Reviews
GMCD 7307
Volkmar Andreae (1879-1962)
Neue Zürcher Zeitung – Tuesday Febraury 26 2008
http://www.nzz.ch/nachrichten/kultur/zuercher_kultur/unbekannter_bekannter_1.678246.html
Der Mann besetzte während
Jahrzehnten alle Stellen, die ein Musiker an den bürgerlichen Institutionen
Zürichs innehaben konnte: Volkmar Andreae (1879–1962) war 43 Jahre lang
Chefdirigent des Tonhalle-Orchesters, er leitete als Nachfolger von Carl
Attenhofer während 25 Jahren das Konservatorium, er stand 47 Jahre lang an der
Spitze des Gemischten Chors Zürich. Ausserdem dirigierte er den Männerchor
Zürich und den Zürcher Studentengesangsverein, was ihm die Stelle eines
Universitätsmusikdirektors einbrachte. Dass Andreae zudem während des Ersten
Weltkriegs noch Kommandant des Schützenbataillons 3 war, liest man mit Erstaunen.
Die Reputation des Musikers beschränkte sich weder auf Zürich noch auf die
Schweiz. 1911 hätte er nämlich als Nachfolger von Gustav Mahler Dirigent der New
Yorker Philharmoniker werden können, was er jedoch ablehnte.
Der Komponist Andreae
stand schon zu Lebzeiten im Schatten des Dirigenten. Sein Werkverzeichnis
umfasst Lieder, Chormusik mit und ohne Orchester, Kammermusik, Orchesterwerke
und eine Oper. Dieses Werk ist auf heutigen Tonträgern nahezu inexistent. Die
Internet-Homepage «Musinfo» weist einzig eine CD-Aufnahme des Männerchors «An
die Hoffnung» op. 21 aus. Umso erfreulicher, dass nun mit dem Locrian-Ensemble
eine namhafte englische Kammermusikformation zwei Klaviertrios von Volkmar
Andreae eingespielt hat. Beim Label Guild legen die Geigerin Rita Manning, der
Cellist Justin Pearson und die Pianistin Kathy Rockhill eine gelungene Aufnahme
der Trios Opus 1 und Opus 14 vor. Die CD zeigt, wie sich der Kompositionsstil
Andreaes in den 15 Jahren, die zwischen den Werken liegen, verändert hat. Das
1899 entstandene Klaviertrio in f-Moll steht noch ganz in der romantischen
Tradition und gemahnt nicht nur einmal an Brahms. Es stammt aus Andreaes
Studienzeit bei Franz Wüllner am Kölner Konservatorium. Eine gewandelte
Musiksprache zeigt das in Zürich komponierte und 1914 veröffentlichte
Klaviertrio in Es-Dur. Das Locrian-Ensemble verdeutlicht nicht nur solche
stilistische Unterschiede, sondern nimmt sich dieser Musik mit einer solchen
Leidenschaft an, dass man ihr gerne einmal im Konzertsaal begegnen möchte.
Volkmar Andreae:
Klaviertrio in f-Moll op. 1; Klaviertrio in Es-Dur op. 14.
Locrian-Ensemble: Rita
Manning (Violine), Justin Pearson (Violoncello), Kathy Rockhill (Klavier).
Guild GMCD 7307 (1
CD).
CLASSICAL LOST AND FOUND JANYARY 15 2008
Swiss
musician Volkmar Andreae (1879-1962) was best known as a conductor. However, he
was also an accomplished composer as evidenced by the two piano trios presented
here. In fact they are so exemplary that one can only wonder why they have
remained in obscurity all these years. Fortunately that injustice has been
corrected with this magnificent release from Guild.
Written at the age of twenty-two, the first trio was Andreae's "Opus 1" and
appeared in 1901. It's in three movements and very much in the tradition of
Brahms and Dvorak. That's not to say it's simply a derivative clone of their
chamber music. On the contrary there's a freshness of melodic invention,
structural integrity and sense of forward drive that make it very much an
Andreae creation.
The first movement contrasts two remarkably lovely themes and is notable for its
sophisticated development section. The adagio that follows is
extraordinary, because it also functions as a scherzo. The composer does
this by alternating the yearningly attractive melodic idea that opens the
movement with another rather fleet-footed motif. However in the end, the first
theme prevails justifying the marking of adagio. The finale opens with an
anxiety ridden melody that plays hopscotch with a couple of other gorgeous
thematic ideas during the course of what turns out to be a sonata-rondo
movement. All of these motifs are ingeniously related to the trio's opening and
serve as the basis for its very satisfying conclusion.
The second trio, dating from 1914, is in four movements. It's definitely a late
romantic creation where the harmonic structure is more complex than in the first
trio. Also, there's a greater feeling of independence between each of the
soloists. The early chamber music of Hans Pfitzner and Richard Strauss may come
to mind as you listen to it.
The opening movement is striking for its thematic refinement and highly
integrated construction. The overall tone is one of restraint leading to a
peaceful conclusion. The adagio that comes next is meditative, except for
an impassioned central section. The following presto is for the most part
quite mercurial. But it’s also rather unusual, because it's the reverse of the
dual purpose adagio/scherzo in the first trio, and contains a
languorously restrained mid-section. The finale begins in almost Brucknerian
fashion with a rhythmically galloping motif reminiscent of the great Austrian
master's scherzos. A couple of lovely, more restrained melodies are then
introduced and skillfully developed along with opening "gallop" idea. The trio
ends in cyclic fashion as the theme it began with is reprised in a moving coda
of remembrance.
The performances of both works by the Locrian Ensemble are exemplary and let’s
just hope they give us some more lesser known romantic music very soon.
The recording is excellent with beautifully rounded piano tone and exceptionally
smooth strings. Romantic chamber music fans and audiophiles alike will be
delighted!
(Y080115)
--
Bob McQuiston, Classical Lost and Found (CLOFO.com)
June 24, 2007 - CD of the Week - KBAQ 89.5 FM
( Phoenix, AZ ) Sterling Beaff reviews the new
Locrian Ensemble recording of piano trios by Swiss composer Volkmar Andreae.
The CD is just out on the Guild label.
STRAD AUGUST ISSUE
ANDREAE Piano trios nos. 1 and 2
LOCRIAN ENSEMBLE
Guild GMCD 7307
Swiss-born Volkmar Andreae (1879-1962) was one of the most gifted and individual
composers to emerge during the tumultuous period that saw the dying embers of
high Romanticism virtually extinguished by the onslaught of modernism. Two
things counted heavily against him, however. He was principally celebrated as a
conductor and creatively he was an out-and-out tonalist with a tendency towards
Brahms the traditionalist rather than the "new" music of Wagner and Liszt.
When Andreae composed his first Piano Trio in 1901 he was working as a
repetiteur at the Munich Royal Opera. cast in three movements, it features a
memorable finale that wears its ingenious sonata-rondo structure lightly via
an enchanting flow of glowing, lyrical ideas. The Second Trio, in four
movements, dates from 1914, by which time Andreae was principal conductor of the
Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and had recently benn appointed director of the Zurich
Conservatoire, a post he held for 27 years. Clearly a number of stylistic
influences had gone into the melting pot during he intervening period judging by
the near-constant flow of Franco-Wagnerian harmonic colours and textural asides
(particularly discernable in the presto third movement).
The Locrian Ensemble - violinist Rita Manning, cellist Justin Pearson and
pianist Katherine Rockhill - plays with restrained passion and pure-toned
eloquence that strikes right to the heart of these elusive yet richly rewarding
scores. Manning and Pearson demonstrate a special empathy for Andreae's
yearning phrases, most notably in the haunting Molto adagio of the Second Trio.
In even the most heated passages they tantalisingly maintain an appropriate
chamber scale, further enhanced by Michael Ponder's velvet-gloved engineering.
JULIAN HAYLOCK
International Record Review June 2007
ANDREAE
Piano Trios – No. 1 in f minor, Op. 1;
No. 2 in E flat, Op.14
 Locrian
Ensemble: Rita Manning (violin); Justin Pearson (cello); Kathy Rockhill (piano)
GUILD
GMCD7307 [60:05]
When our
Editor offered this CD for review, I asked myself where I had heard Volkmar
Andreae's name before. The answer was in connection with his career as a
conductor. A quick look at the catalogues reveals a recording of Weber's
Konzertstück, Schumann's Piano Concerto (with Gulda) and Mozart's Piano
Concerto No. 23 (with Gieseking). He also had a reputation as a Bruckner
conductor. However, few of Andreae's recordings are available now.
In any event,
his conducting seems to have overshadowed his work as a composer. He
wrote two operas (one based an the life of Casanova!), several choral works and
a fair amount of chamber music. He was born in Switzerland in 1879 and attended
the conservatories in Bern and Cologne. Beginning in 1902, he spent over 45
years as a choral conductor in Zurich. His parallel position conducting that
city’s Tonhalle Orchestra began in 1906, also until 1949.
This very
enjoyable CD might tip the scales in favour of Andreae the composer. Fellow
IRR
contributor and helpful booklet note annotator Robert Matthew-Walker comments,
`Hearing [the Op. 1 Piano Trio] today, over one hundred years after it appeared,
we may pause and consider why such a fine score as this should have become
relatively neglected.'
I couldn't
agree more, and would not hesitate to say the same about the Op. 14 Piano Trio,
which appeared in 1914, 13 years after its predecessor.
The Op. 1
Trio, in three movements, is of a masculine melancholy that suggests Brahms.
(Alternatively, you might persuade the unwary that the gorgeous opening theme is
by Dvorak or Grieg.) Andreae's themes are consistently appealing and memorable,
and the work is so well constructed and melodic that one hardly notices, let
alone cares, that he was not breaking much new ground. Matthew-Walker aptly
describes the four-movement Op. 14 Trio as `a fascinating mixture of French
Impressionism and Germanic seriousness - not wholly unlike that of Alberic
Magnard or the earlier chamber music of Dohnanyi'. This is heady stuff. Worth
singling out are the third movement, a haunting
Presto
more in name
than in reality, and the bouncy
Allegro
con brio,
assai vivace
finale, music for the bunt which grafts a Scotch snap onto an Italian
tarantella. It almost seems to belong to a different work, but I wouldn't dream
of banishing it!
Depending on
the repertoire, the Locrian Ensemble can be a larger group, though of course
just three of its members participate here. The difficulty in reviewing
perfortnances of unfamiliar music is that one lacks a reference point. Having
said that, I don't feel that anything is missing from this recording. Rita
Manning, Justin Pearson and Kathy Rockhill are solid musicians and it is obvious
that they listen very closely to each other. The blend and the balance are
excellent. I can imagine this music played more effusively, but I don't think
that it needs it; Andreae's paired lilies need no gilding. Guild's warm, honest
engineering makes a superb CD even more recommendable. Get this!
Raymond S. Tuttle
Klassikcom
Saturday May 26 2007
Swiss String Quartets: Werke von Schaeuble, Schütter, Schmid
Label:
Guild , VÖ: 01.06.2006
Spielzeit: 56:38
Interpretation: 4 Star
Klangqualität: 4 Star
Repertoirewert: 4½ Star
Booklet: 3 Star
Allgemein bekannte
schweizerische Komponisten gibt es ohnehin nicht so viele; die drei hier
vorgestellten Vertreter würden einem zudem – wenn überhaupt – wohl kaum als
erste einfallen. Das sagt aber über die Qualität ihres Schaffens nichts aus;
ganz im Gegenteil: alle drei verdienten zweifelsohne mehr Aufmerksamkeit im
Konzertbetrieb. Die 2004 und 2005 entstandene Einspielung von drei
Streichquartetten, die das Schweizer Label Guild unter dem Titel ‚20th Century
Swiss String Quartets’ veröffentlicht hat, bestätigt dieses. Im Falle von Hans
Schaeuble (1906-1988) und Meinrad Schütter (1910-2006) muss man die Wirren des
Zweiten Weltkriegs als Grund ansehen, dass frühe Erfolge zunichte gemacht und
jegliche Kontinuität in der Rezeption unterbrochen wurde. Schaeuble, der in
Deutschland gelebt und gewirkt hatte, wurde zudem nach seiner Rückkehr in die
Heimat eben dieses zur Last gelegt. Erich Schmid schließlich hinterließ generell
nur ein sehr schmales, qualitativ aber hochwertiges Œuvre. Wer mehr wissen
möchte, findet im optisch sehr ansprechend gestalteten Booklet eine prägnante
Einführung in die drei Biographien.
Kinder ihrer Zeit
Alle drei Komponisten
sind durchaus Kinder ihrer Zeit; stilistisch zeigen sie in ihren Quartetten
verschieden ausgeprägtem Maße eine Auseinandersetzung mit der zeitgenössischen
Musik, insbesondere mit der Schönbergschen Zwölftontechnik. Die plausible
Anordnung der Werke auf der CD führt dabei vom neoklassizistisch gemäßigten,
eher an Hindemith erinnernden Quartett op. 19 Schaeubles über das freitonale
Quartett Meinrad Schütters hin zu Erich Schmids Streichquartett op. 4, das
konsequent in Reihentechnik gehalten ist. Ausdrucksstark und musikalisch
empfunden sind dabei alle drei Quartette; auch Schmids Zwölftonwerk hat
anrührende Momente, wenn sie auch eher auf einer zerbrechlich schlanken
Klanglichkeit basieren denn auf der robusten Expressivität Schaeubles.
Frische
und Engagement
Das
deutsch-schweizerische casalQUARTETT bietet spieltechnisch blitzsaubere und
interpretatorisch überzeugende Darbietungen aller drei Werke. Der in jedem
Quartett durchaus verschiedene Grundton wird zielsicher getroffen; die
Darbietungen sind von großer Frische und getragen vom spürbaren Engagement der
vier – streng genommen fünf – Musiker (Daria Zappa und Rachel R. Späth, Violine;
Markus Fleck, Violine und Viola; Dominik Fischer, Viola; Andreas Fleck,
Violoncello). Klangtechnisch präsentieren sich die Quartette in gutem Licht, das
Klangbild ist sehr natürlich und insbesondere plastisch, man wähnt sich geradezu
mitten im Geschehen. Lediglich das Cello kommt etwas zu basslastig herüber.
Summa summarum eine interessante und für Streichquartettfreunde bedenkenlos
empfehlenswerte CD, die mit drei stilistisch selbständigen Werken entsprechend
reiche Entdeckungen bietet. Schade nur, dass sie mit etwa 56 Minuten ein wenig
kurz geraten ist.
Christian Vitalis
MusicWeb Friday May 11 2007
Volkmar ANDREAE
(1879-1962)
Piano Trio Op. 1 (1901) [27:41]
Piano Trio Op. 14 (1914) [37:18]
 Locrian
Ensemble: Rita Manning (violin); Justin Pearson (cello); Kathy Rockhill (piano)
rec. Potton Hall, Suffolk,
22-23 February 2006. DDD
GUILD
GMCD7307 [73:49]
Volkmar Andreae was born in
Bern on 5 July 1879. During his studies he excelled both as composer and
conductor, and published his first mature composition, the Piano Trio in F minor
Opus 1, in 1901 when he was 22. Like others who might be discovering his music
for the first time, the question immediately arises, ‘why haven’t we heard
more?’ The booklet notes by Robert Matthew-Walker point out that, as a
conductor, his mixed career might have militated against his acceptance as a
composer as has happened with many other composer-conductors. His catalogue is
certainly not huge, with a brace of symphonies and operas, plus a mixed bag of
other vocal and chamber music to his name. All of this may have contributed to
his neglect, but it would also appear to be the case that his musical style made
him something of a dinosaur, or at the very least one of those unfortunate
enough to fall in between easily definable periods in music. His is an idiom
which sits within the post-Romantic German tradition and the late language of
Brahms: whose music – while hardly high-Romantic in the mould of Liszt or Reger,
is certainly not that of an animal of the 20th century.
The Piano Trio Op.1 appeared when Andreae was repetiteur at the
Munich Royal Opera. As a conductor he later promoted the music of Bruckner,
Mahler, Richard Strauss and Debussy, and his recordings of several symphonies of
Bruckner were pioneering discs in their day. The attraction to Bruckner appears
in some of the technical fingerprints which analyses reveal, but the overriding
influence is that of Brahms. Play the opening of the third movement Allegro
ma non troppo and you will have even knowledgeable friends scratching their
heads trying to work out who it is if not Brahms. The music has a round,
sonorous quality, and a lyrical charm and power which stands on its own two feet
throughout. The string writing is well executed and thankfully lacking in
scrubbing and repetitiousness, and with a virtuoso piano part this work deserves
a place in the standard repertoire.
The second Piano Trio Op.14 appeared thirteen years after the first, and
is in four movements rather than the First’s three. There is an immediate
feeling of greater individuality about the music in this piece. Andreae’s
language adopts a mixture - something approaching French Impressionism yet all
the while holding on to a basis of Germanic seriousness. The gestures are
nothing if not striking however, and after an almost Schubert-like opening theme
the symphonic twelve minutes of the first Allegro moderato movement are
filled with drama and expressiveness.
The second movement, Molto Adagio, has a chorale-like opening which
promises something searching and emotive. Indeed a fascinating succession of
variations on themes, which grow out of the piano’s harmonic basis, ensue. The
inescapable feel is late-Romanticism, with an extended crescendo towards a
central climax. In the second part of the movement the music gently returns to a
calm version of that with which it began.
The third movement, Presto, has a remarkable structure, beginning quietly
and very fast, before a much slower passage begins an entirely different sonic
world. A standard tripartite form would lead expectations to a return to the
Presto, but the composer surprises with an even slower section which modern
ears might expect to lead attacca to a rousing finale. The Presto
eventually returns however, transformed into an even lighter filigree. The final
Allegro con brio assai vivace, opens with a jaunty ‘hunting’ theme whose
calls, if slowed, could easily be taken for Bruckner. The movement proceeds with
numerous twists and variations on the way: moods; light to elegiac to forcefully
dramatic, all on the turn of a Swiss franc.
So, what is to be made of Volkmar Andreae on this showing? Bearing in mind that
the weather map of cultural trends and influences moved with variable speed over
the massive net cast by Austro-Germanic musical tradition, it is hardly
surprising that such music was being created by young composers even up to the
point at which World War I shattered the lives of so many. Andreae’s music is
honest and executed with refinement and a genuinely inventive spirit.
The playing of the Locrian Ensemble is sensitive to the composer’s idiom, and
champions his cause in a way which, one would hope, should increase his standing
on the international concert stage. The recording is nicely balanced and warmly
colourful, fairly close to the instruments, but without that glaring sharpness
in the strings which can sometimes be tiring on the ears. If you like your
chamber music with a Brahmsian feel, not too heavily romantic and wallowing but
with plenty of expressive lyrical line and musical ‘oomph’, then this release
deserves your attention.
Dominy Clements
Page revised Monday March 17 2008
|
