August 19, 2019.Going for the unpopular.Claude Debussy was born this week, on August 22nd of 1782.We love Debussy and he remains one of the most popular composers, both among listeners and performers (in our library we have more than 230 recordings of his works, some pieces are played over and over again).While our listeners have many ways to celebrate Debussy, we will turn to the interesting, but not very popular, composers of the 20th century.Ernst Krenek (pronounced Krzhenek; like Dvorak, pronounced Dvorzhak), Krenek was Czech by birth, and his name originally was spelled Křenek.(The second letter, pronounced Rzh, was replaced with “R” when Krenek moved to the United States).Krenek was born in Vienna, son of a Czech soldier.He studied with the then-famous composer Franz Schreker.During the Great War he was drafted into the Austrian army but spent most of the time in Vienna, continuing his studies.In 1920 he followed Schreker to Berlin where he was introduced to many musicians; there he met Alma Mahler and her daughter Anna (by the time they met, Alma had already divorced her second husband, the architect Walter Gropius and was living with the poet Franz Werfel; Krenek fell in love with Anna and married her in 1924, though their marriage fell apart a few months later).The time in Berlin was very productive: Krenek wrote 18 large-scale pieces between 1921 and 1924.He also worked on parts of Gustav Mahler’s unfinished 10th Symphony but dropped the project as he felt that most of it was too under-developed.In 1925 Krenek traveled to Paris where he met the composers of Les Six; under their influence he decided that his music should be more accessible and wrote a “jazz-opera” Jonny spielt auf(Jonny Plays), which became very popular.Krenek followed with three more one-act operas, one of them, Der Diktator, based on the life of Mussolini.
In 1928 Krenek returned to Vienna and became friends with Berg and Webern.He got interested in the 12-tone technique, a form of serialism which attempts to give each of the 12 notes of the scale equal weight.In 1933 he wrote an opera. Karl V, using this technique.It’s premier in Vienna was cancelled (the politics of art, following politics in general at the time, were turning toward things simple and nationalistic) but it was staged in Prague in 1938.Needless to say, it never gained the popularity of Jonny spielt auf.The Nazis labeled Krenek’s music “radical,” things were getting difficult in Austria as well, and soon after the Anschluss Krenek emigrated to the US.He taught in several conservatories and universities and eventually settled in Los Angeles (he moved to Chicago in 1949 to teach at the Chicago Musical College but returned to the West Coast because of the cold winters – and who would blame him).He taught at Darmstadt in early 1950 (Boulez and Stockhausen were among the attendees), continued composing using the serial technique and experimented with electronic music.His last piece was written when Krenek was 88.He died in Palm Springs on December 22nd of 1991.Here’s Krenek’s Piano Sonata no. 2 op. 59 written in 1928.It’s performed by the Russian pianist Maria Yudina.This 1972 recording is unique, as back then “modernist” music wasn’t approved in the Soviet Union.Yudina plays not only Krenek but also Alban Berg’s First piano sonata, the rarely performed “Things in themselves” by Sergei Prokofiev and four pieces by André Jolivet.
In our library, we have three recordings of Karlheinz Stockhausen.Two of them are rated one note, the lowest rating that could be given.Considering that one piece is played by the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, we can safely assume that it’s not the performance that our listeners disliked but the pieces themselves.Stockhausen was born on August 22nd of 1928 and is considered one of the seminal composers of the second half of the 20th century.While we acknowledge the disapproval of some listeners, we think that his music is worth the effort, even if in small doses, and will continue bringing him up on occasion.
Ernst Krenek, 2019
August 19, 2019. Going for the unpopular. Claude Debussy was born this week, on August 22nd of 1782. We love Debussy and he remains one of the most popular composers, both among
listeners and performers (in our library we have more than 230 recordings of his works, some pieces are played over and over again). While our listeners have many ways to celebrate Debussy, we will turn to the interesting, but not very popular, composers of the 20th century. Ernst Krenek (pronounced Krzhenek; like Dvorak, pronounced Dvorzhak), Krenek was Czech by birth, and his name originally was spelled Křenek. (The second letter, pronounced Rzh, was replaced with “R” when Krenek moved to the United States). Krenek was born in Vienna, son of a Czech soldier. He studied with the then-famous composer Franz Schreker. During the Great War he was drafted into the Austrian army but spent most of the time in Vienna, continuing his studies. In 1920 he followed Schreker to Berlin where he was introduced to many musicians; there he met Alma Mahler and her daughter Anna (by the time they met, Alma had already divorced her second husband, the architect Walter Gropius and was living with the poet Franz Werfel; Krenek fell in love with Anna and married her in 1924, though their marriage fell apart a few months later). The time in Berlin was very productive: Krenek wrote 18 large-scale pieces between 1921 and 1924. He also worked on parts of Gustav Mahler’s unfinished 10th Symphony but dropped the project as he felt that most of it was too under-developed. In 1925 Krenek traveled to Paris where he met the composers of Les Six; under their influence he decided that his music should be more accessible and wrote a “jazz-opera” Jonny spielt auf(Jonny Plays), which became very popular. Krenek followed with three more one-act operas, one of them, Der Diktator, based on the life of Mussolini.
In 1928 Krenek returned to Vienna and became friends with Berg and Webern. He got interested in the 12-tone technique, a form of serialism which attempts to give each of the 12 notes of the scale equal weight. In 1933 he wrote an opera. Karl V, using this technique. It’s premier in Vienna was cancelled (the politics of art, following politics in general at the time, were turning toward things simple and nationalistic) but it was staged in Prague in 1938. Needless to say, it never gained the popularity of Jonny spielt auf. The Nazis labeled Krenek’s music “radical,” things were getting difficult in Austria as well, and soon after the Anschluss Krenek emigrated to the US. He taught in several conservatories and universities and eventually settled in Los Angeles (he moved to Chicago in 1949 to teach at the Chicago Musical College but returned to the West Coast because of the cold winters – and who would blame him). He taught at Darmstadt in early 1950 (Boulez and Stockhausen were among the attendees), continued composing using the serial technique and experimented with electronic music. His last piece was written when Krenek was 88. He died in Palm Springs on December 22nd of 1991. Here’s Krenek’s Piano Sonata no. 2 op. 59 written in 1928. It’s performed by the Russian pianist Maria Yudina. This 1972 recording is unique, as back then “modernist” music wasn’t approved in the Soviet Union. Yudina plays not only Krenek but also Alban Berg’s First piano sonata, the rarely performed “Things in themselves” by Sergei Prokofiev and four pieces by André Jolivet.
In our library, we have three recordings of Karlheinz Stockhausen. Two of them are rated one note, the lowest rating that could be given. Considering that one piece is played by the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard, we can safely assume that it’s not the performance that our listeners disliked but the pieces themselves. Stockhausen was born on August 22nd of 1928 and is considered one of the seminal composers of the second half of the 20th century. While we acknowledge the disapproval of some listeners, we think that his music is worth the effort, even if in small doses, and will continue bringing him up on occasion.