Joseph Marx was an excellent pianist: the hugely demanding solo part of his Romantic Piano Concerto, a ‘symphonic duet’ between piano and orchestra, marks him as a true virtuoso who had also absorbed the heady impressionism of Debussy, Scriabin and Delius. While having no connection with film music, Marx left a multitude of intoxicating melodies that eclipsed the wildest of Hollywood’s dreams. His second piano concerto Castelli Romani was inspired by ancient ruins in the wooded hills outside Rome, and is a magical, pyrotechnic display of Mediterranean emotions and masterfully orchestrated atmospheric pictures. Franco-American pianist David Lively’s unique musical personality is drawn from his double culture, passionately attached to his two inheritances. Born in the United States, he went to France in 1969 at the age of 16 to study at the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris. His technical and musical prowess has brought success in a number of international competitions.

Also available: Marx: Orchestral Works, Vol. 2

Joseph Marx was one of the leading figures of Austrian musical culture during his lifetime, but his music was out of step with 20th-century Modernism and most of his music disappeared from concert programmes after his death. The Natur-Trilogie is a richly impressionistic work that brims with lyrical passion, portraying the moods of Marx’s untouched native landscapes while displaying his magical feel for harmony and orchestration. This recording’s original release was the first time the Natur-Trilogie had been heard in its complete and original form, and was considered ‘a major discovery’ by MusicWeb International. This recording was first released in 2003 on the ASV label, and is the first in a four-volume set of Joseph Marx’s orchestral works to be re-released on Naxos. Of the original release, MusicWeb International wrote: “This is unambiguously the work of a nature ecstatic. If you already count Bax’s nature canvasses among your favorite works, then you will be losing out if you do not get this excellent release.”

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REVIEW:

This lush and mostly un-Germanic music first appeared on an ASV CD release back around 2002. This sequence of three meaty, rhapsodic yet interlocked pieces makes up a single triptychal work: the slightly more than hour-long Natur-Trilogie. Marx's impressionistic South German voice soaks into this music the quintessence of lyrical expression.

– MusicWeb International