Volume 12 No.4

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A listing of recently recorded non standard chamber music on CD by category. String Quartets Luigi BOCCHERINI (1743-1805) Op.32 Nos.1-3, Naxos 8.555042 / John CAGE (1912-92) Four, Montaigne 782139 / Elliot CARTER (1908-) Elegy, Montaigne 782139 / Morton FELDMAN (1926-87) Structures, Montaigne 782139 / Eduard FRANCK (1817-1893 2 Qts. Opp. 54 & 5 5 , Au d i t e 2 0. 0 32 / S ofi a GUBAIDULINA (1931-) No.2, Montaigne 782147 / Charles IVES (1874-1954) Schezo, Montaigne 782139 / Josef HEINZER (1935-) Qt, Swiss Pan 51.700 / Gyorgy KURTAG (1926-) No.1 & 12 Mikroludes, Op.13, Montaigne 782147 / Alvin LUCIER (1931-) Fragments pour cordes, Montaigne 782139 / Witold LU- TOSLAWSKI (1913-93) Qt, Montaigne 782147 / Conlon NANCARROW (1912-) No.1, Montaigne 782139 / Arnold SCHONBERG (1874-1951) Nos.1-4 & Qt in D (1897), Chandos 9935(5) / Bent SØRENSON (1958-) Angels Music, Montaigne 782141 / Sergei TANEIEV (1856- 1915) Nos. 1 & 2, Olympia 697 / Ernst -10- New Recordings TOCH (1887-1964) Nos.11 & 13, CPO 999 687 / William WALTON (1902-83 Qt in a (1922), Black Box 1035 / Julius WEISMANN (1879-1950) Phantastischer Reigen Op.50, Signum X116 / Jay YIM (1958-) Autumn Rhythm, Montaigne 782139 / La Mont YOUNG (1935-) On Remembering a Naiad, Montaigne 782139 Strings Only-Not Quartets Josef HEINZER (1935-) String Trio, Swiss Pan 51.700 / Arnold SCHONBERG (1874-1951) String Trio Op.45, & Verklärte Nacht for Sextet, Chandos 9939(5) Piano Trios Charles CADMAN (1881-1946) Trio in d, Op.56, Naxos 8.559067 / Theodor KIRCHNER (1823-1903) Bunte Blätter Op.83, 6 Stücke Op.56, 2 Terzette, Op.97, Ein Gedenkenblatt Op.15, Serenade, Antes 31.9145 / Charles STANFORD (1852- 1924) No.1 in E, Op.35, ASV DCA 1056 Piano Quartets & Quintets Charles CADMAN (1881-1946) Quintet in g, Op.68, Naxos 8.559067 / Reynaldo It’s Time To Renew (Continued from page 9) slightest bit noticeable by the listener. It has been republished by Rosewood Publication and recorded Arte Nova CD#74321 49689. The Dutch composer Theodor Verhey (1848-1929) wrote a Clarinet Concerto for Richard Mühlfeld in addition to two concertos for flute and one each for violin and ‘cello. For four years Verhey was a pupil of Clara Schumann’s stepbrother Woldemar Bargiel, who also belonged to the circle of composers and performers led by Schumann, Brahms and Joachim. From his style it would appear that he was an admirer of Schumann’s music. Breitkopf & Härtel published the Quintet Op 20 in E flat in 1884 and it has been reproduced and re-issued by McGinnis and Marx. It has been broadcast in the Netherlands, but there has never has been a commercially available recording. It has been criticised for its length, in proportion to its contents, but I would still recommend it. Fritz Volbach (1861-1940) studied in Cologne, Berlin, Heidelberg and Bonn. He was a Handel scholar, choral conductor and author, and was reputed to be able to play every orchestral instrument. His Quintet Op 24 was published in 1902. HAHN (1874-1947) Quintet in f#, Hyperion CDA67258 / Charles STANFORD (1852-1924) Qt No.1 in F, Op.15, ASV DCA 1056 / Louis VIERNE (1870-1937) Quintet in c, Op.47, Hyperion CDA67258 Winds & Strings Joseph KUFFNER (1776-1856) Introduction, Theme & Variations for Clarinet Quintet,Op.32 & Qnt Op.33, Bayer 100 300/31 / Magnus LINDBERG (1958-) Clarinet Quintet, Montaigne 782141 Winds, Strings & Piano Alexander FESCA (1820-49) Septets for Pno, Vln,Vla,Vc,Kb,Ob, & Hn, Op.26 & 28, CPO 999617 Piano & Winds None this Issue Winds Only Franz KROMMER (1759-1831) Partitas, Opp.69, 76 & 79, Naxos 8.854226 / Arnold SCHONBERG (1874-1951) Quintet for Fl, Ob, Cln, Hn & Bsn, Op.26, Chandos 9939(5) If there is a Renewal Form Enclosed with your copy of the Journal, This means it is time to renew your membership Please fill in the Renewal Form & return it to us Promptly Remember we cannot continue to operate without your contributions ions. David Stephen (1869-1946) was born in Dundee. He was an organist, conductor, teacher and, as composer, self-taught. He wrote many part songs and much vocal church music. In his time he was highly regarded in Scottish musical circles. David Stephen’s Quintet in Dm, Opus 3 (1896) was dedicated to “My sincere friend, S. Fraser Harris”. It was awarded a prize by the Glasgow Society of Musicians and published by Breitkopf and Härtel. (Altmann gives Boosey and Hawkes, London, but this is not correct). After a slow introduction, the first movement is repetitious and over long, so its tempo Allegro con spirito should not be allowed to slacken. The remaining three movements are melodious and original. Compusic have produced a modern edition. Fritz Spindler (1817-1905) was a German pianist and an extremely prolific composer, (there are over 400 opus numbers), notably of many facile and brilliant solo works for the piano, including teaching material. Cobbett suggests that his chamber music is better quality than his popular piano pieces. One should not therefore be deterred from trying this Quintet, Opus 360 (Leukhardt 1888), which shows the slight influence of Wagner. © 2001 Michael Bryant & The Cobbett Association
-11- Diskology: A Piano Trio & String Quartet by Guy Ropartz Two Early String Quartets of Ernst Toch (Joseph) Guy Ropartz (1864-1955) though mentioned briefly in an early Newsletter has never appeared in the pages of The Journal until now. This not as it should be for he wrote several fine chamber music works, two of which appear on this Timpani CD#1C1047. As so many other composers, Ropartz was originally trained as a lawyer. Subsequently, he studied composition under Jules Massenet. During his earlier period, he came under the influence of Cesar Franck. The first work is Piano Trio in a minor which dates from 1918. In four movements, this is a big work, with the outer movements being the longest. The attractive opening theme to the Modèrènt animé serves as a Franckian Motif and appears throughtout the work, it begins with a rhythmic “horn call” figure. The mood is romantic but punctuated by “modern effects” that the impressionists had used. It is original sounding, as if Schumann had been “crossed” with Debussy. The second movment, Vif, is muscular and marchlike and has hints of Stravinsky (who was probably absorbing the same influences in Paris at the same time as Ropartz). Next comes Lent, soft, sad, slow, disembodied and meditative. There is a haunting quality to it, perhaps related to the War. The finale, also march-like, begins with a cautious spirit of optimism. The music is a mix of straight melody with occasional impressionist side tours a la Ravel. I found this an entirely convincing and appealing work which surely belongs in the repertoire. It sounds entirely within the range of amateurs. Ropartz wrote six string quartets. String Quartet No.4 in E Major is presented here. Begun in 1933, it was completed in 1934. The influence of Franck if not entirely gone is marginal. There is no cyclical motif. Beginning with a “Mannheim Rocket” arpeggio in E Major, the opening Allegro shows a very French pastoral quality and stands in a direct line backward to the music of Debussy. The thematic material is mostly serene and simple without any unnecessary complexities. The second movement, also Allegro, begins pizzicato and is a tonally interesting a folk dance. Though it starts quietly, it builds quickly to a frenzy which does not last long. The rest of movement is a kind of French sea-shanty. The slow movement, Quasi Lento, is reflective and quiet. One imagines a grassy landscape on a warm and windless summer’s day. The finale, Allegro, is full of rhythmic energy and verve. Ropartz sounds to me like a French Vaughn Williams. The music is infused with folk tunes and a sense of the the pastoral or of the land. The writing is clearly informed and competent but is understated and not at all showy. I think readers will certainly enjoy this CD by an unjustly neglected and very good 20th century French composer. Ernst Toch (1887-1964) is surely another important 20th century composer who has been elbowed aside in the ever-decreasing number of works which seem to be presented to the public on the concert stage. In Toch’s case, this may well be because, first and foremost, he was a composer of chamber music; more specifically, a composer of string quartets. He wrote some thirteen. Without a body of successful ‘public’ works, many composers such as Onslow or Toch get lost in the shuffle. One wonders if either Shostakovich or Bartok would have attained a place on the stage if they had primarily written chamber music. Surely few composer’s have made their way as did Toch. From Vienna, and of lower-middle class Jewish origins, Toch’s family, despite his obvious musical precocity, refused to give him any music lessons and actively discouraged him from studying music as they saw no future in it. Despite this, he somehow intuited musical notation at an early age, perhaps from watching a boarder practice the violin. Then one day, before he was 13, Toch discovered some pocket scores to Mozart’s string quartets in a second hand book store. He purchased them and secretly, in the dead of night, started studying and copying out the scores. After copying three or four, he became aware of each movement’s structure. Without lessons, he groped along, but “Mozart replaced for me every living teacher and he outdid them all.” Although most reference sources usually note that Toch was in the forefront of the Neue Musik movement, he was not so much interested in atonality as in expanding the limits of tonality. The two string quartets presented on this Talent CD#DOM2910 belong to Toch’s earliest surviving works and as such come well before he turned his attention to such things. In the first work on disk, String Quartet No.7, Op.15 in G Major, the idiom is late romantic with a heavy dose of Brahms. An opening Allegro begins genially and in not too swift a fashion. It is Johannes at his most good-natured. Warm, full-blooded and gracious, but not boisterous. The part-writing is good and the themes are very appealing. The following Andantino opens with a theme I found bore some resemblance to something else I knew, but could not identify. Finally, it came to me. (The 2nd movement to Pfitzner’s 1886 Quartet No.1 in d minor—no opus number. It is only the opening phrase) A surprising and captivating minischerzo, the theme of which sounds a bit like the famous opening to Dukas’ Sorcerer’s Apprentice, is encapsulated within the Andantino. A scherzo, Vivace, leicht und luftig zu spielen comes next. It is brisk, gentle and airy. The music is a amalgam of post- Brahmsian humor with an updated bit of French rococo A furious trio is full of Mendelssohnian dramatic effects. This is a very fine movement indeed. The finale, Allegro poco vivace begins with no real theme appearing for several measures. But when it does, it is both lyrical and dramatic. There is some hint of Brahms, mostly in the lovely second theme in the cello. Dating from 1907 and written at a time when Toch was beginning medical school, this music is self-assured. Really quite first rate. It would be a success in concert and would also be enjoyed by amateurs. I hope this recording signifies that someone is planning to bring out the parts
Page 1 and 2: Volume XII No.4 Winter -1- 2001 ISS
Page 3 and 4: At The Doublebar As promised in the
Page 5 and 6: -5- Joseph Rheinberger’s Chamber
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