Bruno Walter: String Quartet; Piano Quintet

by Aron Quartett, Massimo Giuseppe Bianchi

Overview

Bruno Walter was one of the giants of 20th century conducting, but his early aspirations included composition; he wrote two symphonies and various other works in addition to the two chamber pieces heard on this release by the Aron Quartett. One of these, the String Quartet in D major, here receives its recorded premiere, its first movement having been discovered in a Vienna library. It is distinctive in style, enough to make one wish Walter had continued to compose, although its broadly tonal, warmhearted style shows why he didn't do so in Schoenberg's Vienna. One might think, given Walter's close artistic partnership with Mahler, that his music would sound more similar to Mahler's, but, except in the slightly spooky "Gehemnis" movement of the Piano Quintet in F sharp major, there is little affinity. However, Walter's music does not sound much like that of Brahms, either; it is episodic rather than densely worked out. In both pieces, there is chromaticism, but it is applied as a temporary darkening rather than as a structural element; the most "modern" movement is the opening "Mit grosser Energie" of the Piano Quintet. The Aron Quartett is not particularly well recorded here; the recordings come from separate venues in Vienna (the quartet) and the city of Varallo in Italy, but both are murky and tenuously balanced. Nevertheless, aficionados of the Viennese scene will be glad to have this music from one of its most prominent figures. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	01/20/2023
Label:	Cpo
UPC:	0761203519323
Rank:	117313

Tracks

1. String Quartet in D major~Frisch
2. String Quartet in D major~Langsam und innig
3. String Quartet in D major~Sehr leidenschaftlich
4. String Quartet in D major~Etwas schleppend - Allegretto quasi andantino - Allegro energico
5. Piano Quintet in F sharp minor. Quintet for two violins, viola, cello & piano~Mit gro¿¿er Energie
6. Piano Quintet in F sharp minor. Quintet for two violins, viola, cello & piano~Ruhig und heiter
7. Piano Quintet in F sharp minor. Quintet for two violins, viola, cello & piano~Geheimnisvoll bewegt
8. Piano Quintet in F sharp minor. Quintet for two violins, viola, cello & piano~Feurig

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Aron Quartett   Primary Artist,String Quartet
Massimo Giuseppe Bianchi   Primary Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Lothar Bruweleit   Design
Walter Leistikow   Cover Painting
Corrado Ruzza   Digital Editing,Recording Producer
Wolfgang Steininger   Digital Editing,Recording Producer
Burkhard Schmilgun   Executive Producer
Bruno Walter   Composer
Monica Silva   Photography
Daniel Costello   Liner Note Translation
Hartmut Krones   Liner Notes