Hugo Kaun: chamber music

[Mark Thomas]

For the curious, now available in the Downloads board are the Piano Quintet and String Quartet No.3 of the German late romantic Hugo Kaun (1863-1932). Like the three orchestral works of his which I have (Falstaff, the Märkische Suite and an Elegie), I find these pieces well put together, nether too conservative nor too advanced for their time and, at first hearing, attractive and having the promise of music which I will grow to love. And yet I find that there is something cold and unemotional in Kaun's music which means that I remain profoundly unmoved by anything of his which I have heard. There's something calculated and mechanical about it somehow. I'll be interested to hear what others think - it's probably just me.

Thanks to britishcomposer, you can download Kaun's Falstaff and Märkische Suite from the Downloads Archive board here.

[eschiss1]

I like his 4th string quartet myself (thanks, matesic). Thanks for uploading the 2 chamber works, looking forward to hearing them!

[tuatara442442]

Didn't find these two uploads though
The 3rd String Quartet still doesn't have an alternative recording (though we have the Piano Quintet on MDG)

[Mark Thomas]

My post in our Downloads Board of Kaun's Piano Quintet and String Quartet No.3 recordings has indeed disappeared, but I've now reinstated it and you can find it here. The sound quality reflects the age of the original broadcasts unfortunately.

[tuatara442442]

Thank you for rescuing the only recording of the work, Mark.
I just heard the samples on edition silvertrust's website and already knew what to expect

[John Boyer]

I was about to post, "What do you mean by 'only recording'?  I'm looking at a commercial recording of the first four quartets at this very moment."  I had my reply all typed out and ready to send when I realized I was looking at a recording of the quartets of Hugo KauDER, not Hugo KauN.  Oops. 

[Alan Howe]

Oops.

An easy mistake to make. I had to think hard myself...

[tuatara442442]

Yes, their names are quite similar, and I memorize them in pairs