ERICH ZEISL: Piano Concerto in C Major; Pierrot in the Flasche – ballet suite – Gottlieb Wallisch, piano/Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Johannes Wildner – CPO

by | Jul 16, 2007 | Classical CD Reviews | 0 comments

ERICH ZEISL: Piano Concerto in C Major; Pierrot in the Flasche – ballet suite – Gottlieb Wallisch, piano/Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Johannes Wildner – CPO 777 226-2, 62:49 ****:

This Viennese Jewish composer died in 1959 at only age 53, leaving many instrumental works, sacred and secular choral works and lieder. His Piano Concerto didn’t receive its premiere performance until 2005. It displays a mix of lyrical, modal melodies and harmonies and often catchy dance rhythms – flowing out of his Hebraic background. These are melded to the late-Romantic piano concerto style, resulting in a thrilling 35-minute concerto tour de force which makes one sad that the composer never realized his hope of having the work heard in his lifetime.

Similarly, Zeisl’s ballet Pierrot in the Flesh was never performed, but a suite was drawn from it which did get premiered in 1935. The grotesque scenario of the ballet is a dream-like fantasy with oriental touches, but one of the characters is a jazz dancer and the work is imbued with the flapper spirit of the 1920s.  Therefore Zeisl’s music makes use of ragtime and jazz rhythms – even having a jazz piano in the orchestra. Though the ballet is a bit dated, hearing its brisk and lively music today, one wishes to see the thing staged.

 – John Sunier 

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