerto Op. 34; Duo for Violin, Cello and Orchestra Op. 43; Scherzo for Orchestra

Early, middle, late Pfitzner

Classic Music Lover | Maryland, USA | 08/22/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In this CD, you get a smattering of Pfitzner works penned early, middle and late in life. What's interesting is seeing just how little his style changed over a great many years of composing (he died in 1949).



The real masterpiece on this program is the stunning Violin Concerto, surely one of the most impressive ones written in the last 100 years. It deserves to be better known. Over the years, it has been championed by such performers as Suzanne Lautenbacher and Edith Peinemann. I've heard Peinemann perform it in concert with the Minneapolis Symphony and later on in an aircheck performance with the Chicago Symphony. Saschko Gawriloff on this CD is not quite as impressive as Lautenbacher on Vox (a 2-CD set that is an absolute steal from a price standpoint), but it's a very fine performance in its own right. Most listeners will agree that the Bamberg Symphony sounds more polished here than the Philharmonia Hungarica does on the Vox set. The CPO disk will do very nicely if you want to hear other Pfitzner orchestral works as well. Speaking for me, I find myself returning again and again to the magnificent, inspiring concerto, whereas for the other works, it's "take it or leave it."



If you love violin music but don't know this concerto, trust me, you are missing out on a great musical experience.



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