Classical music morning playlist

Good morning! Here is a one hour selection of chamber works spanning the Classical and early Romantic periods. We begin with Mozart's "Kegelstatt" Trio, composed playfully during a game of skittles and performed by the trio of Brymer, Kovacevich, and Ireland. Misty landscapes in John Field's pioneering Nocturnes. I selected three of them — two well before and one after Chopin composed his. Alice Sara Ott's recently recorded interpretations are on the playlist. Hummel's Cello Sonata, where cellist Bárta and pianist Milne converse with delicate eloquence across three movements, was actually one of the examples for Johannes Brahms' first cello sonata. The playlist concludes with Howard Shelly's sparkling rendition of Hummel's Rondo in E.

Open playlist in Spotify · 1 hour

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

Trio in E♭, K. 498 · "Kegelstatt Trio"
Composed: 1786 · Recorded: December 1969

Jack Brymer (clarinet) · Stephen Bishop Kovacevich (piano) · Patrick Ireland (viola)

Track 01: Andante
Track 02: Menuetto
Track 03: Rondeaux (Allegretto)

John Field (1782–1832)

3 Piano Nocturnes
Alice Sara Ott, piano · Recorded: September 2024

Track 04: Nocturne No. 9 "Pastorale" in A major (1815)
Track 05: Nocturne No. 4 in A major (1817)
Track 06: Nocturne No. 14 in C major (1835)

Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778–1837)

Cello Sonata in A major, Op. 104 (1824)
Recorded: February 2005

Jiří Bárta (cello) · Hamish Milne (piano)

Track 07: Allegro Amabile e Grazioso
Track 08: Romanze: Un Poco Adagio e Con Espressione
Track 09: Rondo: Allegro Vivace Un Poco

Rondo in E, Op. 11 (1804)
Howard Shelley, piano · Recorded: 1999

Track 10: Rondo in E, Op. 11

The Vox classical years.

In the 1950’s, 60’s and 70’s, Vox classical was a famous budget classical label. The label kickstarted the career of Alfred Brendel and attracted well known artists as Otto Klemperer, Lili Krauss and Riccardo Ricci. This violinist recorded in 1977 with harpist Susanna Mildonian the concertante For harp, violin and orchestra by Louis Spohr. 

Mozart, Haydn and Salieri pupil Johann Nepomuk Hummel had more succes with his earlier works that with his later works, still this charming rondo form June 1831 deserves to be better known. 

In 1909 Guiomar Novaes was one of the two foreign students that were atmitted to the Paris conservatory. Out of 387 applicants she played for a jury that included Debussy, Fauré, Moszkowski and Widor. At the age of 57 she recorded Beethoven’s 4th piano concerto with 

the Vienna symphony orchestra under Otto Klemperer. 

The spouses Mary Louise Boehm and Kees Kooper recorded in July 1974 the piano and violin concerto by Johann Peter Pixis. (No, not Pixies, alas ;-)) I could not find much info about when this concerto was composed, but it seems to be a reworking of Pixis 6th piano trio from 1839, dedicated to Clara Wieck. 

I hope you will enjoy this playlist! 

Louis Spohr (1784-1859)

Tracks 01-03     Concertante For harp, violin and orchestra (1806)

Riccardo Ricci, violin

Susanna Mildonian, harp

Orchestra of radio Luxembourg

Louis De Froment, conductor

Recorded 1977

Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837) 

Track 04-05     "La Galante" (Rondeau), For Piano, Op.120 (1831)

Martin Galling, piano

Recorded 1969

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) 

Tracks 06-08     Concerto No. 4 For Piano And Orchestra In G Major, op 58 (1805-1806)

Guiomar Novaes, piano 

Vienna symphony orchestra,

Otto Klemperer, conductor

Recorded 1952

Johann Peter Pixis 1788-1874)

Tracks 09-11     Double concerto for violin & piano in F# minor (1839)

Mary Louise Boehm, piano

Kees Kooper, violin

Westphalian Symphony Orchestra

Siegfried Landau, conductor

Recorded 1974

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2GCrxVu4BTS0ZtjBN2GKR3?si=2330fbe2619b400e(HTTP link)

Hyperion's Hummel, the string quartets op. 30 by the Delmé quartet.

Recently, I bought a second-hand CD player. 😊 Although I had tossed out many items (they all went to the local radio station of the hospital in Delft), I still have enough albums that I enjoyed for a long time. Such as this Hyperion CD with the string quartets of Mozart’s pupil Johann Nepomuk Hummel. His opus 30 string quartets, composed around 1803, were a reaction to Beethoven’s opus 18 string quartets from 1801. The “own voice” of Hummel is especially notable in the menuettos of the quartets. Jumpy, unexpected twists and an own harmonic language (admired by Robert Schumann, no less) give these movements an unmistakable autograph by the composer. I hope you will enjoy these works as much as I did over the past years.

Johann Nepomuk Hummel (1778-1837)

-String Quartet In C Major, Op 30 No 1:

1 Adagio E Mesto – Allegro Ma Non Troppo

2 Menuetto: Allegro Assai

3 Adagio E Cantabile

4 Allegro Vivace

-String Quartet In G Major, Op 30 No 2:

5 Allegro Con Brio

6 Andante: Grazioso

7 Menuetto: Allegro Con Fuoco

8 Finale: Vivace 4:43

-String Quartet In E Flat Major, Op 30 No 3:

9 Allegro Con Spirito

10 Andante

11 Allemande E Alternativo

12 Finale: Presto

The Delmé quartet:

Violins – Galina Solodchin, John Trusler

Viola – John Underwood

Cello – Jonathan Williams

Recorded on 9–11 September 1991

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/58XPkmA6BoXImmnIfSqY6g?si=c1e3e8e8c1694e2b
(HTTP link to the playlist)

My cherished copy of this CD 😉

Quirine Viersen on Spotify - Hummel Beethoven Haydn Martinu

Confession. Last year I only bought two CD's. I know, support the artists, make sure CD's can still be made, but fact of the matter is, the last 20 years I bought more silver discs than I can listen to and services like YouTube, the MP3 based free Concerthuis concert archive, Concertzender and Spotify all have made it quite hard to buy new CD's... What I bought was at a concert of Dutch cellist Quirine Viersen, her Globe recording of all Bach's cello suites. In a masterclass she once had with Yo-Yo Ma, she played him one of the parts and after hearing it he prompted "can I marry you"? Well, She refused (how could she?? :-) and went on with her career.

Guess what? Not -everything- in on Spotify, the Bach Suite still have to be uploaded (but other Globe CD's are already there...)
 
For what ìs available on Spotify from Quirine I picked out a favorite work of mine, the cello sonata in A-major op 104 by Mozart/Haydn/Salieri pupil (talk about an education...!) Johann Nepomuk Hummel. It is said that this was one of the models for Brahms first sonata op 38. Pianist here is Silke Avenhaus. Then, the Haydn Cello concert in C- major and (because I love this weird work by the same composer) the 60'th symphony in C- major nicknamed "il distratto” or, "the confusion". I'm not a big fan of conductor Jan Willem de Vriend, but this is one of his better recordings. 
Finally, from an other CD with Silke Avenhaus, Beethoven’s 5th cello sonata in D-Major, op 102 and the „Slovaque variations” by Bohuslav Martinu.

Johann Nepomuk Hummel - Cello Sonata A-Major op 104
Quirine Viersen, Cello - Silke Avenhaus, Piano

Joseph Haydn - Cello concerto in C-Major
Symphony no 60 in C-Major "il distratto”
Quirine Viersen, Cello - Combattimento Concerto, Jan-Willem de Vriend

Ludwig van Beethoven - Cello sonata no 5 in D-Major op 102
Bohuslav Martinu - „Slovaque variations” for Cello and Piano
Quirine Viersen, Cello - Silke Avenhaus, Piano

Hope you will enjoy the recordings!

http://open.spotify.com/user/otterhouse/playlist/0EZZtt1FuExDZ62oj9VnKk

(HTTP link)