Reicha String Quartets from Toccata

[Alan Howe]

Right on the early fringe of our remit is that fascinating period in which late classicism takes on tinges of early romanticism. Falling into this period are these rather sonorous-sounding string quartets, Op.48, written by Anton Reicha around 1802 and slated for future release on CD by Toccata:
http://www.toccataclassics.com/cddetail.php?CN=TOCC0022
(Download available now)

For some idea of Reicha's huge output, see this Wikipedia article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_compositions_by_Anton_Reicha

[petershott@btinternet.com]

Can't remember which thread it was, but I've mentioned this forthcoming Toccata before. Ah yes, just remembered. The Reinecke Cello Concerto had a 'kickstarter' fund-raiser behind it - as does the Kreutzer Quartet recording of Reicha. Looks a good way to get recordings of unsungs off the ground.

I'm looking forward immensely to this disc, and a little bird has told me that enormous efforts have been made by the Kreutzer to get the performance and recording spot on right. We owe a great deal to Toccata and Martin Anderson. What with an increasing number of fascinating issues on Toccata Classics and top notch publications from Toccata Press, I'm not sure how Martin manages to grab a kip at night!

[eschiss1]

I very much look forward to it also. Another (and important, I think...) recording(s, not one disc, of course) may be ticked off that persistent want-list !

[TerraEpon]

A lot of Reicha's music falls firmly in the early romantic -- he was an innovator in many ways and did a lot of experiments.

[petershott@btinternet.com]

A lovely little clutch of new Toccata CDs arrived in the post this morning - the chamber works with oboe by Petr Eben, Mihkel Kerem's 3rd Symphony (not for discussion here alas), orchestral and choral works by Ernst Mielck (I haven't checked, but surely first recordings of all five works?), and, for me, top of the list, the first volume of a projected series of Anton Reicha String Quartets.

This first volume contains two of the Op. 48 quartets. The three in each of Op. 48 and Op. 49 make up a set of six written in Vienna between late 1801 and 1804, and thus are absolutely contemporary with Beethoven's Op. 18. Happy times ahead getting to know these quartets!

I am quite astonished that whereas recordings of Haydn's quartets (that I count as quite superior to the alleged seven wonders of the world) piled on top of each other might almost reach to the moon, some 37 quartets of Reicha have survived.......and, according to the Toccata notes, only 1 has previously been recorded. All of my (utterly amateurish) scurryings around Reicha suggest to me that he was one of the most innovative of now more or less unsung composers.

Mention deserves to be made of the booklet accompanying this Toccata release. It is wonderfully informative (and readable). And written by someone whose name rings slight bells but whom I have certainly never read before - Ron Drummond (and according to the blurb, he is a writer, publisher and independendent scholar, focussing on historical Jesus research, Shakespeare studies, the Czech emigre composers of the Classical era, and the long-term prospects for human settlement of the solar system. A polymath indeed!)

[TerraEpon]

Well I guess this disc goes on 'the list' then. Reicha is like Raff with me -- not /quite/ on my list of favorites where I try to get everything, but I still try and get most works because they almost never fail to please.


Edit: And said liner notes are free for DL http://www.toccataclassics.com/cddetail.php?CN=TOCC0022 (I love companies that do this). Along with generous samples of the disc to sample. Sounding very nice so far....

[chill319]

Reicha's keyboard fugues from a decade later are sometimes quirky, sometimes sublime, sometimes startlingly modern.