Ernst von Dohananyi was a man who spent his war years in Fascist Hungary, lost both sons in that same war (II), had many students of illustrious note (Georg Solti among them), moved finally to Florida where he taught and was beloved of the community of Florida State University, performed there last, wrote his last piece there, and died in New York City of pneumonia in 1960 while on a recording trip. He is not a nationalist, unlike his famous compatriots Bartok and Kodaly; but his music reeks of romantic affection, and it must be Brahms to whom we turn in order to get a real sense of the composer’s roots.
It is a fine thing to have his two Violin Concertos on this one disc, played as well as they are by Michael Ludwig, and accompanied to excellent effect by one of my favorite conductors, JoAnn Falletta. Only a Hungaroton reading by Vilmos Szabady offers a current match of this disc (the first concerto being often neglected), and there are only about five altogether. I find it convenient to have both on one disc, and at this price and performance level there is not much you can say against it. The first concerto is much more heart on sleeve and romantic, very attractive, yet one can see why it fades a little in the presence of his second, done 35 years later, and among the composer’s mature masterworks. This work is richly rewarding in anyone’s book, teasingly romantic yet still with a foot in the modern world, and much more creatively structured that the first. Nevertheless, I do not want to short-shrift the first, for it is immensely enjoyable.
Dohnanyi has much to offer that is not accepted for the most part, and this release gives us a chance to painlessly sample the talents of a fine composer, and in the end, native son.
— Steven Ritter
