| Home | Services | Library | Journal | Join | Renewal | Links | Contact |
Soundbites from 2005
Of CDs Reviewed in
We have provided synopsis reviews. Entire reviews can be found in the referenced issue. Soundbites are provided as educational examples of the comments in the reviews . Please note we do not sell CDs and these soundbites are not complete movements but only short clips which are reproduced under the educational and research fair use exception to U.S. Copyright Law—Title 17 Sec. 107. These soundbites can be listened to on line if you have DSL or cable or downloaded if you have dial-up service. The files are in MP3 format.
|
COMPOSER, WORK, CD & ISSUE |
REVIEW SUMMARY |
SOUNDBITES |
|
Enrique Fernandez Arbos (1863-1939) Tres Piezas Originales en estilo espanol Op.1 For Piano Trio CD: Verso 2017 / Reviewed Autumn 2005 |
Long-lined lyrical melodies in the strings are accompanied by perky angular rhythms in the piano. One is reminded a bit of the music in Albeniz’s piano suite, Iberia. This joyful music makes you want to dance. No piano trio group, should be without this music | |
|
Norbert Burgmuller (1810-1836) String Quartet No.2, Op.7 String Quartet No.4, Op.14 CD: MD&G 336 0993 / Reviewed Winter 2005 |
Both quartets show a composer of promise and have good tunes and ideas but are in great part imitative of Ludwig Spohr who was Burgmuller's teacher | |
|
Norbert Burgmuller (1810-1836) String Quartet No.1, Op.4 String Quartet No.3, Op.9 CD: MD&G 336 09943 / Reviewed Winter 2005 |
The same can be said of these quartets as well although Quartet No.1 is perhaps the most original of the group, it is in the style of a quatour brillant. | |
|
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) Quintet for Clarinet & Strings, Op.10 Nonet for Piano, Winds & Strings, Op.2 CD: Centaur 2691 / Reviewed Summer 2005 |
Those who have heard or played the Clarinet Quintet generally acknowledge it is as fine as either the Brahms or the Mozart clarinet quintets. That it has disappeared from the concert stage is unconscionable. In describing the piece, it could be said if Dvorak had written a clarinet quintet, it might not have been far different from this. The themes to the Nonet are spacious and lovely and sound of mid-19th century mainstream German romanticism. Occasionally one hears touches of Tchaikovsky or Elgar. The scoring is marvelous, so assured and deft that on |
|
|
Friedrich Gernsheim (1839-1916) String Quartet No.2, Op.31 CD: Audite 97.503 / Reviewed Autumn 2005 |
Despite the influence of Brahms that one can clearly hear in the first movement but not elsewhere, this is an absolutely first rate work which deserves to be heard in concert | |
|
Herman Goetz (1840-1876) Piano Trio in g, Op.1 CD: Hungaroton 31944 / Reviewed Summer 2005 |
Very mature Op.1. Dramatic, emotional opening movement. Slow reflective adagio then an original sounding scherzo. The finale is lively and effective. | |
|
Franz Grill (1756-1792) Six String Quartets, Op.7, Nos.1-6 CD: Hungaroton 31919 / Reviewed Winter 2005 |
All six works are quartetti concertante, that is, each voice is given solo passages to what is usually a simple accompaniment. Still, these works show the touch of a gifted melodist and also have interesting rhythmic flourishes. | |
|
Stanley Grill (19??-) For Laura for string quartet 6 Contrapuntal Pieces for string quartet CD: Private Label from Mr Grill / Summer 2005 |
Works for string quartet which are quite attractive. They are entirely tonal, original sounding and well-worth investigating. | |
|
Reynaldo Hahn (1875-1947) Piano Quintet in f# (1921) String Quartet No.1 String Quartet No.2 CD Naive Valois 4848 / Reviewed Spring 2005 |
This Quintet is by turns dramatic, pensive, elegant and moody but always beautiful, from time to time there is a whiff of Faure and of the neo-rococo. String Qt No.1 is a very fine work which should be revived. Firmly rooted in traditional tonality it is by turns pensive, lively, charming and neo-classical. String Qt No.2 is stylish, light and mostly neo-classical in mood.The finale shows some tonal harshness juxtaposed with beautiful melodies. Hahn loved Mozart and these quartets seem an attempt to write as a 20th century French Mozart. |
|
|
Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812) Three String Quartets, Op.14, Nos.1-3 CD: Naxos 8.555952 / Reviewed Summer 2005 |
Fine workmanship shows Hoffmeister had assimilated many of the advances Haydn and Mozart made. When (1791) almost everyone else was still producing concertante quartets, his are in the form of Haydn and Mozart’s late quartets. The melodies are fresh and attractive while the part-writing surprisingly good. | |
|
Franz Anton Hoffmeister (1754-1812) Four Quartets for Clarinet & String Trio CD: CPO 999 812 / Reviewed Winter 2005 |
Concertante works for with the clarinet mostly as soloist but with very lovely melodies and accomplished string writing. | |
|
Jacques Ibert (1890-1962) Cinq pieces en trio for Oboe, Clarinet & Bassoon CD: Somm 013 / Spring 2005 |
5 charming but very short movements compose this bright graceful work, written mostly in a neo-classical style |
|
|
Wilfred Josephs (1927-1997) Quintet for Clarinet & String Quartet CD: Metier 92058 / Reviewed Spring 2005 |
Modern, yet full tonal, one can hear strains of Reger & Paul Dukas. Very original in conception, this is an unqualified masterpiece that should be heard in concert. | |
|
Sigfrid Karg-Elert (1877-1933) Trio for Oboe, Clarinet & English Horn, Op.49 No.1 Wind Quintet, Op.30 CD: Hungaroton 32166 / Reviewed Autumn 3005 |
The Trio shows the influence of the French impressionists, Debussy in particular but also has episodes in the neo-baroque. A short work, of no great emotional depth, yet a charming gem In the Quintet we hear music reminiscent of Richard Strauss' Til Eulenspiegel but but the writing is also in a French neo-classical vein. Another very fine work |
|
|
Theodor Kirchner (1823-1903) 12 Novelletten for Piano Trio Op.59 CD: Aura 416-2 / Reviewed Winter 2005 |
Short, evocative pieces conveying several moods and ideas. Masterful, deserves to be heard in concert. | |
|
Franz Lachner (1803-1890) String Quartet No.2 in A, Op.76 String Quartet No.4 in d, Op.120 CD: Amati 0003/1 / Reviewed Winter 2005 |
Quartet No.2 is still within the aura of the Vienna Classics, Schubertesque with an exciting scherzo and finale of the sort Schubert might have used. Quartet No.4 is clearly in the romantic camp Again there is an outstanding scherzo. Two appealing works | |
|
Albert Magnard (1865-1914) String Quartet in e, Op.16 CD: Accord 448 769 / Reviewed Winter 2005 |
A powerful and passionate first movement followed by an extraordinary scherzo-like serendade. The slow movement has Brucknerian overtones followed by an ebullient finale of folk dances, waltzes and fugues. A tour d'force. | |
|
Giuseppe Martucci (1856-1909) Quintet for Piano & Strings, Op.45 CD: Aura 416-2 / Reviewed Summer 2005 |
The part writing is magnificent but one must admit that one would never guess this was music by an Italian composer. This is an absolutely first rate work from start to finish. It goes without saying that it belongs on the stage and in concert halls. | |
|
Joseph Marx (1882-1964) 3 String Quartets: (1) Quartetto Chromatico (2) Quartetto in modo Antico (3) Quartetto in Modo Classico CD: ASV 1073 / Reviewed Winter 2005 |
The highly chromatic 1st Qt has at times the tonality of Schonberg's Verklarte Nacht. The 2nd Quartet updates the tonalities found in Palestrina and his contemporaries & uses the Phrigian mode. The 3rd is neo-classical and written as if Mozart & Haydn had been composing in the 20th century | |
|
Darius Milhaud (1892-1974) Pastorale Op.147 for Oboe, Clarinet & Bassoon Suite d'apres Corrette Op.161 CD: Somm 013 / Reviewed Spring 2005 |
The Pastorale is stylistically similar to Ibert’s Cinq Pieces but gentler. The Suite consists of eight engaging short movements in a neo-baroque style, modern yet still traditional |
|
|
Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) Piano Quartet No.1 Op.34 Piano Quartet No.2, Op.272 Piano Quintet in A, Op.83 CD: CPO 999 618-2 / Reviewed Spring 2005 |
First rate all the way through, Piano Quartet No.1 shows influence of Schumann & Mendelssohn yet is quite original. By turns exhilarating and soulful. Perhaps the best piano quartet written before Brahms. Post Schmannesque Piano Quartet No.2 subtitled "In an easy style" was written for advanced students or amateurs but this is still very fine music and while not requiring a virtuoso technique it is not all that easy either. The Piano Quintet dating from 1866 sounds like what Schumann might have written had he lived longer. A very satisfying work deserving of a place in the repertoire. | |
|
Miklos Rosza (1907-1995) String Quartet No.1, Op.22 String Quartet No.2 Op.38 CD: ASV DCA 1185 |
The tonal language of Quartet No.1 is that of Bartok and late Kodaly. There are also vague elements of blues-like dissonance mixed with a passionate but very chromatically wayward theme. Rosza rejected serialism for a very modern sounding tonality, sometimes expressed in polytonality. Quartet No.2 is harsh, pounding and restless, it is nonetheless still tonal but, of course, not in the traditional sense. | |
|
Edmund Rubbra (1901-1986) String Quartet No.2, Op73 Lyric Movement for Piano Quintet, Op.24 String Quartet No.4 Op.150 CD: Dutton 7114 / Reviewed Winter 2005 |
Quartet No.2 though modern is tonal interesting with original ideas and appealing. The Lyric Movemetn shows the influence of English folkmusic. Quartet No.4 in one movement has several sections. Discordant tonalities challenge the listener. | |
|
Arthur Sullivan (1842-1900) String Quartet in One Movement Romance for String Quartet CD: Somm 233 / Reviewed Summer 2005 |
The one movement Quartet shows the influence of Mendelssohn without being a mere imitation. It is a fluent, accomplished work. The Romance is similar in mood and style to a Mendelssohnian intermezzo. | |
|
Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915) Piano Trio in D, Op.22 CD: Centaur 2571 / Reviewed Summer 2005 |
A massive and long, perhaps overly long, work. The thematic material, though not threadbare, does not justify the extensive and excessive treatment it receives at the composer’s hands | |
|
Henri Tomasi (1901-1971) Concert Champetre for Oboe, Clarinet & Bassoon CD: Somm 013 / Reviewed Spring 2005 |
Again similar to Ibert in style. 5 tiny movements in a neo baroque but sometimes neo-renaissance style, i.e earlier yet. |
|
|
Heitor Villa Lobos (1887-1959) Trio (1921) for Oboe, Clarinet & Bassoon CD: Somm 013 / Reviewed Spring 2005 |
Though tonal and polytonal, this trio is quite hard to catagorize. It is a strange mix of French modernism and African rhythms | |
|
Anton Webern (1883-1945) Langsamer Satz for String Quartet & Rondo for String Quartet CD has complete chamber music but only these works are reviewed along with String Trio Op.20 CD: Nimbus 5668 / Reviewed Spring 2005 |
Attractive Langsamer Satz has late romantic tonality, shows the influence of Richard Strauss, Hugo Wolf & pre-atonal Schonberg. The Rondo makes prominent use of unusual effects such as ponticello, pizzicato, harmonics and tremolos to create tone color. Such works as Hugo Wolf’s Intermezzo for string quartet and the string sextet of Schonberg's Varklarte Nacht come to mind. The String Trio is an example of his 12 tone technique |
|
|
Anton Zimmerman (1741-1781) Three String Quartets, Nos.1-3 Op.3 No.1-3 CD: Naxos 8.553942 / Reviewed Spring 2005 |
Said to be inspired by Haydn's Op.1, they are nowhere near as good as Haydn’s Op.1 and that says it all. |