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John Fields   24/7/2003	Subject: Raff Piano Trios Message: Would just like to add to my previous e-mail that i am interested in any info regarding chamber music(with piano) from the Romantic period, by composers like Raff who are not household names. Thanks!
FERNANDO OLIVA   25/7/2003	RE: Raff Piano Trios IP: Logged Message: Dear John, I love very much Raff´s Piano Trios. The fourth is my favorite, but all Trios are wonderful. Arte Nova edited the complete Piano Trios in double CD-set, played by "Il Trittico". Also CPO has a new release of Raff´s Chamber Music: Violin Sonata, two Duos and Duo on Wagner´s Tanhhausser themes. If you like romantic chamber music with piano, try to find Anton Rubinstein´s Cello Sonatas. I have a French version (Edited by Espace Zig-Zag last year). I bought it only for € 17,20. This CD includes a wonderful version about his famous Melody in F versioned for Cello and Piano. I also recommend to you Franz Berwald Piano Trios lst., 2nd. and 3rd. Berwald is an original and unfortunately unknow swedish romantic composer. Surely, you will enjoy when listen it. You can find this work in NAXOS (very easy to find). And, if you think that solo piano music is chamber, don´t forget to buy John Field (!)(famous english early romantic composer) Nocturns. I have a Dutch CD (I forget the label) with 15 of this little pieces, in nearly chopinian style. I bought this CD in special offer only for € 3,50. I wish you enjoy with this little selection. Best regards from Barcelona, in the sunny (and hot) Spain. Fernando.
John Boyer   28/7/2003	RE: Raff Piano Trios IP: Logged Message: All the following works are chamber works with piano from the romantic period. Hence, "quartet" and "quintet" mean "piano quartet" and "piano quintet", etc. Anton Arensky: Trio #1 in D minor. This work is almost a repertory standard, but not quite, so it's worth mentioning. Some big-name ensembles have tackled it, so it shouldn't be hard to find. Avoid the Rembrandt Trio's performance on Dorian. Dynamic range is excessive and the slow movement is rushed through at nearly twice normal speed. Cecile Chaminade: Trio #1 in D minor. Thoroughly delightful and charming work. Available on a nice recording from ASV. The older Vox recording suffers from intonation problems from the violinist. Arthur Foote: Trios #1 & #2; Quartet Op. 23, Quintet Op. 38; Cello Sonata American composer Arthur Foote is little known outside our shores, but his chamber music is top notch. The trios, the quartet, and the quintet are available on Naxos's "American Classics" series, volumes 3, 2, and 1, respectively. Trio #1 shows a variety of influences, including Mendelssohn (whose D minor trio is quoted in the 1st movement) and Rubinstein (the coda of the finale of his once-popular Trio in F serves as the model for the coda of the finale of this work). Trio #2 is a more mature piece, more American sounding, with a particularly beautiful slow movement. The Quartet is a hoot from first note to last...another must-hear piece. I would recommend starting with volumes 2 and 3 of the series. The Cello Sonata is available in a fine performance on Dorian, coupled with the Barber. Hermann Goetz: Trio, Op. 1 Goetz died when he was 36, too soon to establish himself as firmly as he ought to have. The Trio is his best chamber work, but the other chamber works with piano are fine to. All can be heard on a nice two-disc set from CPO. Heinrich von Herzogenberg: Cello Sonatas #1-3; Quartet #2 Best known as a friend of Brahms, though more accurately he was the husband of a friend of Brahms. All the above works are available on CPO. Not quite Brahms's majesty, but much that is beautiful. The Quartet #1 is OK, but not as fine as the second. Friedrich Kiel: Quintets 1 & 2; Trios 1, 3, 4, and 5. A very much un-sung composer who doesn't even rate an entry in Groves. The quintets at times sound so much like Brahms that it would be easy to mistake them as discarded works by the master. Kiel, by the way, was 12 years Brahms's senior. The trios are full of lovely stuff. Trio #3 has an especially delicious opening that is harmonically ambiguous, then resolves into bright sunshine. A real delight. It can be heard played by the Abegg trio on a rather hard-to-find Tacet recording, a re-release of an Intercord disc from the late '80s. Trios 1, 4, and 5 are coupled on a Koch disc. The quintets are paired together on a Marco Polo recording. Carl Reinecke: Cello Sonatas 1-3; Quintet, Op 83; Trios Op. 188, 264, & 274 Reinecke was a solid, tuneful composer who continued churning out fine works well into his 80s. He was 81 when he completed the Trio, Op. 274. The cello sonatas, especially the first, reveal in inventive mind. The Quintet is solidly crafted. The three trios each contain at least one wind instrument: Op. 188 is for oboe and horn, Op. 264 is for clarinet and viola, and Op. 274 is for clarinet and horn. All are superb pieces and can be heard together on a well-played and recorded Klavier disc. The cello sonatas and the Quintet are available on CPO. Josef Rheinberger: Cello Sonata; Violin Sonatas 1 & 2; Horn Sonata; Trio #3; Quartet; Quintet; Nonet Rheinberger is the Lichtenstein's most famous composer...big deal, right? Luckily for us, Thorofon recorded all the chamber music in a 7 volume series. The trios can also be had on a 2 disc MD+G set. For the violin sonatas, I would recommend the Christophorus release. The piano in the Thorofon is too far in the background, and the sound is dry. Of his 4 trios, only #3 really works for me, but you might think otherwise. The Violin Sonata #2 opens with a glorious melody that Rheinberger doesn't quite know what to do with, but this doesn't detract from its beauty...the slow movement is pretty fine, too. The Quartet, nominally in E-flat, begins by alternating between the home key and C minor before finally settling down. The balance of the first movement is simply gorgeous. The Cello Sonata abounds in rapturous melodies, while the Horn Sonata fills a gap in the repertory. The unusual Nonet ends with a rambunctious finale ala Haydn. Anton Rubinstein: Violin Sonatas 1-3; Cello Sonatas 1 & 2; Piano Trios 1-3; Viola Sonata, Quintet, Op. 55 Rubinstein's duo sonatas are among his best works. The Cello Sonatas have been recorded a surprising number of times, but you are cautioned to avoid the cavernous sounding Russian Disc. The violin sonatas have not seen much recording. A complete set was available on LP from MHS. As for CD recordings, 1 & 2 were recorded for Nuova Era, while #3 is on a hard-to-find Tiziano, sporting the same team heard on the Nuova Era. Recordings of the trios have appeared on Russian Disc (1 + 3), Melodiya (#3), and RealSound (2 & 3). Russian Disc gets a luke warm recommendation because it has the only recording of #1. For #3, better to go with the hard-to-find Melodiya (coupled with the cello pieces, Op. 11) or the wonderful RealSound discs, best obtained from their website, www.realsound.it (#2 is coupled with the Smetana, #3 is joined by the Taneyev, Op. 22). The Viola Sonata is quite beautiful, and who writes viola sonatas? The Quintet Op. 55 is the one for piano and winds, one of Rubinstein's most graceful creations. Avoid at all costs the Russian Disc! Xaver Scharwenka: Violin Sonata; Trios 1 & 2 Scharwenka was a virtuoso pianist, but he lets the strings shine in his chamber pieces. His complete chamber works for piano, originally issued by Collins, are now available in a two disc set from Helios/Hyperion. The Violin Sonata is quite original, with a lovely slow movement and a stirring finale. The 2nd Trio also has a very beautiful slow movement and ends with a stirring "ala Zingarese" finale. Good heavens, there are so many others...Josef Joachim (Viola Variations, best heard un-cut on the Conifer release), Robert Fuchs (Violin Sonatas, Cello Sonatas; Trio for Violin, Viola, and Piano), Roentgen (Cello Sonata #1, Violin Sonata Op. 20)... I could go on all day!