Kiel Viola Sonata etc.

[Alan Howe]

In my view, the finest romantic-era viola sonata - tied, perhaps, with the two by Draeseke (and given that Brahms' two are arrangements, albeit by the composer himself):
https://www.jpc.de/jpcng/classic/detail/-/art/heinrich-xxiv-reuss-zu-koestritz-sonate-fuer-viola-klavier-g-dur-op-22/hnum/8346597
More info here:
www.editionsilvertrust.com/kiel-viola-sonata-op67.htm

[eschiss1]

Has anyone (and how many?) recorded, btw, the first published "not-an-arrangement" viola sonata (Naumann's?) (Mendelssohn's was composed earlier but not published until a century later.)

[Alan Howe]

This CD is a must-buy for all lovers of great romantic-era chamber/instrumental music. The performance of the Kiel is wonderful - and made all the more so because the sensitive viola-playing of Anna Kreetta Gribajcevic is accompanied by the committed and passionate pianism of that champion of the unsung repertoire, Oliver Triendl. One of the gems of the current catalogue. Buy it before it disappears!

[Mark Thomas]

The performance of the Kiel Viola Sonata on this recording is indeed a triumph, and the work itself is gloriously gutsy piece, full of romantic ardour. The contrast with Prinz Reuß's tepid Sonata is cruelly telling, especially when one knows that these fine performers will have been doing their utmost to show off the work in the best light. The three Reinecke pieces are joyful, youthful works which don't have the depth of Kiel's masterpiece, but which nonetheless never outstay their welcome in the way that Reuß's "Mendelssohn and water" effort does.