That's right: Schlemihl, the Yiddish name for the poor schnook for whom nothing ever goes right. That's right: Raskolnikoff, the idealistic murderer from Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. Apparently, there was something more to Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek than merely having composed the Overture to Donna Diana, the theme for the radio and television show Sgt. Preston of the Royal Mounted Police.But not much more: in these recordings by Michail Jurowski and the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln of Schlemihl and Raskolnikoff, ...
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That's right: Schlemihl, the Yiddish name for the poor schnook for whom nothing ever goes right. That's right: Raskolnikoff, the idealistic murderer from Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. Apparently, there was something more to Emil Nikolaus von Reznicek than merely having composed the Overture to Donna Diana, the theme for the radio and television show Sgt. Preston of the Royal Mounted Police.But not much more: in these recordings by Michail Jurowski and the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln of Schlemihl and Raskolnikoff, Reznicek comes off as a pompous, pretentious, long-winded loudmouth. The humor in Schlemihl is broad to the point of parody. Indeed, Reznicek's point is parody: Schlemihl is filled with quotations, parodies, and ironies but utterly without wit, cogency, or compassion. Even at the Jurowski and the WDR's glorious noise in the apotheosis of the 45-minute work, Schlemihl still sounds like a schmuck.And Raskolnikoff is worse if only because Reznicek is being serious. Which is to say...
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