Friedrich Kuhlau

[Alan Howe]

Friedrich Kuhlau turns out to be rather a good early-Romantic composer. I have just acquired the CD of his overtures on Chandos and it is full of spirited, tuneful and engaging music broadly in the Beethoven-Weber-Mendelssohn orbit. Exactly right for the Christmas season if you have over-indulged, either food or music-wise!

[TerraEpon]

Yes, I've had that CD for a some years, and I love it, especially The Elf's Hill -- which itself has a great complete recording on Danacord/Marco Polo (though with unfortunate not-great sound).

Of course, my first brush with Kuhlau was as a piano student, playing a really easy sonatina...

[eschiss1]

I hear good things about his string quartet and other chamber works (violin and flute sonatas, flute quintet(s?), 3 piano quartets, etc.)
Eric

[Alan Howe]

Anybody heard the violin sonatas?

[Hofrat]

In my modest CD collection I have the following Kullau works:

1.  Flute trio opus 119 (Erad 141).  Also recorded on the CD are flute trios by Beethoven, Hummel, and Czerny.
2.  Overture and ballet music from his stage work "Everhoj" opus 100, a piano concert in C opus 7, and a concertino for two horns and orchestra opus 45 (FRC 9108).

They are very pleasing pieces.  If I remember correctly, Kuhlau was well received by Beethoven and the two spent a night of drink afterwhich Beethoven wrote a little canon for Kuhlau. 

[gprengel]

Today I was listening for the first time to this outstanding piano quartett from 1829:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlZu2vm8h6M

Wow!!

Now I want to know more of this guy ...

Gerd

[Alan Howe]

Some time ago we had a brief thread on the most Beethovenian unsung piano concerto in which Kuhlau's PC in C (1811) came out tops:
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,414.msg4851.html#msg4851

[Martin Eastick]

As a composer for piano, I have always been a little disappointed in Kuhlau's output - always hoping that I would find a really substantial and rewarding work(s) of his but to no avail, despite the quantity of his piano works which always seem rather lightweight.  This is perhaps all the more surprising when one considers his outstanding Piano Concerto, but even more so with reference to his 3 Piano Quartets, which, IMHO, are among the most accomplished works in ths genre for their time, and should be much better known without doubt!

[Mark Thomas]

I've only ever really been aware of Kuhlau's orchestral music, so thanks for the piano quartets recommendation, Martin. I'll look forward to exploring them. Piano sonatas feature heavily in his catalogue, so I assume that they disappoint you as much as the rest of Kuhlau's piano music, but what of the String Quartet Op.122 and the violin sonatas, are they any good?

[regriba]

Though he never married, Kuhlau had to support quite a large family consisting of his parents and siblings, which is why he had to write a lot for amateurs. This is at least part of the reason for the nature of much of his piano music. What he really wanted to write was operas and concert music, and I don't think the piano quartets will disappoint.

Near the end of his life Kuhlau's home, including the manuscripts of many works, was destroyed by fire. To help him a wealthy Copenhagen music lover commissioned a set of string quartets from him. However, his health was broken, so only one quartet was written before he died. But the quartet is very fine, imho.

[Martin Eastick]

Mark, I can only say that many of his so-called piano sonatas are quite short and also appeared as "Sonatina" in some later publications. True, there are more substantial works amongst his considerable output, which tend to more interesting but, IMHO, I generally find a general lack of inspiration and interest in much of his music, which I would, for instance, certainly notice in similar works of Ferdinand Ries, to mention a close contemporary. However,, as mentioned, the piano quartets - along with the sole string quartet Op122, represent Kuhlau at his most inspired, and do demand attention. The violin sonatas mostly exist in both versions for violin or flute and piano, which is hardly surprising perhaps. I must admit though that both Op33 and Op64 are more interesting than I originally thought!

[semloh]

Probably like many Britons of a certain age, my first encounter with Kuhlau was the two Turnabout LPs, one featuring music from Elf Hill and Once Upon a Time, and one of his Piano Concerto coupled with Clementi. Since then he seems to have become quite well served by LP and CD, not least on Naxos.

After the Piano Concerto, I found his output uninspiring, and haven't listened to anything in a few years. It's obviously time for a re-appraisal!

[mikehopf]

.. and his charming opera : Lulu.  Recorded on the Kontrapunkt label in the 1980s.

[Mark Thomas]

Martin Eastick wrote:

his 3 Piano Quartets, which, IMHO, are among the most accomplished works in this genre for their time

Thank you so much, Martin, for your recommendation of Kuhlau's piano quartets. My word, they really do merit your ringing endorsement. What delightful works they are, Kuhlau really doesn't make a misstep in any of them.