Strongly informed by the Romantic operatic impulse, Giselher Klebe's music is vividly dramatic and intensely passionate, in both his stage works and his instrumental music. This 2004 release from Marco Polo is the second volume of Klebe's piano music, and prominently features his ominous Poèma drammatico for two pianos and orchestra. The performance by pianists
Silke-Thora Matthies and
Christian Köhn with the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, directed by
Peter Ruzicka, is powerful and menacing. A sense of theatrical violence and high tragedy is conveyed through this double concerto's numerous Verdi quotations -- from Otello, Simone Boccanegra, Macbeth, and other operas -- which are especially effective in the dissonant harmonic context.
Matthies and
Köhn also perform together in the clashing piano duets, Soggetto cavato, Opp. 122 and 129, and divide their labors in the remaining works. Of these pieces, the most striking may be Zornige Lieder ohne Worte, in which
Matthies unleashes a flood of painful emotions, and the Thema und 39 Variationen, a compactly organized set in a deeply introspective reading from
Köhn. The other pieces are more subdued and gentle, no doubt due to Klebe's personal affection for their dedicatees. The recording is clear and naturally resonant.