Josef Labor (1842-1924)
Konzertstück I (1915)
Konzertstück II (1917)
Konzertstück III (1923)
Oliver Triendl (piano), Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rehiland-Pfalz / Eugene Tzigane
rec. 2023, Ludwigshafen Philharmonie, Ludwigshafen, Germany
Capriccio C5521 [68]
In 1913 pianist Paul Wittgenstein gave his debut as a concert pianist to favourable reviews. Less than a year later, on the outbreak of World War I the budding virtuoso was called up to serve in the army. At the battle of Galicia, early in the War, not only was Wittgenstein shot in his right elbow, he was captured by the Russians and sent to a prisoner of war camp in Siberia. While there, his right arm had to be amputated. A career barely begun seemed to be in ruins but it is a considerable comment on Wittgenstein’s resolve and personality that he decided to forge a career as a one-armed pianist. To do this required the creation of a repertoire – arrangements or new works – for one hand. The result of this is now well-known with the 20th Century piano repertoire benefitting greatly from Wittgenstein’s determination. The roster of famous composers who wrote works either on commission or motivated by him is remarkable; Benjamin Britten, Paul Hindemith, Alexandre Tansman, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Sergei Prokofiev, Karl Weigl, Franz Schmidt, Sergei Bortkiewicz, Richard Strauss, Maurice Ravel are only the best-known composers/major works. Indeed all of the music produced by those composers has been recorded previously – in some cases multiple times. What is less well known is that the first composer to respond to Wittgenstein’s request – when he was still interned – was Josef Labor who was clearly inspired and animated by the challenge. Apparently Labor immediately started composing with the work completed in 1915 by which time Wittgenstein had returned to Vienna as part of a prisoner exchange scheme. The premiere on December 13th 1916 was hailed a triumph for all parties; “the most splendid reward for this magnificent composition…. [Wittgenstein’s] phenomenal success”. This reception not only encouraged Wittgenstein to pursue his plan for a solo career but also prompted Labor to write more works for him. Ultimately, he wrote some eleven works for piano left hand which are listed – along with all the other works associated with the pianist – here.
The story of Paul Wittgenstein is not one solely of triumph in adversity. His family wealth enabled him to commission composers but his relationship with many of them – and the music they wrote – was often uneasy and fractious. To quote from a review I wrote some years ago regarding one such commission; [Wittgenstein] wrote to Prokofiev regarding his 4th Concerto; “Thankyou for the concerto but I do not understand a single note in it, and I will not play it” Prokofiev countered “I don’t see any special talent in his left hand” even cynically wondering if his injury might be construed as “a stroke of good luck” since as a two-handed performer “he would not have stood out from a crowd of mediocre pianists”. Clauses were inserted into the commissioning contract which gave Wittgenstein sole performing rights over the works in his lifetime – so that as in the case of Hindemith’s Klaviermusik (Concerto for Piano and Orchestra), Op. 29 (1924) not only did he never play it because he did not understand the idiom, he put it in a drawer where it stayed “lost” until 2002(!). This sense of “ownership” whilst understandable in a purely business/transactional sense does not reflect well on Wittgenstein’s enduring artistic legacy.
All of which brings us to Josef Labor whose compositions clearly did chime with the musically conservative pianist. I had not heard any of his music until this disc arrived. But it appears to be Capriccio’s fifth release with at least three of the earlier releases also featuring the playing of pianist Oliver Triendl. Before considering the actual music, important to say that the playing, production engineering and general musicianship displayed on this disc is absolutely top notch. Triendl’s discography is very big and crammed with recordings of utterly unfamiliar repertoire. The fact that he can produce such completely convincing and impressive performances of demanding but unknown music leaves the curious collector forever in his debt. Likewise the playing of the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rehiland-Pfalz under conductor Eugene Tzigane is alert, engaged and wholly within the idiom. I cannot imagine a better presentation of these three substantial scores – all receiving world premiere recordings.
There is however, a big “but” lumbering into view. I am not concerned if a composition chooses not to engage with the latest techniques and musical fads of the era in which it was written. However, I am not sure I have ever encountered three serious and substantial scores which quite so resolutely ignore any possible musical influence of the preceding forty or more years. Labor’s three Konzertstück seem happy to occupy the musical landscape of a Schumann or Raff but without the genius of the former or the melodic gift of the latter. There is a strange sense of music hermetically sealed in a time capsule turning away from any possible development in recent years. Labor was blinded by smallpox aged just three. Given that enormous hurdle to overcome the craft and fluency of his writing is all the more admirable but the stubborn lack of originality tempers such observations. Of course this stubborn conservatism is probably exactly what appealed to Wittgenstein. Another frustration is the lack of musical progression across the three works. Although it is clear that once Labor understood exactly what Wittgenstein could achieve on the keyboard he expanded the scale and demands of the solo writing but musically little if nothing had changed for Labor between the first work of 1915 and his final valedictory third in 1923 – his final completed work before his death in 1924.
Important to acknowledge that Labor was a revered teacher and much admired musician in Vienna. Wittgenstein’s brother the philosopher and writer Ludwig Wittgenstein, praised Josef Labor as one of “the six truly great composers” along with Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, and Brahms. That last comment is startling if not simply misguided but clearly although music history has not been overly generous to Labor, Capriccio and Triendl believe his work worthy of resurrection and they know much more about his oeuvre than I. A good example of Labor’s compositional intelligence is the Konzertstück I. Given that he was unclear just what Wittgenstein could achieve and what his performing stamina would be this work was crafted as an introduction, five variations plus an intermezzo, a cadenza and concluding coda. Likewise the total playing time of just over twenty minutes was designed not to overly tax the pianist. There is a curious emotional restraint and musical politeness in the composition that is attractive but in an ultimately unengaging way. Not every piece can or should reflect the zeitgeist of its time but it does feel oddly detached that this work written at this time for a player specifically impacted by the world in which it was created can so blithely ignore that world. The emotional landscape of the work is again moderate and carefully managed. I cannot fault the considerable skill and adeptly handled craft on display but I find myself completely indifferent to it. And that is despite that high quality of the playing and recording.
The other two Konzertstück plough similar furrows although both revert to a more standard three movement form. In both cases a shorter slow introductory movement and faster finale frame a substantial Allegro. Playing times are around 26’ for Konzertstück II and just over 20’ for Konzertstück III. The main change across the three works is – as mentioned – the greater demands made of the pianist and certainly credit has to go to Labor for writing a solo part that so cleverly creates the aural illusion of more than one hand. Likewise Triendl plays with a wonderful evenness of touch and carefully controlled dynamic range as well as an innate sense of musical line and phrase. But the material he is working with remains stubbornly limited. Labor was a respected teacher and he mixed with the artistic great and good of Vienna. Hard not think that he must have felt very out of step with not just the latest trends but even those dating backing two decades and beyond. By that measure perhaps his closeness to Wittgenstein and the body of work he wrote for him represents his most significant group of compositions as well as most closely reflecting his artistic creed. That being the case, in Tzigane and Triendl he has found the best possible advocates. For collectors intrigued by the lost byways of the piano concerto repertoire this will be of interest and value – certainly given the calibre of the performances and recording. For me it remains a curious example of a composer ideologically trapped by an age before his own.
Nick Barnard
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