Search - Walter Rabl, Alexander von Zemlinsky, Johannes Brahms :: Walter Rabl: Quartett Op. 1; Alexander Zemlinsky: Trio Op. 3; Brahms: Trio Op. 114

Musical Art-Nouveau...

Sébastien Melmoth | Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS | 12/27/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

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The three exquisite works of musical Art-Nouveau (or Jugendstil) featured on this fine disc are tied together by their relationship to the fin-de-siècle Vienna Composers' Society (Tonkünstlerverein).



Brahms was honorary president of the Society which was very much a "Brahms Circle."



Brahms' own Clarinet Trio was published in 1892, and in 1896 under his supervision the Society held a competition for wind-instrument chamber music. The winners of the competition included Walter Rabl's Clarinet Quartet (1st Prize) and Alexander von Zemlinsky's Clarinet Trio (3rd Prize).



[The 2nd Prize went to one Joseph Miroslav Weber: Erzherzog Rudolph & Mirolslav Weber Septets Brahms: Quintet in f minor Op. 34; Joseph Miroslav Wever: Quintet in D .]



We may charactize these pieces as musical Art-Nouveau due to their rich late-Romantic ethos and feminine chamber intimacy: something like a glass-and-iron hot-house filled with lush rare tendrils, surrounded by a dank landscape.



TT:78mins.



See too:

Twilight of the Romantics: Chamber Music by Walter Rabl & Josef Labor

Caplet/Magnard: Wind Quintets

Dohnanyi: Sextet in C; Fibich: Quintet Op42

Schönberg: Verklärte Nacht Op. 4; Zemlinsky: Piano Trio Op. 3; Mahler: Piano Quartet

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Music Fan in Michigan

Sébastien Melmoth | 03/18/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"What fine music this Rabl quartet is! This music is captivating from the first note and extremely well and imaginatively played by the Ensemble Kontraste. This piece also caught Brahms' attention: he awarded it first prize in a competition that he sponsored. The other pieces on the release make fine couplings: Brahms' own A-minor trio, and Zemlinsky's D-minor trio. Although the performances of these pieces are fine, they don't quite reach the level of polish achieved in the Rabl."