Search - Ernst Pepping, Werner Andreas Albert, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie :: Pepping: Complete Symphonies 1-3; Piano Concerto

A gifted and sympathetic composer but victim of the 20th Ce

Frank T. Manheim | Fairfax VA | 01/15/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I agree with Morrison'interesting review, that describes Pepping's music as having much in common with Mahler. Certainly this applies to Die Tageszeiten, with its kaleidoscopically metamorphosing romantic moods and orchestral colors. For more knowledgeable musicians, in tune with 20th Century music, this skilfully constructed music may offer stimulating extensions of Mahler as he may have sounded had he lived longer.



If I subject the symphonies to the "general music lover" test, I end up with the conclusion that Pepping's music suffers from the "futurist" constraint that blocks nearly all "serious music" composition in the 20th Century from a larger musical audience.



Yes, much of Pepping's composition has a luscious, intimate, late 19th Century romantic quality about it. I wouldn't class Pepping with neoromantic composers like Howard Hanson or Samuel Barber. But his music endlessly prepares the listener for satisfying melodic and harmonic resolutions that never come. The musical phrase is nearly there when it diverges off into a new phrase or mood. The promise it perpetually offers is never delivered to music lovers who are nonprofessionals and don't belong to the small circle of cognoscenti that occupy an elite status in today's society.



[...].



Whereas this kind of composition would seem to have nothing in common with musical styles like serial composition (Schoenberg), aleatoric or mathematically derived compositions (Cage), or aggressive use of dissonance that avoids tonal centers, in fact, it shares the most important characteristic for 20th Century composition accepted by the professional musical establishment: that it not generate active interest and engagement on the part of general musical audiences. This stigma on audience-oriented communication by music was expressed clearly by

Arnold Schoenberg in 1918: "...insofar as [the listener]...isn't indispensable for acoustic reasons (since music doesn't sound well in an empty hall), he's only a nuisance" [cited by Joseph Horowitz, in "Classical Music in America", 2005]. For a fine overview of this issue see "the Agony of Modern Music", by Henry Pleasants (first published 1955)."

Gemütlich Late Romantic Symphonies and Piano Concerto

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 06/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If it weren't a really bad pun, I'd say that the music of Pepping is peppy. Oops, I guess I just did say it. And it's mostly true, although a better adjective would be 'sunny.' There's something strangely endearing about the music of Ernst Pepping (1901-1981): although he was much younger than Mahler, and never knew him or studied with him, his music uses many of Mahler's gestures, at least in many passages, but it doesn't have the neurotic intensity of Mahler's in spite of the similar hyperchromaticism and dense polyphony. I find that refreshing. Make no mistake, I don't think his music has the greatness of Mahler's but it is neatly made, always interesting and displays mastery of melody, rhythm, harmony and counterpoint. There is, I suppose, a somewhat didactic quality to the music -- witness the classic forms, the use of fugal passages and the like -- but underneath one always detects a heart. Other influences: Nielsen's intentional gaucherie (those wide-interval slow tremolos, for instance), Bruckner's brass chorales.



To the degree that Pepping is known to the larger world, it is as a composer of sacred music -- although I have to confess I don't know any of it. Indeed this is the first music of Pepping's that I've ever heard. He was somewhat avant garde early on, and concentrated on sacred music afterwards, but for a period during and after the Second World War he concentrated on orchestral music. The three symphonies were written in a period of five years (1939, 1942, 1944) and are of a piece. The writer of the booklet notes attempts to make distinctions between the symphonies, but to my ears they are quite similar, not to mention consistently charming, heart-warming and utterly enjoyable. The First is probably the best-humored of the three, and the Second has more minor key passages with some tragic overtones, but frankly this is always leavened by perky, even nonchalant passages that chase away any melancholy or somber mood. The Third is subtitled 'Die Tageszeiten' ('The Times of Day') and its four movements are entitled 'Morning', 'Day', 'Evening' and 'Night.' These are not really narrative pieces, although there is some 'dawn-chorus' in the first movement, but rather a painting of a general mood. The booklet writer points out that Pepping used the main 'Morning' theme in inversion for 'Night.' Clever and well-done, but not particularly noticeable, at least at first hearing. The second movement is a broadly constructed and hugely satisfying passacaglia.



The Piano Concerto, written in 1950, is quite another thing entirely. In the usual three movements, it is much more interesting rhythmically, even using lots of jazz rhythms and occasional blue harmonies. There is notable lyrical writing for the solo trumpet (shades of Gershwin's concerto!) in the second movement. The finale certainly deserves the description 'peppy' and it is exhilarating, reminiscent of the French insouciance of Les Six. It is a display piece for the pianist, in the Romantic tradition but with modestly modern touches, and the performance by pianist Volker Banfield is all one could ask.



With the minor exception, in the second symphony, of some awkward ensemble, the Northwest German Radio Symphony, under Werner Andreas Albert, play with conviction and suavity. Andreas and cpo have brought us some extraordinary recordings in the last few years -- music of Benjamin Frankel and Hans Pfitzner come to mind -- and he and cpo are to be lauded for this.



I had never heard a note of Pepping's music before, but this two-CD set made me hungry for more of his orchestral or instrumental music.



Scott Morrison"