Spirited conversation partner

A few years ago, I visited the composer Victor Fenigstein, a native of Zurich born in 1924, in his house in Moutfort near Luxembourg - the reader may forgive me this personal reminiscence. At the time, I was looking for former pupils of Emil Frey, the wonderful pianist, composer and teacher who is unfortunately almost forgotten in Switzerland today. I came across Victor Fenigstein, who not only had a lot to tell me about Frey's teaching activities, but also about his great human side.

The welcome from Fenigstein and his wife Marianne was extremely warm. The fact that the man had suffered from MS for many years could not be overlooked from his impaired movements. At the same time, however, he was an extremely alert, not to say spirited and very open conversationalist.

This openness can also be felt in "Lebensprotokoll", the first part of a book that Fritz Hennenberg dedicates entirely to the Luxembourger-by-choice. The personal memories are arranged relatively freely, like a collage, and perhaps that is precisely why they are so genuine.

The book also contains an extensive catalog of works as well as in-depth analyses of the most important compositions. Fenigstein was often inspired by socially critical texts to compose musical comedies, ballads and songs, but at the same time he always considered the piano. After all, he was a concert pianist before his illness.

Some of these works have just been republished by Simrock, including cadenzas for Mozart's piano concertos. Some of them are quite extensive and show a fresh and very individual approach to Viennese classical music: for all its stylistic closeness, this music repeatedly breaks out into unexpected surprises.

Fritz Hennenberg, Victor Fenigstein. Biography, work commentaries, catalogs, 292 p., € 28.00, Pfau-Verlag, Saarbrücken 2013, ISBN 978-3-89727-475-4

Victor Fenigstein, Cadenzas for the Piano Concertos K. 482, 491, 466, 467 and 537 by W. A. Mozart, EE 5394,
€ 17.99, Simrock, Berlin (Schott) 2013