What are you listening 2 now?

[DavidW]

Haydn Op 33, Angeles Quartet:

[Harry]

Richard Stöhr. (1874–1967)
Chamber Music, Volume I.
Works for Cello & Piano.
Fantasie stücke opus 17, 1907.
Sonata for Cello and Piano, opus 49, 1915.
Stefan Koch, Cello.
Robert Conway, Piano.
Recorded: 2013 at The Brookwood Studio, Plymouth, Michigan.
Streaming: FLAC 44.1kHz/16 bit.
Label: Toccata Classics. PDF file attached.


Richard Stöhr (1874–1967) was a Viennese-born composer, teacher, and author whose music all but vanished from public memory following his forced exile to the United States during the Nazi era. Yet what was lost in history is now being gently retrieved — and with this first volume of his chamber music, Toccata Classics offers not only a recovery but a quiet revelation.

Stöhr was no revolutionary. A late Romantic through and through, his music speaks in the warm, articulate language of Brahms, Zemlinsky, and early Korngold. But what makes him so compelling is not innovation, but *persistence*: his works straddle a world slipping from view, holding fast to lyrical form, to finely wrought counterpoint, and to a belief in music as emotional clarity rather than abstraction. In the two works presented here — the *Fantasie-Stücke*, Op. 17 (1907) and the *Cello Sonata*, Op. 49 (1915) — we find a composer navigating a changing world not with defiance, but with dignity, invention, and quiet grief.

The *Fantasie-Stücke* move with the grace of salon pieces but speak in a deeper tone: wistful, searching, and at times gently radiant. The *Sonata*, composed in wartime Vienna, is more expansive and emotionally probing — a dialogue rather than a monologue, filled with expressive turns and harmonic depth. Both works are finely crafted, deeply felt, and striking in their melodic sincerity.

That Stöhr was nearly lost to history seems almost unjust. If not for Toccata's welcome initiative, his music might have remained sealed in private archives, buried beneath the webs of time — invisible, inaudible. And yet, here he is: speaking again, and with a voice that deserves to be heard.

The performance is commendable. Stefan Koch and Robert Conway, though unfamiliar names to me, play with sincerity and well-balanced emotion. They bring out the long melodic lines and understated tensions with grace, never overstating, never retreating. The cello tone is rich and committed, though the recording does spotlight it a touch too closely — a little less prominence and a bit more air would have brought a more natural blend. Still, the overall sonics are pleasing, warm, and intimate, well suited to the music's character.

This is chamber music that sings quietly. It does not provoke, but persuades. And in that, perhaps, lies its modern relevance — a reminder that beauty, when preserved and presented with care, still has the power to reach across silence.

Richard Stöhr: between Vienna and exile.

Richard Stöhr was a central figure in early 20th-century Vienna, both as composer and teacher. He taught theory and composition at the Vienna Conservatory, where his students included Erich Leinsdorf, Samuel Barber, and Rudolf Serkin. Yet with the rise of the Nazi regime and the annexation of Austria, Stöhr — Jewish by heritage and cosmopolitan by temperament — was forced into exile. He emigrated to the United States in 1938, settling eventually at the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia and later at Saint Michael's College in Vermont, where he taught into his 80s.

Though admired by his peers, Stöhr's music fell into obscurity, overshadowed by modernist movements and historical rupture. What we hear now, thanks to this revival, is the voice of a composer who believed in lyricism, integrity of form, and emotional resonance — a voice rooted in the fading world of fin-de-siècle Vienna, yet still capable of moving us today.

[hopefullytrusting]

Piping in.

Richard Wagner / Hansjörg Albrecht
Der Ring – An Organ Transcription



Warming my ears for another deep dive into the depths of the Ring that I'm planning for August.

How is this recording?

This morning: Symphonies 1, 4, 5, and 6 from this set:



Youthful. Lovely. "Lite". Energetic.

[Florestan]

This morning: Symphonies 1, 4, 5, and 6 from this set:



Youthful. Lovely. "Lite". Energetic.

t

A penny for your thoughts on the Andante of KV16, if you please.

[hopefullytrusting]

A penny for your thoughts on the Andante of KV16, if you please.

It is easy to follow (simple) and enjoyable to listen to. It is soft and pleasant.

I don't know enough about the period to say if it is distinctive, but I feel as if it would fit right in with the other symphonies I've heard from that time period.

It feels very safe, as if the composer was trying not to make any errors, and, for me, I think that is a way to make fine art but not great art.

[Florestan]

It is easy to follow (simple) and enjoyable to listen to. It is soft and pleasant.

I don't know enough about the period to say if it is distinctive, but I feel as if it would fit right in with the other symphonies I've heard from that time period.

It feels very safe, as if the composer was trying not to make any errors, and, for me, I think that is a way to make fine art but not great art.

Thanks a lot.

I must say I strongly disagree. My impression of it is radically different (profound and moving, unbelievably so for a kid of 6), but this just testifies to the fascinating diversity of human beings and their ears. 

Be it as it may, I'm glad you enjoy Mozart's early symphonies. As long as one doesn't expect them to fulfill the same function and express the same states of mind as Mahler's, they are an endless and fascinating source of joy.

[Harry]

Heinrich von Herzogenberg. (1843–1900)
Chamber Music, Volume I.
Piano Quintet Opus 17 in C major.
String Quintet Opus 63 in F minor.
Minguet Quartett. Oliver Triendl, Piano.
Recorded in 2005 & 2008 at the Kammerstudio SWR, Stuttgart and Sendesaal SWR, Studio Karlsruhe, Germany.
Streaming: FLAC 44.1kHz/16 bit recording.
Label: CPO, no PDF file attached.
Cover painting: Paul Fischer, "Auf der Terrasse" (1912).

When it comes to chamber music from German soil, Heinrich von Herzogenberg easily ranks among my top ten. I've never heard a piece by him I didn't like, and I continue to find it curious — even baffling — that despite CPO having released a considerable number of his works, and other labels following suit, Herzogenberg still hasn't found a secure place in the repertoire. He remains admired in fragments, rather than fully recognised for the consistent excellence of his output — as evidenced again by the two superb works on this disc.

Both the Piano Quintet, Op. 17, and the String Quintet, Op. 63, are rich in feeling and striking in melodic invention. Emotion flows naturally through the textures, and one senses not only a deep understanding of form, but a kind of warmth and generosity — music that embraces rather than confronts. Fully Romantic in spirit, Herzogenberg already leans toward the broader horizon of late Romanticism, expanding both structural boldness and expressive depth.

Particularly striking is the third movement of the Piano Quintet, where his writing suddenly gestures forward — bold, harmonically suggestive, and infused with a kind of visionary inkling of what was yet to come. One could say that Herzogenberg here anticipates a future he could not fully imagine, yet instinctively touched. That same impulse matures in his later works, but its seed is already planted here.

I must admit I own nearly all of Herzogenberg's recorded chamber and orchestral works, and they are long overdue for a return to my listening rotation. This disc serves as the perfect reminder of why I keep returning. The Minguet Quartett and pianist Oliver Triendl — an artist of well-established sensitivity — deliver performances that are as elegant as they are emotionally engaged. The balance is finely judged, the phrasing thoughtful, and the overall effect quietly luminous.

The recording quality suits the music well: warm, open, and articulate, capturing the flow of the ensemble without artifice. It's a soundstage that breathes and supports, never intruding — exactly what this music needs.

Herzogenberg may not yet be anchored in the pantheon, but for those who know, the admiration runs deep. And this recording only deepens it.

[Iota]

When I saw this on Spotify, I thought I discovered a new vihuela recording:



But it is not...



Also available on Spotify...    Still a lovely recording! 

I had a listen to some of this earlier and it is indeed lovely, I will be returning for more, thanks for the recommendation.
It seems odd to give such a Spanish flavoured album what looks like a medieval French title. Though perhaps I am missing something.

[Que]

I had a listen to some of this earlier and it is indeed lovely, I will be returning for more, thanks for the recommendation.
It seems odd to give such a Spanish flavoured album what looks like a medieval French title. Though perhaps I am missing something.

It is the title of a song by Franco-Flemish composer Jean Richafort on which Luyz de Narváez made a transcription for vihuela.

[Iota]

It is the title of a song by Franco-Flemish composer Jean Richafort on which Luyz de Narváez made a transcription for vihuela.

Aha thank you! I hadn't got to that one yet.

[JBS]

Third or fourth listen to this, first time it's actually clicking for me.

[Spotted Horses]

Have gotten to Hindemith Op 31, No 4, Sonata for unaccompanied viola






I continue to find Hindemith's Op 31 to be less satisfying, generally, than the other sonatas I have listened to (I am going through chronologically/by Opus Number). But this one has its charms, particularly the middle movement (lied). Imai strikes me as the best interpreter of this music, particularly the breathless first movement.

[DavidW]

[hopefullytrusting]

Symphonies 1-5 from this set:



Symphony 1 was vigorous, surprisingly so.

Symphony 2 or 3 put me to sleep - I sort of expected this.

Symphonies 4 and 5 are "lite" and lovely.

I sort of get what everyone was saying in the other thread regarding the less recorded works of a composer.

[Florestan]

Symphonies 1-5 from this set:



Symphony 1 was vigorous, surprisingly so.

Symphony 2 or 3 put me to sleep - I sort of expected this.

Symphonies 4 and 5 are "lite" and lovely.

I sort of get what everyone was saying in the other thread regarding the less recorded works of a composer.

Now, 6, 7 and 8 will either blow your socks away or be "lite". 

[hopefullytrusting]

Now, 6, 7 and 8 will either blow your socks away or be "lite". 

I suspect both Haydn and Mozart will be "lite" for a long time, but I don't mind "lite" - I'm also listening to Beethoven and Schubert - none of that is "lite".

[Florestan]

I suspect both Haydn and Mozart will be "lite" for a long time, but I don't mind "lite" - I'm also listening to Beethoven and Schubert - none of that is "lite".

I'd rather have "lite" than "profound". More often than not, "lite" gives me pleasure and "profound" bores me to death.

Papageno contra Parsifal. Rossini contra Bruckner.

[AnotherSpin]

[hopefullytrusting]

I'd rather have "lite" than "profound". More often than not, "lite" gives me pleasure and "profound" bores me to death.

Papageno contra Parsifal. Rossini contra Bruckner.

Indeed, I'm in full agreement. My favorite symphonic composer is one I would categorize as "lite" - J.C. Bach.

And I definitely agree with your examples.

[Mister Sharpe]

It's a French Baroque weekend for me.  Always a happy and rewarding listen; I find an invigorating energy and love of life in this music that can be heard in that of other countries in this era but not with the same frequency.  There was, ages ago, a Fanfare reviewer - don't recall his name - who nursed an intense dislike for Charpentier and I never understood why. I'm even less likely now to display anything remotely akin to empathy. Sometimes, a composer's prodigious output is held against them, maybe it was that, but sheer speculation on my part.