Recently Published Chamber Music

You can be forgiven if the name FRANZ WEISS (1778-1830) does not ring a bell, but this certainly was not the case back in the day. He came to Vienna as a violin virtuoso giving concerts. Ignaz Schuppanzigh went to one and immediately engaged Weiss to play viola in his famous string quartet which premiered virtually all of Beethoven's string quartets. Contemporary accounts indicated that Weiss was as good a violinist as Schuppanzigh. But unlike Schuppanzigh, Weiss compossed several string quartets. The first three quartet composed around 1800 show the influence of Haydn and came before his association with Beethoven and membership in the Schuppanzigh String Quartet. Weiss' STRING QUARTET NO.1 IN C MAJOR was aimed at the home music making market and as such can be warmly recommended to amateur ensembles.	After Edvard Grieg, CHRISTIAN SINDING (1856-1941) must be counted as Norway's second most well-known composer. Sinding lived most of his life in German after studying composition at the famous Leipzig Conservatory. He music enjoyed considerable popularity both in Germany and Norway but the fact that a few weeks before his death, while he was suffering from dementia he was enrolled as a member of the Norwegian Nazi Party. He probably did not know what he was doing given the fact that he had opposed the Nazi occupation of Norway and had defended Jewish musician almost up until his death. Nonetheless this led to his music falling into oblivion after WW2. His PIANO TRIO NO.1 IN D MAJOR composed during the last decade of the 19th century was often programed in concert. It is a work full of charm and interesting ideas. It deserves to be revived and heard again in concert halls and it can also be recommended to experience amateur chamber players.
Trained in Italy, HENRIQUE OSWALD (1852-1931, arguably the most important Brazilian composer of the late 19th & early 20th centuries. His reputation and success spanned both Europe and South America. He composed a considerable amount of first rate chamber music such as his PIANO QUARTET NO.2 IN G MAJOR. Upon hearing it at a performance in Paris declaired it a masterwook composed by a formidable artist. It is a big work in five substantial movements which certainly deserves concert performance and which can tackled by technically assured and experienced amateur players.	Often called the "Paganini of the Flute", GIULIO BRICCIALDI (1818-1881) besides being a virtuoso soloist who toured both in Europe and North America, as well as a sought after teacher, was also responsible for pioneering several innovations for the modern flute. Not surprisingly, most of his compositions were for his own insturment, but his WIND QUINTET NO.1 IN D MAJOR is a shining example of how well he could write for all of the instruments in this kind of ensemble. This is a lively work with good part-writing for all and is full of charm and appealing melodies. Audiences which get to hear this work performed in concert are sure to get pleasure from it. But so will amateurs to whom we also recommend it as it does not make any undue demands on the players.
When shown some of the compositions of the young Dutch composer JOHANNES VERHULST (1816-1891) Mendelssohn was so impressed that he immediately offered to take the young man on as a student. Verhulst studied with Mendelssohn for two years and during this time produced two string quartets which he dedicated to Mendelssohn who, because of their higjh quality, was very pleased with the dedication. The first of these quartets was Verhulst's STRING QUARTET NO.1 IN D MINOR. Mendelssohn recognized this was indeed no student work Fine part-writing, original ideas and treatment as well as fetching melodies make this a prime candidate for programing in the concert hall. It is almost like having another Mendelssohn string quartet. On top of this, it can also be warmly recommended to amateur ensembles.	Although his compositions were admired and praised by Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss as well as many other critics, the music of HANS PFITZNER (1869-1949, except for one opera, never achieved the popularity or status he wished for and all but disappeared when Hitler came to power even though he was not Jewish. Pfitzner was an opponent of atonalism and the Second Vienna School and this also placed him as out of touch with his contemporaries. His SEXTET FOR CLARINET, VIOLIN, VIOLA, CELLO & PIANO in no way sounds like the work of an old man in his late 70s who was sick and blind. Genial and upbeat, Pfitzner produced a very appealing chamber music masterpiece just a few years before he passed away. It is a late Romantic era gem which does not sound like it was composed in 1945. This Sextet belongs in the concert hall and with its straight forward thematic material can be recommended to amateurs.
While it is the fate of most to vanish after death without a trace, except perhaps for a gravestone, one would think that it would be less likely for a composer of a charming piano trio to also disappear in this fashion. But this appearently is what has happened to FRIEDRICH WILHELM GRÜNBAUM. Despite long hours of research we could find nothing about him, all the more frustrating as he composed a very charming PIANO TRIO IN B FLAT MAJOR. This is a mid 19th century Romantic era work aimed specifically at amateurs looking for a piece to present in concert.	The German composer JOHANN CHRISTIAN LOBE (1797-1881) though he composed in virtually every genre, works which were well received and achieved critical acclaim on their premiers, were overshadowed by his writings and treatises on music. His Guide to Musical Composition went through several editions and is still in use today, and his teaching at the Leipzig Conservatory and editorship of the AMZ also made his name. His STRING QUINTET IN A MAJOR though is proof that he did compose appealing and well-written works. This Quintet is not at all difficult to play and would make a very good choice for amateur ensembles looing to present a work in concert.
Though not the founder of Lithuanian music, nonetheless JURGIS KARNAVICIUS (1884-1941) was the first Lithuanian composer to write a string quartet. His STRING QUARTET NO.2 IN D MINOR followed four years after his first quartet. Unlike his first quartet which clearly showed the influence of his Russian musical education under Rimsky Korsakov and Glazunov, this quartet finds him combining elements of Impressionism often in a late Romantic era style, creating a very original and interesting effects. One can hear echoes of Lithuanian folk music combined in a very modernistic way. There is good melodic and part-writing throughout, which makes it a good candidate for the concert hall.	When it comes to naming Finnish composers, most music lovers can come up with the name of Sibelius and no one else, and few know of his chamber music. Perhaps one or two cognoscente have heard of Erkki Melartin, whose music is every bit as good as that of Sibelius. But virtually no one has ever heard of ERIK FURUHJELM (1883-1964). A generation younger than Sibelius and Melartin, he studied with the same teachers that they did and was, during his lifetime, an important musical personality at least in Finland, serving as director of the Helsinki Conservatorfy for many years. While not a prolific composer, he did write in most genres including chamber music.His massive PIANO QUINTET IN C MINOR is a towering work in the late Romantic style. This powerful Brahmsian quintet is sure to make a very strong impression on audiences who get a chance to hear this very fine work. Can be managed by amateurs who have a first rate pianist.