Karg-Elert Piano Sonatas 1 & 3

[Alan Howe]

I recently picked up a second-hand copy of the first and third piano sonatas by Karg-Elert (cpo). No.1 is a hyper-romantic piece dating from 1907. I was expecting something more akin to Scriabin, but the idiom, although 'perfumed' is far less exotic. It must also be exceedingly difficult to play. I haven't yet listened to No.3, but so far the music has exceeded my expectations. (A word of warning, though: this is music for those with a very sweet musical tooth indeed!)

Does anyone else know this music?

[eschiss1]

I've skimmed the score of the 3rd sonata (and should see if I can find it on YouTube, or - something; I gathered I'll like to hear it - this was back in the mid-1980s, before the CD existed, I think, just soon after I'd heard of the work from Newman's "The Sonata Since Beethoven", which has brief score samples.) (Interesting ending it has, too...) Hope you enjoy it! (I remember the one review- Fanfare? Gramophone? being very negative, unfortunately...)
I'd expect more a Reger influence than a Scriabin influence, given that he knew the one and not the other (personally that is - I think...), to the best of my knowledge; but... dunno.

[Alan Howe]

Thanks, Eric. The music's much more sensual (for want of a better term) than anything by Reger, I'd say. It's the music of an aesthete as opposed to an intellectual, if you see what I mean. Some might even describe it as highly sophisticated salon music...

[Amphissa]

Karg-Elert wrote a boatload of music for harmonium, a cruiseliner-load of music for flute, and a cargo ship load of music for organ --- all instruments that I can tolerate only in small doses when engulfed in an ocean of full orchestra.

I have not heard the piano sonatas, but I have heard the Hexameron. I found it surprisingly impressionistic and hefty, but with some sweet light melodic passages integrated. I wasn't really sure whether I liked it or not, and never came back to it.

For those interested to sample his piano music, the first movement of the Hexameron, called Erotikon, is available on YouTube here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkzcYLqa8qI

I'll have to go back to listen through the complete piece again. I'm not especially fond of sticky sweet or trivial melody.

[FBerwald]

Posting here just to ask if Karg-Elert's 2 Piano concerto's have survived and/or are they worthy of revival. He has such few orchestral works in his list and I'm curious.

[eschiss1]

Not aware of this, but perhaps his manuscripts are somewhere... also in the Berlin library catalog I see "Sigfrid Karg-Elert : Verzeichnis sämtlicher Werke" by Sonja Gerlach (Frankfurt: Zimmermann, 1984); this I presume might contain information on his output. (The university library in my city has a copy; I can check to see if they interloan it once/when/if interloaning resumes. It may be a reference work that they never interloan, though. Still, my local library may in that case look for other libraries that do interlibrary loan their copies, once the service resumes. Will see.)

[Gareth Vaughan]

I can confirm that the book Eric quotes is probably the best source of information on Karg-Elert's works. I have not consulted it myself but there are copies in a number of UK libraries - however, none of them is for loan. Neither of the PCs was published, so we would be looking for a manuscript archive. There is also the German Karg-Elert Gesellschaft here: http://www.karg-elert.de/. Their website does not give a list of his extant works, but they may be worth contacting with an enquiry re. the PCs.

[Arno]

I have a copy of the book. The entry of the second piano concerto in D flat major is marked with a '*' which indicates that the location of the source is unknown.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Does it say where the ms of the first piano concerto is?

[Arno]

The entry of the first concerto in D minor is also marked with a '*', so location unknown. It was composed and played as part of the his final exam in 1900. The concerto is Opus 6.

[eschiss1]

Shall I see if I can put in an ill request for the Gerlach by the way? Nothing ventured...

[Gareth Vaughan]

The entry of the first concerto in D minor is also marked with a '*', so location unknown.

I suspect this means LOST. So, unfortunately, it is probable that his two PCs have disappeared. A pity.