Andrew Clements 

Schmidt: Works for Piano Left-Hand and Orchestra review – ‘Dark, dogged romanticism’

Three of the pieces Schmidt wrote for the disabled pianist Wittgenstein are presented here in serviceable rather than exceptional renditions, writes Andrew Clements
  
  


After losing his right arm in the first world war, the Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein (elder brother of the philosopher) continued his career with one hand, commissioning a wide range of composers to write pieces and make arrangements for him. Easily the best known of those works is Ravel's D major Concerto, but Prokofiev, Hindemith, Britten and Richard Strauss also composed works for left hand alone, even though Wittgenstein's musical tastes were distinctly conservative and he didn't perform all of the pieces he commissioned. Franz Schmidt clearly did meet with his approval: in the late 20s and early 30s, Schmidt produced no less than six pieces for Wittgenstein – chamber music as well as well as works with orchestra. Three are included on these discs: the Concerto in E flat, the Concertante Variations on a Theme by Beethoven and the G major Quintet for piano left-hand and strings; the set also includes Schmidt's orchestral transcription of his own organ Chaconne. All are substantial works – the concerto lasts 45 minutes, the quintet nearly 40 – couched in the rather dark, dogged late romanticism of better-known pieces such as the Fourth Symphony and The Book of the Seven Seals. The performances are serviceable rather than exceptional; it's really only a set for Schmidt enthusiasts.

 

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