Unsung chamber music with piano

[JimL]

(Taneyev premiered Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto and completed his 2nd and 3rd concertos, and the major Russian chamber music competition is named for him, so he was well recognized in his own country, even if we've forgotten him now.)

Welcome back, Dave!  I was wondering when you'd join us over here!  Just a point of fact - Taneyev may have premiered Tchaikovsky's PC 1 in Russia, but the work was first premiered by Hans von Bulow in Boston, MA (although that was the first edition - maybe you're talking about the revised version of 1889?)  And Tchaikovsky's 2nd PC was completed by Tchaikovsky (although it was later revised by Aleksandr Siloti).  Only the PC 3 was left in fragments at Tchaikovsky's death.

But, getting back on track, I'm surprised nobody's mentioned the piano trios and quartets of Friedrich Kiel, considering how many of you guys praised them to the skies on the old Forum...

[peter_conole]

Hi all

You are quite right, Jiml. I would have chimed in earlier - it is the time zone issue. I would give Kiel's chamber music for piano and strings (quintets, quartets and trios) the highest possible gradings. And for what it is worth, his Piano Trio in G Major, op 34 has been my favourite in that genre since the time Cain and Abel were still exchanging birthday gift vouchers.

Mark - has stated the obvious. Raff was as much a master of chamber music as he was of works involving orchestral forces of whatever kind. Am pining for the Divox release of the piano quintet to arrive...could be the disc of the year judging from Mark's past remarks.

regards
Peter

PS: off topic - Syrelius, did you have any luck with Lalo's piano concerto at Amazon.com?

[Yavar Moradi]

I guess these don't quite qualify as unsung, but Saint-Saen's two piano trios are both amazing...as are Faure's two piano quintets.

Yavar

[Steven Eldredge]

I ordered the Henselt Trio and the Raff Quintet recordings. Very much looking forward to hearing them.

Someone mentioned the Piano Trio by Cecile Chaminade. That is a lovely piece, as is so much of what she wrote. Charming, tuneful, elegant, well-crafted.

It is astonishing how much music from the long 19th century disappeared, but it is indeed a blessing how much of it we can investigate on recordings now. There's always something yet to be discovered, which is what makes this forum so valuable.

[John H White]

I've just remembered that I didn't mention William Hurlstone's Piano trio. To me, a delightful work by such a promising composer who didn't quite make his 30th birthday.

[Hovite]

I would love to hear about member's favorite obscure(more or less) 19th century chamber music including piano. I am very fond of the piano quartets of Franz Berwald, the Hummel Septet, and the Smetana Piano Trio, which is a glorious piece. Any ideas for some more CD shopping on my part?

I prefer orchestral music, but, if my memory is correct, the following are worth checking out:

Borodin: Piano Quintet
Dohnányi: Piano Quintet
Fauré: Piano Quartet No. 2
Furtwängler: Piano Quintet
Granados: Piano Quintet
Herzogenberg: Piano Quartet
Noskowski: Piano Quartet
Respighi: Piano Quintet
Wolf-Ferrari: Piano Quintet
Zarebski: Piano Quintet

But I must stress they I have not heard most of these for several years, and so my memory may be faulty!

[Amphissa]

Just a point of fact - Taneyev may have premiered Tchaikovsky's PC 1 in Russia, but the work was first premiered by Hans von Bulow in Boston, MA (although that was the first edition - maybe you're talking about the revised version of 1889?)  And Tchaikovsky's 2nd PC was completed by Tchaikovsky (although it was later revised by Aleksandr Siloti).  Only the PC 3 was left in fragments at Tchaikovsky's death.

Sorry that my statement required correction. Taneyev premiered the Tchaikovsky 1st in Moscow on Dec 3, 1875. Taneyev performed the Russian premier of the 2nd concerto as well. Taneyev completed the 3rd concerto.

[JimL]

I don't know how unsung this work is, but I've been terribly fond of the early Richard Strauss Piano Quartet ( Op. 13) for a long time.

[Hovite]

I'm not sure whether this strictly fits here, but today I attended a concert that included two of Mozart's piano concerti (Nos. 12 & 13) arranged by him for piano quintet.

[Peter1953]

This evening I organized a small competition. Two delightful masterpieces in the chamber music genre. Two listeners: my wife and I. Raff's gorgeous Piano Quintet in A minor, op. 107 (1862) on the Divox label first and then the stunning 2nd Piano Quartet in A flat major by Rufinatscha (circa 1870).
My wife particularly loves the sparkling 4th movement of Raff's work, and I, well, I also find that movement thrilling, in fact the whole quintet. But Rufinatscha... what a masterpiece, and that beautiful and sensitive 2nd movement...Yes, that turns the scale. Today Rufinatscha is the winner.

Reading the interesting booklet notes by Dr. Avrohom Leichtling I see that Hans von Bülow thought Raff's Quintet the most important piece of chamber music since Beethoven. I wonder whether Von Bülow was familiar with Rufinatscha's Quartet. 

Is there any member who knows why Raff dedicated his Grand Quintuor to King William III of the Netherlands (in office 1849-90)? I didn't even know this obstinate and unpopular king was interested in music at all.

[JimL]

Is there any member who knows why Raff dedicated his Grand Quintuor to King William III of the Netherlands (in office 1849-90)? I didn't even know this obstinate and unpopular king was interested in music at all.

Peter, on the old Forum we had an entire thread on this work that was devoted almost completely to trying to answer that very question.  About the only answer we could come up with was speculation that Raff was unsuccessfully trying to curry favor with his royal highness.  However it was noted that William III's mother (and later on his wife, too, IIRC?) was quite the music lover.

[Ilja]

I did consider another possibility. At the time (1862), Raff had just moved to Wiesbaden, had married years before, and was at last getting some recognition. Wiesbaden was at the time part of the dukedom of Nassau and  its ruler was the increasingly autocratic duke Adolf (what's in a name). However, there were still strong family ties between him and the Dutch royal family of Orange-Nassau, who had been in charge of the dukedom in previous centuries. So I find it more probable that Raff was, indirectly, trying to humour the ruling monarch of his home town.
Adolf would be deposed by the Prussians in 1866 (after taking the Austrians' side in the war) and would finally become Grand Duke of Luxemburg in 1890, after the Dutch royals had to give up the territory for lack of male heirs (Salic law prevents women becoming rulers of Luxemburg).

[FBerwald]

I cant think of anything more serene and beautiful than the last three woodwind sonatas by Camille Saint-Saëns, namely the Clarinet, Bassoon and Oboe. This is absolute music!!! Its also remarked that he also intended to compose sonatas for flute and for cor anglais but died before he could complete it.
While this isn't exactly unsung lets not forget the Brahms Clarinet Quintet with its dreamy almost hesitant begining!
I have some more that I like (some of them without Piano!)
Glinka - Grand Sextet (A very memorable begining)
Edouard Lalo - Piano Trios
Glazunov - 7 String Quartets (very neglected!)
                String Quintet
Berwald - String Quartets
              Piano Quintets
Medtner - Piano Quintet in C major
Sinding - Piano Quintet
Max Bruch - Piano Quintet in g minore, String Octet (****************)
Robert Schumann - Works for Cello and Piano (It can't any more romantic than this people!!!)
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor - Piano Quintet, Clarinet Quintet
Reynaldo Hahn - Piano Quintet in f sharp minor!!!!

[Peter1953]

Following Ilja's contribution to the mystery of Raff, dedicating his Piano Quintet to the Dutch King William III, I have done some surfing on the web. Apparently William III inherited the musical temperament from his mother, the Grand Duchess Anna Paulowna of Russia. But more interesting is William's first wife, his cousin Princess Sophie van Württemberg (1818-77). It was a very unhappy marriage, but husband and wife shared a common interest in music. Although Sophie was much more intellectual and artistic, it was William who held between 1873-76 two times a year auditions for young talented singers and pianists. A few members of the jury were no one less than... Liszt and Wieniawski.

Back to what really matters. Most Raffians who love chamber music will probably have the Divox disc in their collections. But I can very strongly recommend the Rufinatscha as well. And it's not only the 2nd Piano Quartet which is most delightful, but also his first in c minor, full of catchy tunes in all four movements. You will not be disappointed!

[Mark Thomas]

Thanks Ilja, Peter and Jim on the question of why Raff dedicated the Piano Quintet to the King of the Netherlands. I have no idea, but the Nassau link does seem very plausible.

By the way, you're right to highlight the Divox CD - it is immeasurably better than the performance on the MDG disc, even though that has the benefit of a superb performance of the String SExtet as a coupling.

Cheers,

Mark