Robert Furstenthal Chamber Music Volume 3 maintains quality

This latest installment of Furstenthal's music features four instrumental sonatas and a string quartet. Like the preceding volumes, the music here is of very fine quality, and timeless.

Furstenthal's promising musical career was derailed when Austria was invaded in 1838. The young composer fled to the United States -- and never wrote another note. 

Not until 1973, that is, when Furstenthal reconnected with his first love. Thanks to her encouragement, he began writing again and continued composing for the rest of his life (Furstenthal died in 2016, aged 96.) 

Furstenthal said that "when I compose, I am back in Vienna." That sense of nostalgia is strong in many of his works. Furstenthal's style is that of the late-Romantic. Some of these sonatas reminded me of Robert Fuch's music.

Furstenthal's instrumental sonatas have a deceptively simple charm about them. The technical challenges for the instrumentalists seem modest. But the works demand a high degree of musicianship to fully realize their expressiveness.

The members of the Rossetti Ensemble deliver, as they have on the previous volumes. The performances sound both sympathetic and invested. 

Furstenthal was a composer with something to say. Though it was long delayed, I'm glad Toccata Classics gave him the opportunity to be heard. 

Robert Furstenthal: Chamber Music, Volume Three
Rossetti Ensemble
Toccata Classics, TOCC 0577

Stanford String Quintets -- Well Worth the Wait

This is a release I've been waiting for. The Dante Quartet's traversal of Stanford's string quartets was first-rate. I expected their recording of his quintets to be on the same level. 

It is. 

For the string quintets, members of the Dante and Endellion Quartets joined forces. Both of these UK-based ensembles thoroughly understand Stanford's music. And I could hear the results.

Stanford wrote the quintets for violinist Joseph Joachim, who also had a close relationship with Brahms. I've often characterized Stanford as Brahms with an Irish lilt, and that holds true here.

The overall structure of the quintets follows Brahms' model. These are large, carefully constructed works, with motifs clearly delineated and expertly developed. 

The album also includes Stanford's Three Intermiezzi from 1880. Originally written for clarinet and piano, the cello and piano version recorded here works quite well. Cellist Richard Jenkinson makes the most of Stanford's emotive melodies without lapsing into sentimentality. 

Another fine release. No how about Stanford's piano quartets?\

Charles Villiers Stanford: String Quintets and Intermezzi
Members of the Dante and Endellion Quartets; Benjamin Frith, piano
Somm Recordings

Myslivecek Oboe Quintets anticipate Mozart

Many musicologists credit Josef Myslivecek with providing the compositional models Mozart was to follow. The Czech composer was a friend of Leopold Mozart and close to the family until they fell out in 1778.

The chamber works in this release certainly bear a strong resemblance to Mozart's early work. And they're just as enjoyable.

For a long time, Myslivecek's oboe quartets were considered lost. Thanks to the efforts of oboist Michaela Hrabánková and violinist Václav Dvorák, the music for three of Mislivecek's six quintets have been recovered.

And they receive their world premiere recording with this release. The quintets are elegantly constructed, with beautifully symmetrical phrases. 

Michaela Hrabánková plays with a lyrical delicacy that gives this music a certain refinement. 

Equally appealing are the three string quartets performed by the Doležal Quartet. The ensemble has natural chemistry to it. The quartet sound (as they should), like a conversation between four good friends. 

For anyone who enjoys the chamber music of Mozart and Haydn, give this disc a listen. Myslivecek is an early Classical composer worth exploring. 

Myslivecek: Oboe Quintets, String Quartets
Doležal Quartet, Michaela Hrabánková, oboe
Supraphon SU 4289-2

Jan Ladislav Dussek Sonatinas present challenges

The liner notes for this release carefully points out that Dussek "wrote extensively for the Middle Class." In this case, 12 Progressive Lessons and Six Sonatinas, Op. 20 -- both written for amateur musicians.

And while they're not masterworks, they're certainly well-crafted. And I found myself enjoying them in different ways. 

The 12 Progressive Studies are more than just a series of lessons. They also introduce "several characteristics airs of different nations." Listening to the studies as a group, the music seemed to have a narrative arc as it moved from simple to complex.

The Six Sonatinas are simply a collection of stand-alone works. And while they may be simple in structure, some of the passages sounded quite challenging.

Ursula Dütschler plays with a sure touch. The last of the progressive lessons move from amateur to professional level, and Dütschler rises to the challenge.

I wasn't especially enamored with the sound of the fortepiano, though. It's a reproduction of an 1800 Schanz, and the action seems a little sluggish. Dütschler seems to take that in stride, too. Still, I'd like to hear her performing on a more responsive instrument.

On the whole, a solid addition to Brilliant Classic's Dussek series.

Jan Ladislav Dussek: Complete Piano Sonatas Volume 8: Sonatinas 
Ursula Dütschler, fortepiano
 Brilliant Classics 95982

William Alwyn quartets show early influences

British composer William Alwyn was just in his twenties when he wrote the quartets on this release. And he was just getting warmed up. Still ahead were over 70 film scores, ten more string quartet quartets, plus symphonies, operas, concertos, and more.

The quartets here reflect the influence of Alwyn's studies with John Blackwood McEwen. McEwen's generation blended Brahms' Romantic classicism with British folk harmonies and melodic gestures (or in McEwen's case, Scottish). 

Alwyn is no Ralph Vaughan Williams, though. His harmonies aren't so clearly modal, nor do his melodies sound overtly British. 

Rather, these quartets seem to use McEwen's style as a foundation to build on, burying it deep under Alwyn's own music.

The release also includes Seven Irish Tunes for String Quartet. Here McEwen's influence is clearer. Alwyn's settings also presage his work in films. These pieces are very atmospheric.

In this phase of his career, Alwyn's string quartet writing is somewhat austere, with harmonies often obliquely outlined rather than filled out with four-part harmonies.

The Villiers Quartet, as recorded here, has a clean, natural ensemble sound. There's a slight edge to the violins, but I think that just gives these works a little extra energy.

William Alwyn: Early String Quartets
String Quartet Nos. 6-9
Villiers Quartet
Lyrita SRCD 386

Emil Hartmann Chamber Music - Worth Exploring

In the liner notes violinist, Elisabeth Zeuthen Schneider writes that Emil Hartmann was influenced by Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. 

"With Hartmann, this influence is enhanced by his simplicity and sincerity." As I listened to this collection of Hartmann chamber works, I had to agree. 

The melodies were similar to Mendelssohn's, especially in their general shape and clarity of line. But the harmonic textures were thicker, more like Schumann's. 

The centerpiece of the album is the Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 5. Hartmann completed this work when he was 29, and the seems balanced between youthful energy and mature introspection. 

The music is full of big gestures, giving the work an expansive quality. Hartmann takes all the time he needs to work with his material and work with it he does. There's a lot going on, but Hartmann writes with such clarity that the listener is never lost. 

Also included are two string quartets. These were written in the 1870s-80s, and are decidedly mature works. The works are quite lyrical. But Hartmann seems more deliberate in the development of his themes. The music seems more carefully -- and skillfully -- constructed than the piano trio. 

The performances are outstanding. Ms. Schneider and her colleagues are clearly invested in Hartmann's works. That passion is evident in these recordings. This is music -- and a composer -- worth exploring.

Emil Hartmann: Chamber Music
Elisabeth Zeuthen Schneider, Nicolas Dupont, violin;
Tony Nys, viola; Justus Grimm, cello; Daniel Blumenthal, piano
Dacapo