Ernst music, Volume 4

[Alan Howe]

Well, I'm listening to the F sharp minor piece now and I'm not really very impressed - for one thing the (clearly very tricky) solo work is exceedingly scratchily played in places and the tuning far from perfect. And I'm afraid that I stick by the word 'vapid' for this stuff - vastly inferior to Vieuxtemps, let alone Wieniawski (although it's earlier, I admit). I ought to like this Ernst VC, but it's all too obvious and trite for me, despite its apparent formal innovations. Apologies to all those who evidently disagree.

[Alan Howe]

Comparing the Toccata and Naxos performances of the F sharp minor VC, I find more light and shade in the orchestral introduction in the latter, as well as better solo work overall from Ilya Grubert - less scratchy in passage-work in particular. Against that, the Toccata is better balanced, with the soloist much less 'up front'. However, overall I'd say Grubert was the superior soloist - by some distance.

But it's not my kind of music at all.