Harald Genzmer - Trautonium-Konzerte (1986 compi, rec. 1950/1958)

Two concertos by German composer Harald Genzmer (1909-2007) today, mapping the development of the Trautonium.  Like the Ondes Martenot, the Trautonium was an early electronic instrument dating from the late 1920s, capable of eerie, vacuum-tube vibrato and much more: it was invented by Friedrich Trautwein, who was soon joined in the instrument's development by Oskar Sala.  The latter man would become most closely associated with the Trautonium and its developments for the rest of his life, and performed on several recordings including those collected here.

Genzmer's Concerto for Trautonium and Orchestra was completed in 1939 for performance with the slightly more portable Konzerttrautonium, and this recording was made at Radio Bremen in 1950.  What might otherwise be an enjoyable if unremarkable mid-20th century orchestral work is transformed by the leaps and twirls of the lead instrument.  Genzmer doesn't sound like Messiaen per se, but the comparison crossed my mind given the use of an ancient proto-synth; if anything, this sounds more raw and exciting than Messiaen's work with the Ondes Martenot to my ears, but perhaps that's just the limitations of the period recording quality (all the Turangalîla's I've heard have been post-1980).

By 1952, Sala had developed the Mixtur-Trautonim, capable of polyphonic chords - this would be the one that Sala played on the soundtrack for Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds.  Inspired by the advances in the instrument, Genzmer wrote another concerto, and this recording (tracks 4-8) was taped at SD Rundfunk in 1958.  Genzmer's writing for the instrument now took advantage of the frequency inversions that the Mixtur-Trautonium was capable of, resulting in a fuller sound and blend with the orchestra.  More Sala to come in a few weeks.

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