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The lexicographers Gerber and Lipowsky vouched for Ignaz von Beecke's fame as a pianist and composer during his times, but today, we regret to say, hardly anything of his former renown remains. And yet this musician, whose early creations continued to be obliged to the style galant but whose late oeuvre from the 1790s already began to open the door to romanticism, created works of great originality and considerable quality offering opportunities for rewarding new encounters in the concert hall or on sound carriers. Very substantial creations are also found in von Beecke's string quartet oeuvre, and his quartets prove to be eloquent examples of his richly inventive compositional style, which again and again also tended toward unconventional solutions. The most interesting work among the pieces presented here, however, is his Piano Quintet. Although the piano gladly appears as a solo instrument here, the composer is concerned not so much with the display of technical brilliance; the coordinated effort of the entire musical ensemble occupies the foreground.
