KORNGOLD PIANO WORKS, VOLUME 1 Alexander Frey Koch International 3-7427-2 HI £££

Erich Wolfgang Korngold is well known as one of the great, if not the greatest, child prodigies in the history of music. Some would say that some of his best inspirations come from his teenage years – especially those who sneer at his later career as composer of Hollywood film scores.

The works on this recording were all composed between the ages of twelve and fourteen. They are: the Six Character Pieces on Don Quixote, the Fairy Tales and Four Waltzes (the last published only in 1997 and given their world premiere by Alexander Frey in 1998).

The music is truly astonishing for one so young – a distinctive musical personality is already very much in evidence, with an abundance of inventive ideas, both melodic and harmonic. One is impressed by the fact that a twelve-year-old has even read Don Quixote, let alone composed music inspired by it! The various episodes, from the braying of Sancho Panza’s donkey and the Don’s reckless adventures to the lyrical portrait of Dulcinea are all effectively characterised. Good tunes and waltz rhythms abound in the Fairy Tales, and, of course, in the Four Waltzes (each named after a young ladyfriend). These pieces are not, it must be admitted, masterpieces worthy of inclusion in the pianistic canon – their strength lies in their invention, rather than their construction – but they should be heard more often.

The performances, however, do little justice to the spontaneity and youthful vigour of the music. Much of the time, Frey seems to hover in the region of mezzo forte, seemingly unwilling (or perhaps unable) to make any contrast of dynamic or tone-colour. The rhythm is often stilted and wooden, and there is little sense of the music actually getting anywhere. I cannot believe that this music is meant to sound so monotonous. These early Korngold works do deserve to be played, but they deserve better treatment than this.

Paul Janes