Franz Ensemble - Chamber Music - SUPER-AUDIO CD [Super Audio CD (SACD)]

Ferdinand Ries must have made a strong impression as a pianist. Beethoven, a gifted pianist in his own right, even entrusted the premiere of his Piano Concerto No. 3 to Ries. The two had known each other since their days together in Bonn, when Ries's parents took the half-orphan Ludwig into their family. Ries was Beethoven's right-hand man in Vienna, and what he learned from his great model, who was fourteen years his senior, is impressively demonstrated by the Franz Ensemble on it's debut album brilliant virtuosity meets Classical form, and tradition appears in new guise - for a very special anticipation of the 250th anniversary of Beethoven's birth! Ries delights in experimentation in his Sextet and surprises us with his original instrumental combinations. The solo piano is joined by the harp, which also has to rise to the highest challenges, while the clarinet, horn, and bassoon form an accompaniment of orchestral character over the double bass foundation. The pianist also has the opportunity to shine as a soloist in the Octet- which amounts to a piano concerto en miniature. It recalls Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5. Unknown music in unusual combinations- that is the specialty of the Franz Ensemble. The young musicians around the clarinetist Maximilian Krome are not afraid to test new material.

Ewald Straesser (or Sträßer) was highly respected during his lifetime, and the list of his interpreters reads like a InchWho's WhoInch of music Furtwängler, Abendroth, Mengelberg, Nikisch and Pfitzner conducted his works, and the pianists Elly Ney and Max van der Sandt repeatedly included him in their programs. Today, Straesser's music has completely disappeared from the repertoire in the succession to Brahms; the new recording of three chamber music works by the Rhinelander-born composer by the Berolina Ensemble, which is eager to make discoveries, is all the more commendable. Straesser composed intuitively; according to his own statements, a deeper InchintentionInch, possibly even a political or educational one, was alien to him. This made him suspect in avant-garde circles, and since he himself made little fuss about his person and tended to avoid public appearances, his artistic star by no means shone as brightly as his works deserved. As the critic noted at the time, the premiere ensemble in 1903 was probably not able to meet the high demands of the wind quintet. It is good that the Berolina Ensemble now provides an adequate interpretation! With a traditional foundation and excellent technical skills, Straesser is often seen by contemporaries as a successor to Brahms. However, he was ahead of Brahms in his ability to write wide-ranging melodic arcs, which can be heard particularly beautifully in the Clarinet Sonata written in 1932 shortly before his death. Together with the Clarinet Quintet of 1915, these three works span an entire composer's life, which shows an interesting development, especially from a harmonic point of view. Without ever getting into atonality or twelve-tone technique, Straesser finds his own way into a modern tonal language, chromaticism increases, surprising dissonances sometimes remain unresolved... The Berolina Ensemble traces all this w

An Echo Klassik for Hofmann, an Opus d'or for von Bausznern, and now for the third time the Berolina Ensemble steps into the spotlight with a spectacular discovery - and once again we are at a loss to explain how it was that such magnificent works could ever be forgotten. The ensemble's newest is dedicated to Ernst Rudorff. His opulent String Sextet, Romance for Violin and Piano, and a series of enchanting piano pieces offer extensive documentation of the chamber oeuvre of this Berlin composer, who also numbered among the pioneers in the field of conservation. Rudorff String Sextet, Romances etc - Berolina Ensemble Ernst Rudorff String Sextet for 3 Violins, Viola & 2 Cellos, Op. 5; 3 Romances, Op. 48; Capriccio appassionato, Op. 49; 6 Piano Pieces, Op. 52; 2 Concert Studies Op. 29; Romance for Violin & Piano, Op. 41. Details 1. Sextett FÜR 3 Violinen, Viola 2. Und 2 Violoncelli Op. 5 3. Drei Romanzen Op. 48 4. Capriccio Appassionato Op. 49 5. Sechs Klavierstücke Op. 52 6. Concertetüden No. 1 Und 2 Op. 29 7. Romanze FÜR Violine + Klavier Op. 41