VIKTOR ULLMANN (1898-1944): Piano Concerto, Op. 25, Piano Sonata No. 7, Variations and Double Fugue on a Theme by Arnold Schönberg for Piano.

Description: The 1939 concerto really should be better known - this is only apparently its third appearance on CD - because it’s a taut, compact piece which says what it has to say without any discursiveness. The opening movement seems to foreshadow the blitzkrieg about to begin but the slow movement couldn’t be calmer and soothing while the scherzo suggests the rumbustiousness of Prokofiev or Stravinsky and the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it finale is based on a Bulgarian folksong rhythm. Rarely heard is the original piano version of Ullmann's working of Schoenberg'’s dodecaphonic Op. 19/4 piano piece. Moritz Ernst (piano), Dortmund Philharmonic; Gabriel Feltz.