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Chamber Music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold / Beatson, Eusebius Quartet
SOMM Recordings

Chamber Music by Erich Wolfgang Korngold / Beatson, Eusebius Quartet

$20.99

Details

Composer
KORNGOLD, ERICH WOLFGANG
Artist
EUSEBIUS QUARTET
Format
CD
Label
SOMM Recordings
Released
Oct 15, 2021
Catalog #
SOMMCD 0642
UPC
748871064225

About

SOMM Recordings throws new, invigorating light on the Chamber Music of Erich Wolfgang Korngold, performed by the Eusebius Quartet and pianist Alasdair Beatson. Hailed by musicologist Nicolas Slonimsky as “the very last breath of the romantic spirit of Vienna”, Korngold’s stellar beginnings in Europe’s concert halls and opera houses were later overshadowed by his success in America where his soaring symphonic signature forged the template for the Hollywood soundtrack. But, as Korngold authority Brendan G Carroll notes in his informative booklet essay, the composer’s “relatively small body of chamber works... is no less impressive and actually offers a succinct distillation of his style and voice, often to considerably profound effect.”

The earliest work here is the string quartet arrangement of the suite drawn from his 1920 incidental music to Shakespeare’s Viel Lärmen um Nichts (Much Ado About Nothing). Its glowing Intermezzo is heard in the world premiere recording of Tom Poster’s sumptuous new arrangement. The following year’s Op.15 Piano Quintet was composed shortly after Korngold’s opera Die tote Stadt (The Dead City), and, Carroll notes, “its flamboyant, heroic melodic style owes much to the residual influence of that epic score”. The Op.26 Second String Quartet from 1933 “is one of the most intensely ‘Viennese’ works Korngold ever wrote.” The jolly, bubbling humor of its opening gives way to a rich, expansive Larghetto before concluding with a spirited hymn to that most Viennese of dance forms, the waltz.

Praised as “excellent” by The Sunday Times, the Eusebius Quartet was formed in 2016 and is making its debut on SOMM Recordings. Alasdair Beatson’s previous SOMM releases include his enthusiastically reviewed recording debut, coupling Schumann, Grieg, Brahms and Berg (SOMMCD 086), and a Mendelssohn recital (SOMMCD 104) hailed by Classic FM for its “highly sensitive playing of rare insight”.

Tracklist 11 tracks

  1. 1 I. Mässiges Zeitmass, mit schwungvoll blühendem Ausdruck 12:32
    Track
    1
    Title
    I. Mässiges Zeitmass, mit schwungvoll blühendem Ausdruck
    Duration
    12:32
    Composer
    Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Performer
    Alasdair Beatson
    Ensemble
    Eusebius Quartet
  2. 2 II. Adagio: Mit grösster Ruhe, stets äusserst gebunden und ausdrucksvoll 11:48
    Track
    2
    Title
    II. Adagio: Mit grösster Ruhe, stets äusserst gebunden und ausdrucksvoll
    Duration
    11:48
    Composer
    Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Performer
    Alasdair Beatson
    Ensemble
    Eusebius Quartet
  3. 3 III. Finale: Gemessen beinahe pathetisch 08:39
    Track
    3
    Title
    III. Finale: Gemessen beinahe pathetisch
    Duration
    08:39
    Composer
    Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Performer
    Alasdair Beatson
    Ensemble
    Eusebius Quartet
  4. 4 I. Mädchen im Brautgemach 03:16
    Track
    4
    Title
    I. Mädchen im Brautgemach
    Duration
    03:16
    Composer
    Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Ensemble
    Eusebius Quartet
  5. 5 II. Holzapfel und Schlehwein 02:37
    Track
    5
    Title
    II. Holzapfel und Schlehwein
    Duration
    02:37
    Composer
    Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Ensemble
    Eusebius Quartet
  6. 6 Much Ado about Nothing Suite, Op. 11: III. Gartenscene (arr. T. Poster for piano and string quartet) 01:57
    Track
    6
    Title
    Much Ado about Nothing Suite, Op. 11: III. Gartenscene (arr. T. Poster for piano and string quartet)
    Duration
    01:57
    Composer
    Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Performer
    Alasdair Beatson
    Ensemble
    Eusebius Quartet
  7. 7 4 Pieces from Much Ado about Nothing, Op. 11: IV. Mummenschanz (arr. for string quartet) 02:19
    Track
    7
    Title
    4 Pieces from Much Ado about Nothing, Op. 11: IV. Mummenschanz (arr. for string quartet)
    Duration
    02:19
    Composer
    Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Ensemble
    Eusebius Quartet
  8. 8 I. Allegro 07:33
    Track
    8
    Title
    I. Allegro
    Duration
    07:33
    Composer
    Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Ensemble
    Eusebius Quartet
  9. 9 II. Intermezzo: Allegretto con moto - Molto più mosso 03:59
    Track
    9
    Title
    II. Intermezzo: Allegretto con moto - Molto più mosso
    Duration
    03:59
    Composer
    Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Ensemble
    Eusebius Quartet
  10. 10 III. Larghetto: Lento - Con moto sentimento 08:23
    Track
    10
    Title
    III. Larghetto: Lento - Con moto sentimento
    Duration
    08:23
    Composer
    Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Ensemble
    Eusebius Quartet
  11. 11 IV. Waltz (Finale): Tempo di Valse 05:20
    Track
    11
    Title
    IV. Waltz (Finale): Tempo di Valse
    Duration
    05:20
    Composer
    Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Ensemble
    Eusebius Quartet