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Paul Juon
(1872-1940)

Piano Quartet, Op. 50
Piano Quartet "Rhapsodie", Op. 37

Oliver Triendl, piano
Daniel Gaede, violin
Hariolf Schlichtig, viola
Peter Bruns, violoncello
CPO 777278-2

Born in Moscow of Swiss descent, taught by Arensky and S. Taneyev, and called by an unknown critic "the missing link between Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky" (see the International Juon Society website), Paul Juon had a unique voice, a synthesis of many styles and national elements from Schumann to Sibelius. This is emotion-rich Romantic music but it is never saccharine. There is always an edge to even the most dramatic music, especially the most somber Adagio lamentoso of the Op. 50 Piano Quartet. The more popular (and more often recorded) Rhapsodie is lighter and more accessible, and both works are worth repeated hearings.

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[ Parts for the Rhapsodie can be found at Edition Silvertrust ]

Gustav Holst
(1874-1934)
Quintet in A Minor for Piano & Winds, Op. 3
Wind Quintet in A Flat Major, Op. 14

Gordon Jacob
(1895-1984)
Sextet in B Flat Major for Piano & Winds, Op. 6

Anthony Goldstone, piano
Elysian Wind Quintet
Chandos CHAN9077 53:08

Holst wrote in a number of genres, but is too often regarded as a one-hit wonder because of the popularity of The Planets. The two works on this CD are early pieces in which he is still finding his way, but they are interesting in rounding out our perception of a composer better known for his orchestral writing; already there are folksong elements appearing.

Jacob is better known as an arranger of other people's music. This sextet, written many years after the Holst works, sounds a little like Hindemith and the piano writing very much like Prokofiev. A whole CD of Jacob's chamber music on Dutton Epoch CDLX7177 is well worth investigating.

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[ Sheet music by Holst: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com
Sheet music by Jacob: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Heinrich Marschner
(1795-1861)

Piano Trio #2 in G Minor, Op. 111 (1841)
Piano Trio #5 in D Minor, Op. 138 (1848)

Beethoven Trio Ravensburg
CPO 999721-2 70:51

Much better known as a composer of operas, Marschner also left considerable quantities of orchestral and chamber music among which are seven piano trios. The two under consideration are quite extended works which owe more than a little to better-known composers of the period, not least Mendelssohn.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Reynaldo Hahn
(1874-1947)

Sonata in C Major for Violin & Piano (20:12)
Soliloque et Forlane for Viola & Piano (7:42)
Romance in A Major for Violin & Piano (4:27)
Piano Quartet #3 in G Major (21:57)
Si mes vers avaient des alles (1:53)
Nocturne in E Flat Major for Violin & Piano (5:30)

Stephen Coombs, piano
Ccharles Sewart, violin
Yuko Inoue, viola
Philip De Groote, cello
Hyperion CDA67391 62:01

Hahn was a composer, a conductor, a performer, and a respected music critic. He was most popular before World War I (the Belle Époch) but subsequently fell out of fashion. He was often classified as a mere "salon" composer – with much of his music considered lightweight because it is immediately appealing and accessible. Fortunately for us, his music has come back into favor among recording artists.

If this sonata were not as hauntingly melodious and touching, it would simply be a curiosity, a total musical anachronism. Hahn wrote this sonata in 1926, yet in a blindfold test, one might guess it was sibling to the first Fauré (1877) or Franck (1886) violin sonatas. But the Hahn Violin Sonata is one of those rare gems that can always appeal to the musician and the listener. The form is classical, and the last movement of the sonata reprises the beautiful first movement melody, making a satisfactory arch. The second movement moves lickety-split, amusing and witty – only lasting for slightly over three minutes. This movement is very much in the jolly spirit of the third movement of the Op. 13 violin sonata of Fauré.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Édouard Lalo
(1823-1892)

Piano Trio #1 in C minor, Op. 7
Piano Trio #2 in B minor
Piano Trio #3 in A minor, Op. 26

Trio Parnassus
Dabringhaus & Grimm MDG3030482-2 77:59

Lalo performed with a professional string quartet first as a violist, and then as a violinist, so it is no wonder that his chamber music compositions are totally idiomatic for strings. The first two trios were written in the early 1850's and the third was written in 1880. The clear influence of Schumann and Mendelssohn is heard in all three, but the third trio also has the very exciting cross-rhythms reminiscent of Lalo's more famous works for violin and cello. These are very fine performances by the Trio Parnassus (Chia Chou, piano; Wolf-Dieter Streicher, violin; Michael Gross, violoncello)!

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[ Sheet Music for Trio #2 is available at Edition Silvertrust
More sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Paul Le Flem
(1881-1984)

Quintet for Piano & Strings in C minor 36:40
Sonata for Violin & Piano (1905) 28:57

Louvigny String Quartet
Alain Jacquon, piano
Timpani 1C1077

Le Flem's quintet sounds like it is a close relative of Ravel's string quartet or Faure's first piano quartet both in tonality and in emotional evocations. This haunting chamber music deserves a wider audience. The playing by Jacquon and the Louvigny String Quartet (Philip Koch & Fabian Perdichizzi, violins; Ilan Schneider, viola; Aleksandr Kramouchin, cello) is excellent, and the entire CD is an impressionist treat.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus ]

Josef Bohuslav Foerster
(1859-1951)

Piano Trio #1 in F minor, Op. 8 (26:33)
Piano Trio #2 in B Flat Major, Op. 38 (25:30)
Piano Trio #3 in A minor, Op. 105 (24:11)

Foerster Trio
Supraphon SU3603-2

If you are interested in hearing how a Romantic composer develops his "voice" over a period of almost forty years, this is the CD for you. The early trios (1882 & 1894) are very much in the tradition of Antonín Dvořák's chamber music, and the last movement of Op.38 has the emotional tension and lyrical beauty of Dvořák's own Piano Quartet Op. 23, second movement. The first two Foerster trios also make fine use of the folk-like rhythms and melodies that many other Czech composers of the period explored.

But the third piano trio (1919/21) is a subtle leap into the later Romantic period. It is still very melodious, it is still very tonal, and it is still beautiful, but there is an added depth of emotion. This is the finest of the three trios, and it can be all the more appreciated when heard after the other two.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Albert Roussel
(1869-1937)

Complete Chamber Music

Partial list of works:
String Quartet; String Trio Op. 58; Piano Trio Op. 2; Violin Sonatas Opp. 11 & 28; Serenade for Flute, String Trio & Harp Op. 30; Divertissement Op. 6; Trio for Flute, Viola & Cello, etc.

Performers: Jet Roeling, piano; Jean-Jacque Kantorow, violin; Herre-Jan Stegenga, cello; Hans Roerade, oboe; Paul Verhey, flute; Frank van den Brink, clarinet; Herman Jeurissen, horn; Jos de Lang, bassoon; Irene Maessen, soprano; Erika Waardenburg, harp; Jan Goudswaard, guitar; Quirijan van Regteren Altena, double bass; Janneke van der Meer, violin; Wim de Jong, violin; Henk Guittart, viola; Viola de Hoog, cello.

Brilliant Classics 8413 3CDs 67:43, 64:44, 66:31

Roussel's chamber music is filled with delightfully strange and interesting tonality that shifts all over the place but almost always returns "home" for the final chord. Roussel also uses insistent rhythmic accompaniments in many of his works. It's as if there is a motor humming away most of the time, and it gives an active, restless quality to the music.

The second CD contains the Serenade Op. 30 for flute, string trio and harp, and it would serve as an excellent introduction to the chamber music of Roussel. Also not to be missed is the short waltz: Aria #2 for oboe and piano. The third CD contains the charming, immediately accessible Trio for Flute, Viola and Cello. This is a chamber music set to treasure. Brilliant Classics has once again provided us with beautiful performances of fine music at budget prices.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Sergey Bortkiewicz
(1877-1952)

Violin Sonata in G minor, Op. 26 (1924)
Suite for Violin & Piano, Op. 63 (1946)
2 Pieces "Im 3/4 Takt", Op. 48 #2,5 (1935)
Berceuse, Op. 15 #4 (1914)
Rachmaninoff: Morceaux de Salon, Op. 6

Cristian Persinaru, violin
Nils Franke, piano
Warner Apex 2564-61990-2

Bortkiewicz was a pianist-composer in the tradition of Rachmaninoff, his contemporary. But unlike Rachmaninoff, he always seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As a Russian, he was sent from Austria to Ukraine during WW I and he was in Berlin just in time for Hitler.

Bortkiewicz's Sonata for Violin and Piano is a testament to yearning. The melodies are beautiful, the piano accompaniment is restless and passionate, and it is Russian through and through. Even the final movement (marked Allegro) is folk-like and energetic, yet wistful. If you love Rachmaninoff, you will certainly love this work.

The other pieces on this disc are lighter, salon pieces but are also very beautiful, sentimental remnants of a bygone era. The two short Rachmaninoff pieces are the only pieces he scored origianlly for violin and piano.

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[ Sheet music by this composer: Sheet Music Plus - Musicnotes.com ]

Francis Edward Bache
(1833-1858)

Piano Trio, Op. 25
Romance for Cello & Piano, Op. 21
Duo Brillante for Violin & Piano
Six Songs, Op. 16

Yvonne Howard, mezzo-soprano
The English Piano Trio
Dutton CDXL7145 64:29

Bache's melodies have the subtle beauty of a Schubert or Mendelssohn (or like those of his teacher, William Sterndale Bennett) and his piano parts at times flow into the "string of pearls" style of Bellini-inspired Chopin. This can be heard in the Trio during the accompaniments to re-statements of themes in the strings, especially in the second movement. It can also be heard in the first of the songs, and in the Duo. This is one of the most delightful and memorable features of Bache's compositions.

This is another "what-if" composer. He died at the age of 24.

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[ Sheet music for the Piano Trio: Editions Silvertrust ]