Am Mikrofon begrüßt Sie Norbert Ely. Herzlich willkommen zu zwanzig Minuten mit Entdeckungen aus dem Bereich der Kammermusik.

Die Geigerin Christiane Edinger hat sich in den letzten Jahren immer wieder um das Werk des Brahms-Zeitgenossen Eduard Franck verdient gemacht. So spielte sie vor einiger Zeit das schöne D-dur-Violinkonzert ein, und ihr eigenes Quartett nahm im Sendesaal des Deutschlandfunks Kammermusik von Franck auf. Nun hat das Edinger-Quartett, entsprechend erweitert, bei dem Label audite zwei staunenswerte Streichsextette des späten Romantikers herausgebracht. In beiden Fällen handelt es sich um Ersteinspielungen. Dafür sind der Bratschist Leo Klepper und der Cellist Mathias Donderer zum Ensemble gestoßen; beide gehören dem Deutschen Symphonie-Orchester Berlin an.

Sowohl das Sextett Es-dur op. 41 aus dem Jahr 1882 als auch das D-dur-Werk mit der Nummer 50, dessen Entstehungsjahr unbekannt ist, stehen auf rätselhafte Weise außerhalb ihrer Zeit. Eduard Franck gehörte zu jenen Komponisten, bei denen die Zeitgenossen den Eindruck hatten, sie hätten sich eben doch schon zu Lebzeiten überlebt. Er stand fest auf dem Boden der Mendelssohn-Tradition. Aber - und das ist gerade bei den Sextetten das Aufregende - er entwickelte die immanenten formbildenden Tendenzen des Mendelssohn-Stils sehr konsequent weiter und fand so zu einer konservativen Alternative zur Linie Schumann-Brahms. Natürlich war das altmodisch. Doch heute erkennt man rückblickend, wie sehr dies durch einen eminent geistvollen Umgang mit der Form legitimiert wird. Und zugleich übertrifft die Musik Francks die der meisten akademischen Konkurrenten eben doch auch an Tiefe der Empfindung. Das hört man vor allem auch einem Satz wie dem Andante aus dem Sextett D-dur op. 50 an.

• Musikbeispiel: Eduard Franck - 2. Satz 'Andante' aus dem Streichsextett D-dur op. 50

Das war der zweite Satz aus dem Streichsextett D-dur op. 50 von Eduard Franck in der Ersteinspielung durch das verstärkte Edinger Quartett. Nicht zu überhören ist, dass sich die Primaria Christiane Edinger eben doch schon seit längerer Zeit mit dem Oeuvre Francks auseinandergesetzt hat. Die spezifische Tonsprache des gebürtigen Breslauers, der etliche Jahr im Rheinischen verbrachte, ist ihr wirklich geläufig; jene Leichtigkeit, die auch im Ernst gewahrt sein muss, geht ihr ebenso sensibel von der Hand wie der Ernst im Leichten - die Scherzi Francks sind von schwererem Blut als die Mendelssohns und längst nicht so wild wie die Brahms'schen. Aber in den manchmal nur angedeuteten Portamenti zum Beispiel spürt man die erfahrene Virtuosin, die vom ersten Pult aus den präzisen und zugleich federnden Sextett-Klang steuert. Erschienen sind die beiden Sextette von Eduard Franck, wie gesagt, bei dem Label audite.

Er war ein unzeitgemäßer Zeitgenosse, der Engländer Gordon Jacob, der noch im...

This release has four works that are offered in their original orchestral guise for the first time on CD. But what makes it so important is the inclusion of the massive, growling, brazen concerto of Henri Tomasi (1901-71). His father was a researcher in folk music, and Tomasi studied at the Paris Conservatory, later becoming founder of the famous group “Triton”, along with Poulenc, Prokofieff, Milhaud, and many others. This exposure to multiple cultures (the son of Corsican parents, and raised in Marseille) had an effect on his rather hard-to-define style. Saxophonists have known this work for years, so it is hard to believe that it has taken so long to get its first full recording. But now that we have it, there is a great cause for rejoicing, because this performance should set the standard for many years.

Usually when we hear saxophone and orchestra, we are hearing a chamber group or reduced forces with only a few woodwinds and the occasional brass. But Tomasi understood the power of the instrument and did not hold back when considering his instrumentation. This is a full-orchestra setting, and the lets the instrument sail above massive string lines and high-pitched trumpets. Multiple meters and loud, punctuating percussion only add to the excitement in this most assertive of all saxophone concertos. Tomasi was a prolific composer and wrote in all genres, but none that I have heard match the effectiveness of this extraordinary work.

The rest of the recital is unfortunately not as exciting. Andre Caplet is probably most known for his arrangement of the work of Debussy, and he is the author of many delightful chamber works, like his Piano Quintet. His “Legends” is very atmospheric, impressionist and Wagnerian in harmony, and bears only a slight resemblance to some of the more “mystical” (notes) work that he would produce later in his career. While the piece is charming in its introverted melodic consciousness, the whole seems to meander somewhat, and one comes away from it curiously unsatisfied.

Far better is the “Concert Music” for saxophone and 12 instruments by Marius Constant (born 1925). Of Romanian and French parentage, Constant uses a blend of intimate techniques and chamber textures to set the stage for his own unique variety of neoclassicism. The instrumentation (three brass, three strings, three woodwinds, piano and percussion), lends an Alban Berg feel to the musical grain, while reminding us more of Stravinsky in his confused pre-serial music. But Constant never for a moment abandons melody as the driving force in his work, and the four movements of this suite ably sustain the ideas he puts forth, holding the interest and flooding us with color.

Jean Absil (1893-1974) does little to assist us in our appreciation of his music with this late (1971) “Fantasy-Caprice”. Earlier in his career he was somewhat of an enfant-terrible with his (at least theoretical) embrace of atonality, but later he backed off and produced rather straight-laced, lyrical music with many ascetic qualities. Such is the case here, and while some of the effects are not without interest, the work rambles on with little to hold our aural or intellectual curiosity.

And for those so inclined, this is absolutely the best recorded performance of Debussy’s awful “Rhapsody” that I have ever heard. The bold, snarling brass and warm, vibrant strings almost made me like that piece. Well, face it, the composer did it for money, admitted he knew next to nothing about the saxophone, didn’t orchestrate it, and now has the honor of turning in about the worst piece for a solo instrument by a major composer. It has some moments, and when played like this, a lot of excitement, though it will always be an also-ran in my book. But the name is Debussy, so it will continue to be a mainstay – perhaps even the most recorded piece for saxophone. If this was my only recording, that would be just fine with me, as it is really wonderful, though it does not quite erase the names of Jean-Marie Londeix (Martinon on EMI) and Sigurd Rascher (Bernstein on Sony) – both currently available.

Audite has supplied stunning sound for Mr Tassot – a crackerjack player if ever there was one – and the Munich Radio Orchestra sounds here for all the world like the best group in the history of recordings. The Tomasi alone would sell me; other will have to decide if the plusses outweigh the minusses. The notes are excellent.

Both Güttler and Läubin have tapped a relatively obscure source of older music authentically intended for the trumpet. During the early 18th century some fairly well-known composers wrote music for an ensemble of trumpet, a small number of woodwinds (double reeds), and basso continuo. These unusual works have been called chamber concertos because of the degree of integration of solo and tutti instruments.

Läubin presents three of these concertos – by Albioni, the indefatigable Telemann, and Johann Wilhelm Hertel, son of Johann Christian, a prized student of J. S. Bach. Like Bach’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Wilhelm wound up in norther Germany and is associated with the so-called Berlin school, which included, as well as the younger Bach, such distinguished members as C. H. Graun and the Bendas. Audite rounds out the disc with a transcription for oboe, English horn and two bassoons of two contrapuncti from the Art of Fugue.

…

Both Läubin’s and Güttler’s albums are recommended to general listeners as well as to trumpet enthusiasts. Both are brilliantly played and recorded, and, of course, both offer unusual repertory. Of the two, I preferred the Capriccio disc, in part, I suppose, because it offers a longer and more varied program, but also because Güttler is, in my opinion, the most exciting trumpet virtuoso now before the public. His playing has a remarkable virility but is, at the same time, perfectly controlled. But Läubin (who is the first trumpeter of Helmuth Rilling’s Stuttgart Bach-Collegium) is no slouch either.

Nor is Michel, but his program, all Bach but all transcribed, is less interesting. I remain unconvinced that I need to hear, for example, the Air from the Third Orchestral Suite or the Eb Flute Sonata – which becomes an entirely different piece of music – on a trumpet. The best parts of Michel’s album are the concertos after Prince Johann Ernst and Vivaldi, in which he added trumpet parts seem entirely plausible. This album is directed toward trumpet specialists, but they should find it quite listenable. The sound is excellent.

Both Güttler and Läubin have tapped a relatively obscure source of older music authentically intended for the trumpet. During the early 18th century some fairly well-known composers wrote music for an ensemble of trumpet, a small number of woodwinds (double reeds), and basso continuo. These unusual works have been called chamber concertos because of the degree of integration of solo and tutti instruments.

Läubin presents three of these concertos – by Albioni, the indefatigable Telemann, and Johann Wilhelm Hertel, son of Johann Christian, a prized student of J. S. Bach. Like Bach’s son Carl Philipp Emanuel, Johann Wilhelm wound up in norther Germany and is associated with the so-called Berlin school, which included, as well as the younger Bach, such distinguished members as C. H. Graun and the Bendas. Audite rounds out the disc with a transcription for oboe, English horn and two bassoons of two contrapuncti from the Art of Fugue.

…

Both Läubin’s and Güttler’s albums are recommended to general listeners as well as to trumpet enthusiasts. Both are brilliantly played and recorded, and, of course, both offer unusual repertory. Of the two, I preferred the Capriccio disc, in part, I suppose, because it offers a longer and more varied program, but also because Güttler is, in my opinion, the most exciting trumpet virtuoso now before the public. His playing has a remarkable virility but is, at the same time, perfectly controlled. But Läubin (who is the first trumpeter of Helmuth Rilling’s Stuttgart Bach-Collegium) is no slouch either.

Nor is Michel, but his program, all Bach but all transcribed, is less interesting. I remain unconvinced that I need to hear, for example, the Air from the Third Orchestral Suite or the Eb Flute Sonata – which becomes an entirely different piece of music – on a trumpet. The best parts of Michel’s album are the concertos after Prince Johann Ernst and Vivaldi, in which he added trumpet parts seem entirely plausible. This album is directed toward trumpet specialists, but they should find it quite listenable. The sound is excellent.

„Barocke Kammerkonzerte mit Trompete“ ist die jüngste Langspielplatte der Freiburger Barocksolisten überschrieben, und diese Umschreibung trifft die Werke Albionis, Telemanns und Hertels ziemlich genau (hinzu kommen zwei Kontrapunkte aus Bachs „Kunst der Fuge“): Werke, die irgendwo zwischen Solistenkonzert und kammermusikalischem Miteinander nahezu gleichberechtigter Partner angesiedelt sind. Hannes Läubin, der Müllheimer, der trotz seiner Jugend bereits seit Jahren am NDR-Solopult sitzt, ist ein Trompeter, der quicke Virtuosität mit einem betont weichen Ansatz verbindet. Da glitzert’s nicht nur erheblich – es singt auch. Und ob man nun Günter Theis’ kantable Oboe, Matthias Maria Scholz’ behändes Fagott als Beispiele nimmt – die Barocksolisten bieten ihrem Gast würdige Partnerschaft an.

Dieses barocke Querfeldeinprogramm wirkt weder thematisch noch von den ausgewählten Werken her besonders originell. Nur die Kombination aus Trompete und einer oder mehreren Oboen hält diese Titelauswahl zusammen. Aber alle stilistischen Bedenken und Einwände gegen das Repertoire bleiben hier zweitrangig. Denn die Freiburger Barocksolisten warten mit sehr viel urwüchsiger Spielfreude und Präzision auf, und Hannes Läubin ist ein faszinierender Trompeter.

In der ersten Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts, der Blütezeit des konzertanten...

Das wohl am meisten arrangierte Werke der Klassik, Mussorgskys 'Bilder einer Ausstellung' wird hier in einer effektvollen aber irgendwie doch sehr trivialen Fassung für Klavier und Schlagzeug vorgestellt, an der vor allem Schlagzeuger Gefallen finden werden. Von den eigentlichen Bildern entfernt sich diese Transkription relativ weit.

Das ganze Programm – editorisch sicherlich ein Kuriosum – wird handwerklich gut betreut vom Duo Vivace (Andreas Baumann, Klavier, Albrecht Volz, Schlagzeug).

Andreas Baumann, Klavier, und Albrecht Volz, Percussion, lassen aufhorchen mit...