Woodcut by Conrad Felixmüller of the composer Erwin Schulhoff, Prague 1924. Lindenau-Museum, Altenburg, VG Bild-Kunst
Of all the composers covered by the term ‘Entarte music’, Erwin Schulhoff is the most complex.
Contrary to what various anthologies tell us, Schulhoff was never in Theresienstadt. Nor was he murdered in Auschwitz. The hybrid Czech composer who did not fit into any pigeonhole had simply been unlucky. The Russian citizenship he applied for came two days too late, so instead of being in the Soviet Union, he ended up in the Wülzburg concentration camp, where he died of tuberculosis in 1942.
From his early childhood, Schulhoff was fascinated by everything new. Heartily embracing dada and jazz, he also had a particular liking for the grotesque. His music crossed borders and genres – sometimes even those of a “good decency”.
No wonder his music cannot be labelled: within the oeuvre for string quartet alone, one will discover a huge variety of styles.
Except for his Divertimento op.14 and string quartet op.25, all the works played by the Alma Quartet were composed between 1923 and 1925. Both, highly rhythmic string quartets betray Schulhoff’s affinity with jazz – the second a little more than the first – and also with Czech folklore.
The 1923 ‘5 Pieces for String’ dedicated to Milhaud sound quite neo-classical. Each refers to a dance or a country. In ‘Alla Valse Viennese’, the “waltzes of Ochs” are shining through and in ‘Alla Tango Milonga’ one can only think of Argentina.
Of all the existing recordings of Schulhoff’s quartets so far, the one by the Petersen Quartet (Cappricio) was always dearest to my heart. I still love their performance, but now they have to acknowledge the superiority of their Amsterdam colleagues. Grandiose.
Huge kudos also to Vruchtvlees.com for the cover and box cover design. Not only very bright and cheerful, but also perfectly suited to Schulhoff’s music.
The title, Weinberg 1945, refers to the year when all the compositions recorded on this CD were created. The first performance of the piano trio took place on 9 June 1947, by Weinberg himself and two members of the Beethoven Quartet: Dmitri Tsyganov (violin) and Sergei Shrinsky (cello).
To my knowledge, there are already at least nine performances of the trio, all good to excellent. Consider Gidon Kremer (the greatest advocate of Weinberg’s music, Yulianna Avdeeva and Giedré Dirvanauskaité (DG).
Or, my absolute favourite with Dmitry Sitkovetsky, David Geringas and Jascha Nemtsov (Hänssler).
In comparison, this performance feels a bit disappointing to me. Mainly because of the pianist: Stéphanie Salmin is too dominant and the sound of the piano drowns out the strings, but this is something that could also be due to the recording.
But the cello sonata and the Rhapsody on Moldavian themes (replace ‘Moldavian’ with ‘Jewish’, which was actually the intention) make up for everything. Here, the cellist (Romain Dhainaut) and Sadie Fields (violin) are given every chance to shine, and they certainly do! And Sadie Fields completely stole my heart in the Two songs without words, which get their first ever performance here. Indeed, until recently, these two beautiful miniatures were thought to have been lost.
Piano Trio op. 24, Cello Sonata No. 1 in C, op. 21, Two songs without words for violin and piano, Rhapsody on a Moldavian theme for violin and piano op. 47 no. 3 Trio Khnopff: Sadie Fields (violin), Stéphanie Salmin (piano), Romain Dhainaut (cello) Pavane ADW 7590
Incredible really how many great musicians there are in our small country! Pianists, violinists, cellists, singers, harpists…. You name it. And I’m not even talking about the chamber music ensembles. Alma Quartet, The Hague String Trio … all world-class. That also includes the Delta Piano Trio.
Pianist Vera Kooper, violinist Gerard Sponk and cellist Irene Enzlin met in Salzburg in 2013, where all three were students at the time. They clicked. They were on the same page and that not only musically, but also outside the concert stages and concert halls. Friends for life?
Origin is already the third CD they have recorded together, I missed the first two, but this one has been in my player for a few weeks . Well, on Spotify really, because it’s that easy. The title refers to the origin of the music from which the composers draw: unadulterated folklore as a guiding principle.
In Dvořák’s case, it is – more or less – obvious: Dvořák developed his own musical language through a love of folk music from which he then drew his inspiration. His ‘Dumky trio’ (just a digression: ‘dumky’ is a plural of the word ‘dumka’, which is then also a diminutive of ‘duma’, a wistful Slavic folk ballad) is the only work on the CD that has known any recognition. And even that is almost gone, because this work also is not performed that often these days.
Things become more painful when it comes to the other two composers and their works recorded on this CD. A real music lover will know the name of Frank Martin, but who knew that he also composed a Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises? What did a Swiss living in the Netherlands have to do with Ireland? Oh well… does it really matter?
And then we come to Tigran Mansurian, arguably one of the most important Armenian composers. But even in his case, things are a bit complicated. He was born in 1939 in Beirut, Lebanon. His family moved to Armenia in 1947. He received his education in Yerevan. His Five Bagatelles have been recorded before and, as far as I am concerned, not often enough.
Delta Piano Trio: “Three composers, three different cultures and three different eras, but with one similarity: a search for musical origins”.
Is there anything I can add? Yes. Not only the music, but also the performance is at the highest level. Don’t let this gem pass you
Frank Martin: Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises Tigran Mansurian: Five Bagatelles for piano trio Antonín Dvořák: Piano Trio No. 4 in E, op. op. (Dumky) Delta Piano Trio
It was about 25 years ago, I think, that I first became acquainted with the then very young Belcea Quartet. They had then recently made their debut in the Rising Stars series in the Concertgebouw’s Kleine Zaal, the programme included string quartets by Schubert and Thomas Adès. I also got the opportunity to speak at length with (the members of) the quartet.
At eleven o’clock in the morning, I rang the doorbell at hotel Verdi in Amsterdam, where the quartet was staying. The intention was to have a bite to eat with Corina Belcea and Krzysztof Chorzelski. And to talk about the quartet, of course.
Unfortunately, Corina had fallen ill so they suggested they’d stay in the hotel breakfast room.
Corina, frail and girlish, coughing heavily, and looking so pitiful that I wonder how she will be able to play that night.
And yet she leads the conversation, just as she leads the quartet – very briskly and confidently.
Corina Belcea was born in Romania in 1975. She won a few violin competitions, including Yehudi Menuhin’s, which had earned her a scholarship to the music school of the same name in London. Why did she choose to play quartet and not a solo career?
“In the Yehudi Menuhin music school where I started studying in 1991, chamber music was the main item on the agenda. Everyone was doing it, so I was too. And I loved it.”
“When I started my studies at the Royal College in 1994, I decided to start a string quartet with three friends from my school days. After a year and a half, exactly a week before an important competition, our viola player dropped out. Then I asked Krzysztof, who was my best friend, if he was up to the challenge. He was a violinist at the time and had never played even a single note on the viola.”
Did it take a long time to learn to play the viola? Chorzelski, laughing: “I’m still learning!”
Their repertoire includes a lot of modern music. Not that they are going to specialise in that, but at a concert they want to play at least one quartet from the 20th century. And they order new works, one per season, which they then actually perform. For instance, they have performed five compositions written especially for them, including Two movements for String Quartet by Simenon ten Holt, which they love. Very expressive.
And Thomas Adès’ quartet, which they will play later that evening? “Oh, but that one is already quite a few years old! Adès was only 22 at the time but the work is really unprecedented and so incredibly beautiful. We consider it one of the greatest works in the modern repertoire.”
“The composer himself is also an extraordinary person, very inspiring. A few times we have played with him, and a while back we recorded Schubert’s Piano Quintet together (Warner Classics 5576642)
They always choose their repertoire together, “democratically”. “We almost always agree with each other. Besides, we can’t play something, which we don’t like, anyway”. What do they like most? “Schubert. Beethoven. Mozart. And Janaček.”
And Shostakovich?
“Hmmm… Let’s say we’re not there quite yet”
It took a few years but by now Shostakovich has also become well known to the Belceas. In the previous few years, they have played just about all his string quartets live but never put his work on CD before.
And now they have! For Belgian Alpha, they have recorded the third string quartet and, reinforced by Polish pianist Piotr Anderszewsk, the piano quintet, and the result is undoubtedly excellent but with a few caveats.
The piano quintet dates from 1940. Its premiere, by the Beethoven Quartet with the composer himself at the piano, was greeted very enthusiastically by all. It earned Shostakovich the Stalin Prize, plus a considerable sum of money.
How different things were with the third string quartet! Again, it was premiered by the Beethoven Quartet, in 1946. The work was initially censored by the Soviet regime. Critics found the note with which the piece ends ‘ambiguous’ and Shostakovich was even accused of hiding coded messages against Stalin in it!
Shostakovich String Quartet no.3
The Belcea Quartet’s performance is milder than what I am used to. It’s not that the sting has been taken out, as the bitterness is still very prominent. But now you can listen to it several times in a row, without your ears getting tired. In a manner of speaking, that is.
Even the quintet, surely one of Shostakovich’s ‘sunniest’ compositions, sounds even more pleasant than usual to my ears. Incredibly beautiful, yes, but what I miss a little is the undertone – always present with Shostakovich – that makes it less pleasant for the listener.
Peanuts really. The four strings and the pianist feel each other very well, forging it into a beautiful, homogeneous whole. Without a doubt an asset!
‘Prehistoric’ Ligeti brilliantly performermed
For me, Leoš Janáček’s string quartets form the absolute opus magnus of the genre. Call me sentimental, but at the very first bars of number two my eyes fill with tears and I am really swept up in all the emotions. Over the years, many excellent versions have appeared on the market, of which the DG recording, by the then still very young Hagen Quartet, is the most precious to me.
It is not the first time that Belcea tried their hand at the string quartets: already in 2001, they recorded them for Zig Zag Territoires (ZZT 010701). I was not exactly over the moon then, somehow I did not feel they got to the core of the music. Still, I cherish the recording: I am a real ‘Belcea fan’.
I find the recording on Alpha Classis refreshing. The tempi are a bit fast, but that does not hurt. The players somewhat control their emotions, so that a lot of underground tension can be felt. Nice.
But what makes the CD a real must is the performance of Ligeti’s first string quartet. The Hungarian master composed it in 1954, two years later he had to flee the country, after which he referred to this composition as a ‘prehistoric Ligeti’.
Prehistoric or not: I think it is genius. It keeps you nailed to your seat and you can’t help but listen: preferably with all doors and windows closed, so you will not be disturbed. The string quartet, which for a good reason bears the name Métamorphoses nocturnes (yes, call it programmatic), is not performed very often, but of all the performances I have heard so far, the Belceas’ is definitely at the top.
György Kurtág ,the undoubtedly greatest composer still alive, turned 80 years old in February 2006, which was celebrated all over the world.
A ‘Kurtág 80 Festival’ was even created in Budapest, during which some of his works had their premieres.
“…Concertante…” for violin, viola and orchestra had been created back in 2003, but in 2006 Kurtág completely revised it. The composition, dedicated to Hiromi Kikuchi and Ken Hakii and realised in collaboration with these artists was awarded the prestigious Grawemeyer Award.
It is a wonderfully beautiful work, with many whispering tones and dream images, which gently fades out in a hushed epilogue, almost like a candle. Without a doubt, it is a true masterpiece, and the performance on this CD is so perfect and beautiful that it simply couldn’t be more wonderful. It will bring tears to your eyes.
In “Zwiegespräch”, with its strong Hungarian accents and its discernible influences of Mahler and Webern, the Keller Quartet’s lyrical sound is literally “enhanced” by a synthesiser played by György Kurtág junior.
The second CD ends with a few “Játékoks” (“Games”), played by Kurtág himself together with his wife Márta, but before that, you can dream away at “Hipartita” for violin solo.
Quirel from the Játékoks:
German firm ECM had not forgotten Kurtág’s 80th birthday either. In February 2006, they released a new recording of ‘Kafka-Fragmente’, arguably his most important work.
The composition was created in the years 1985 – 1986, in close collaboration with the violinist András Keller, a Kurtág promoter pur sang, who advised him in the technical instrumental issues. In 1987, Keller, together with Adrienne Csengery, took care of the premiere at the Festival of Modern Music in Witten.
Adrienne Csengery and András Keller:
Kurtág based his piece on fragments from Kafka’s diaries and letters, which he wove together into an hour-long beautiful and finished entity. Those fragments, forty in total, were spread randomly over four movements. Their order was determined on an exclusively musical basis, the texts were subordinated to the music
Kurtág was always strongly attracted to Kafka. Ever since his childhood, he collected all the texts which he thought could be “composable”. There is also a certain similarity between the two: their Central European Jewish roots, their high degree of self-criticism and their long periods of inactivity.
The small fragments are very different in atmosphere, text and music are symbiotically linked. This performance can hardly be bettered – it is a monumental birthday present.
William Kinderman on Kurtág’s Kafka-Fragmente, for soprano and violin, posted by king permission of William Keinderman
Karl Weigl, ca. 1910; the photograph was featured in Die Musik (1910) to accompany Richard Specht’s essay “Die Jungwiener Tondichter.
Karl Ignaz Weigl was born in 1881 in Vienna into an assimilated Jewish family. In 1938, he fled to New York, where he died ten years later. He was important contributor to the ferment of musical styles in Vienna in the early twentieth century. His compositions, which are still rarely being performed, are very traditional, anchored in a ‘Viennese sound’.
Karl Weigl on board the S.S. Statendam during the transatlantic crossing from Southampton to New York in October 1938.
That his symphonies are occasionally reminiscent of Mahler is not so surprising: Weigl worked closely with Mahler as his personal assistant at the Vienna Court Opera. But Brahms, too, is never far away.
In 1938 Arnold Schönberg wrote: ‘I have always regarded Dr. Weigl as one of the best composers of the old school; one of those who continued the glittering Viennese tradition’. No one could have put it better.rl Weigl on board the S.S. Statendam during the transatlantic crossing from Southampton to New York in October 1938.rl Weigl on board the S.S. Statendam during the transatlantic crossing from Southampton to New York in October 1938
Weigl studied with Zemlinsky, who held his pupil’s compositions in very high esteem. His works were performed by the most distinguished musicians, like Furtwängler and Georg Szell. It is truly unimaginable that he was so utterly forgotten: it was only after the year 2000 that record companies began to take some interest in his music. So huge kudos to Capriccio that, it seems, is in the process of creating a real Weigl (and more forgotten composers)-revival.
Weigl composed his fourth symphony in 1936. When I put the CD on, I first thought I was dealing with an unfamiliar version of Mahler 1; the resemblance is more than striking. But even the sixth symphony has its ‘Mahler moments’: think of the seventh! The performance by the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz conducted by Jürgen Bruns is outstanding
The ‘glittering Viennese tradition’ is Weigl’s main trademark. To put it irreverently, his music may be seen as sort of a gateway. A kind of corridor that runs from a classical Beethoven via a soul-stirring Schubert and an underground erotic Zemlinsky to finally end up in Weigl’s calm waters, and from there it finds its way to our hearts.
Weigl is not a composer I have heard much of (no, it’s not my fault) and apart from his, by the way, wonderful songs and a few of his chamber music compositions, I did not know him very well. So this CD is more than welcome, especially because the musicianship is so incredibly good.
I am most charmed by the violinist David Frühwirth. His tone is very sweet, as sweet as a Viennese Sachertarte. You can hear it best in the very Schubertian piano trio, but make no mistake! Just listen to the allegro molto, the third movement of the second violin sonata from1937 and you discover the complexity of the ‘Wiener-sound’.
And I feel free to use another quote, this time from Pablo Casals: “His music will not be lost, after the storm we will return to it, one day we will return to those who wrote real music.” It has taken a while and we are still far away, but a beginning has been made.
Toen ik mijn top tien lijstje maakte was ik een viertal geweldige uitgaven totaal vergeten. Waarom? Wie het weet maak het zeggen. Blackout? Of gewoon onnadenkendheid? Maar nu komen ze alsnog aan bod. En, geloof mij, deze vier uitgaven mag niemand missen!
Het lijstje is alfabetisch opgesteld, naar de componist, titel of de uitvoerende
Celebrating Woman
Hoeveel vrouwelijke componisten kent u? […] The Hague Stringtrio, een ensemble die mij eerder al meer dan prettig verrast had met een pleidooi voor (veelal vergeten) werken van ‘Entartete componisten’, heeft nu een cd opgenomen die vrouwelijk componisten in the picture zet. Op hun cd met de titel Celebrating Women! hebben ze strijktrio’s van vrouwelijke componisten uit de tweede helft van de negentiende en eerste helft van de twintigste eeuw vastgelegd. Alle vier de componisten zijn zo verschillend als het maar kan. Ze komen niet alleen uit vier verschillende landen (en drie werelddelen), ook hun culturele en sociale achtergrond kan niet diverser zijn […]
Ik hoop zo dat deze CD een navolging krijgt en dat de vrouwelijke componisten steeds vaker uitgevoerd en opgenomen gaan worden. Het zijn veelal echte juweeltjes die de vergetelheid niet verdienen
Zowel de Israëlische harpiste Rachel Talitman als de Grieks-Cypriotische fagottist Mavroudes Troullos zijn meer dan voortreffelijk. Echte vakmensen, virtuoos en inspirerend. […]
Ooit hadden we zoiets als huismuziek. Iets wat inmiddels vervangen is door house music (nomen omen?). Of zoiets. Niemand die nog luistert, het gaat om de alles verhullende herrie. Maar, als ik goed nadenk, is er eigenlijk iets veranderd, behalve de decibellen? Hebben de mensen van toen daadwerkelijk geluisterd? […]
Een paar weken geleden werd er een cd ten doop gehouden met zes sonates voor harp en fagot van ene Luigi Comencini. Niet alleen is de combinatie bijzonder, de componist zelf is het ook.
Vierentwintig is hij geworden. Vierentwintig. Meer mocht het niet van de nazi’s. Wie weet, wat hij nog meer in zijn mars had? Welke opera’s hadden we van hem kunnen verwachten? Wie weet was hij nu Wagner voorbijgestreefd, de componist die het niet zo op Joden op had? Maar misschien was hij een totaal andere richting opgegaan en werd hij een jazz gigant? […]
Hoe hij opgepakt is, is niet helemaal duidelijk, vermoed wordt dat hij tijdens een razzia werd opgepakt en kort daarop naar Westerbork werd gedeporteerd. Op 14 mei 1944 werd hij op transport gesteld naar Auschwitz. Een op 30 september 1944 gedateerde overlijdensakte vermeldt dat hij in Midden-Europa is gestorven. Daar kunnen we het mee doen. […]
De ‘Ouverture voor twee piano’s’ uit 1936 is het enige werk dat Kattenburg schreef voor twee piano’s (dus niet voor piano vierhandig). Hij was toen 17. Uit dezelfde periode stamt ook ‘Tap dance’ waar ook echt een tapdanser aan te pas moest komen.
Kattenburg maakt zelfs een zeer geslaagde tekening van de tapdanser in het manuscript. Op deze nieuwe album is deze bijzondere rol Tonio Geugelin werkelijk perfect aangemeten.
Onvoorstelbaar eigenlijk hoe veel geweldige musici ons klein landje telt! […] De pianiste Vera Kooper, de violist Gerard Sponk en de celliste Irene Enzlin hebben elkaar in 2013 in Salzburg ontmoet, waar ze alle drie toen studeerden […]
Origin is al de derde cd die ze samen hebben opgenomen, […] de titel slaat op de afkomst van de muziek waar de componisten uit putten: de onvervalste folklore als leidraad [,,,]
Delta Piano Trio: “Drie componisten drie verschillende culturen en drie verschillende tijdperken, maar met één overeenkomst: een zoektocht naar de muzikale oorsprong”.
After leaving the communist paradise in 1968, I found myself in a Valhalla with lots of temptations I could barely resist. I spent my entire scholarship on LPs in a music shop on the very first day. Among them were Beethoven’s complete piano sonatas, played by Daniel Barenboim.
I no longer have the records, so I don’t know if they were the same as the recordings from 1959 that I am listening to now, but I don’t think so. In 1959, Barenboim was only 17 years old and I doubt if he already had a recording contract at that time.
What is most striking about his playing is its youthful elan and a naturalness that only a very young genius may command. There is not a trace of doubt in his interpretations and his attack radiates grandeur.
Unintentionally, I am reminded of Pogorelic’s first recordings; Barenboim also pushes the limits, but he never oversteps them. Even though his tempi are sometimes dizzying, such as in the Rondo Allegro in ‘Patetique’. Talk about pathetic! The “Apassionata” also lives up to its name with Barenboim. Rarely does one hear the sonata played so compellingly, almost recklessly.
Even more interesting is the fourth CD with all kinds of pieces, starting with J.Ch. Bach and ending with Shostakovich. Here Kabalevsky’s piano sonatina is an even bigger rarity than the two little gems by Pergolesi. The contemplative second movement, the Andantino, might have been written by Satie, but make no mistake: with the presto, we end up in (somewhat) ‘Prokofiev-land’.
This CD was recorded in 1955, which means that the child Barenboim was not yet thirteen years old at the time. Insane.
It’s really a shame that the textbook barely contains any text, it doesn’t even say where the recordings took place and if they had been released before.
Beethoven Piano Sonatas Nos. 8, 14, 21, 23, 29, 32 JC Bach Piano Sonata in B flat major op. 17 No. 6 Pergolesi Piano Sonatas in B flat major & in G major Mozart Variations KV 265 Mendelssohn Capriccio in F sharp minor op. 5 Brahms Intermezzo in C major op. 119 No. 3 Kabalevsky Sonatina for Piano op. 13 No. 1 Shostakovich Preludes Op. 34 No. 2 Profile PH
Onvoorstelbaar eigenlijk hoe veel geweldige musici ons klein landje telt! Pianisten, violisten, cellisten, zangers, harpisten…. Noem maar op. En dan heb ik het niet eens over de kamermuziekensembles. Alma Quartet, The Hague String Trio … allemaal wereldtop. Daar hoort ook het Delta Piano Trio bij.
De pianiste Vera Kooper, de violist Gerard Sponk en de celliste Irene Enzlin hebben elkaar in 2013 in Salzburg ontmoet, waar ze alle drie toen studeerden. Het klikte. Ze zaten op één lijn en dat niet alleen muzikaal, maar ook buiten de concertpodia en concertzalen. Vrienden voor het leven?
Origin is al de derde cd die ze samen hebben opgenomen, de eerste twee heb ik gemist, maar deze staat al een paar weken in mijn speler. Nou ja, op Spotify dan, want zo makkelijk. De titel slaat op de afkomst van de muziek waar de componisten uit putten: de onvervalste folklore als leidraad
In geval van Dvořák is het – min of meer – voor de hand liggend: Dvořák ontwikkelde zijn eigen muzikale taal door de liefde voor de volksmuziek waar hij dan rijkelijk uit putte. Zijn ‘Dumky trio’ (even een digressie: ‘dumky’ is een meervoud van het woord ‘dumka’, wat dan ook een verkleinwoord is van ‘duma’, een droefgeestige Slavische volksballade) is het enige werk op de cd dat enige bekendheid kent. Of kende, want zo vaak wordt het tegenwoordig ook niet meer uitgevoerd
Pijnlijker wordt het als het over de twee overige componisten en hun op deze cd opgenomen werken gaat. Een beetje muziekliefhebber kent de naam van Frank Martin wel, maar wie wist dat hij ook een Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises heeft gecomponeerd? Wat had een in Nederland wonende Zwitser met Ierland? Ach… doet het er eigenlijk toe?
En dan komen we bij Tigran Mansurian, wellicht één van de belangrijkste Armeense componisten. Maar ook in zijn geval is het een beetje ingewikkeld. Hij werd in 1939 geboren in Beiroet, Libanon. Zijn familie verhuisde in 1947 naar Armenië. Zijn opleiding genoot hij in Jerevan. ZijnVijf Bagatellen zijn al eerder opgenomen geweest en wat mij betreft nog niet vaak genoeg.
Delta Piano Trio: “Drie componisten, drie verschillende culturen en drie verschillende tijdperken, maar met één overeenkomst: een zoektocht naar de muzikale oorsprong”.
Is er iets wat ik er nog aan kan toevoegen? Ja. Niet alleen de muziek, ook de uitvoering is op het hoogste niveau. Laat dit pareltje u niet zomaar voorbij gaan
Frank Martin: Trio sur des mélodies populaires irlandaises Tigran Manserian: Vijf Bagatellen voor pianotrio Antonín Dvořák: Pianotrio nr. 4 in e, op. op (Dumky) Delta Piano Trio Challenge Classics CC72901
De vraag waarom Braunfels zo verschrikkelijk is vergeten ga ik niet eens stellen. Dat het alles met de nazi’s en de Joden te maken had, dat weet iedereen immers wel. Hoop ik. Maar de oorlog is al zevenenzeventig jaar voorbij en Braunfels is al bijna zeventig jaar dood. En nog steeds is zijn naam niet daar, waar het hoort te zijn: op de belangrijkste concertpodia en operabühnes.
In de jaren negentig kon je nog van een kleine revival spreken: EMI bracht zijn mysteriespel Verkündigung uit en Decca nam zijn bekendste opera Die Vögel op. Die Vögel dook dan weer eens in Los Angeles op, waar James Conlon al jaren bezig is om de ‘Verboden componisten’ ruim podium te geven. In de letterlijk zin van het woord.
Désirée Rancatore zingt de Nachtegaal in Los Angeles Opera:
Tot 1933 behoorde Braunfels, samen met Richard Strauss, Zemlinsky, Korngold en Schreker tot de meest uitgevoerde hedendaagse componisten. In 1933 werd hij ontslagen van zijn post als directeur van de Muziek Academie in Keulen en nadat hij ‘entartet’ werd verklaard leefde Braunfels in totale afzondering in de omgeving van de Bodensee (in zijn biografie wordt het mooi omschreven als ‘innerlijke emigratie’).
Na de oorlog ging Braunfels – op speciaal verzoek van de toenmalige kanselier Adenauer – naar Keulen terug. De aandacht die hij kreeg bleef bij een paar uitvoeringen van zijn werken. Gedesillusioneerd keerde hij terug naar de Bodensee.
Het medium kamermuziek was voor hem totaal nieuw. In de brieven uit die tijd toonde hij zich bijzonder gelukkig met het voor hem nieuw ontdekte idioom: ”Er is niets leukers, dan het werken aan een strijkkwartet” schreef hij.
Voor zijn eerste kwartet, gecomponeerd in 1944 gebruikte hij Verkündigung als zijn voornaamste inspiratiebron en in alle vier de delen citeert hij er rijkelijk uit.
Het tweede strijkkwartet is iets lichtvoetiger. De eerste twee delen zijn behoorlijk vrolijk en dansant, het vierde met zijn Oosteuropees-Joodse thema’s doet mij sterk aan Sjostakovitsj denken. Niet echt vernieuwend, maar buitengewoon leuk en inspirerend.
Er bestaat nog een derde strijkkwartet, geschreven in 1947. Die kwam ik alleen op YouTube tegen:
Ooit schreef ik dat Braunfels’ muziek twee keer is gestorven. De eerste keer toen zijn composities door de Nazi’s ‘entartet’(gedegenereerd) werden verklaard. En de tweede keer toen de naoorlogse muziekpausen alles wat tonaal was en naar romantiek riekte als ‘bedorven’ bestempelden. Inmiddels zijn we een paar jaar verder, hun esthetiek (of eigenlijk het gebrek er aan) is al lang in de stoffige archieven opgeborgen en Braunfels is niet zo onbekend meer. Dat hoop ik althans want echt uitgevoerd wordt hij nog maar zelden.
Gelukkig bestaan er nog labels zoals Capriccio, CPO en Oehms die ons met de o zo gruwelijk minder bekende of simpelweg vergeten schatten kennis laten maken.
String Quartets no 1 & 2 Auryn Quartet CPO 999406-2
Basia con fuoco 