Joachim Raff - String Sextet; Piano Quintet (Ensemble Villa Musica)

Information

Composer: Joachim Raff

1. String Sextet in G major, Op. 178: I. Allegro
2. String Sextet in G major, Op. 178: II. Allegro molto
3. String Sextet in G major, Op. 178: III. Larghetto
4. String Sextet in G major, Op. 178: IV. Allegro
5. Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 107: I. Allegro mosso assai
6. Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 107: II. Allegro vivace, quasi Presto
7. Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 107: III. Andante, quasi larghetto mosso
8. Piano Quintet in A minor, Op. 107: IV. Allegro brioso, patetico

Ensemble Villa Musica
Nicolas Chumachenko, violin
Chiara Morandi, violin
Enrique Santiago, viola
Hariolf Schlichtig, viola
Martin Ostertag, cello
Michel Dispa, cello
Kalle Randalu, piano

Date: 2003
Label: Musikproduktion Dabringhaus und Grimm

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

Raff’s Piano Quintet was considered by Hans von Bülow to be one of the very greatest works in its medium, and he wasn’t wrong. Generously proportioned (37 minutes), expertly written, full of good tunes, and not a bit diffuse in its argument, it’s surely one of the great Romantic chamber works, and yet it’s barely known. The reason undoubtedly stems from the fact that Raff’s compositional fecundity has counted against him; but he was a gifted composer, and at his best, as here, he rivals anyone. The basic, A minor key and passionate contrasts of mood and tempo tell the whole story. Unlike so many “moderato” openings, this piece starts “Allegro mosso assai” and maintains its intensity right up to the final bar of the last movement, marked “Allegro bioso, patetico”. The Sextet in G minor is more pithy, but just as keenly felt, and beautifully textured. Raff’s expert orchestral writing has often been cited, usually in connection with his assisting Liszt in orchestrating his tone poems, but his talent in this area is no less evident in these chamber works. The Ensemble Villa Musica plays both pieces with all of the necessary enthusiasm and energy, and the players are gorgeously recorded. This is one of those discs that no true chamber music connoisseur can afford to miss.

-- David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.classical.net/~music/recs/reviews/m/mdg41181a.php
http://www.raff.org/records/reviews/chamber/05.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Joachim-Raff-Chamber-Quintet-Ensemble/dp/B0000A9BVX

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Joachim Raff (May 27, 1822 – June 24 or June 25, 1882) was a German-Swiss composer, teacher and pianist. He worked as Liszt's assistant at Weimar from 1850 to 1853, helping in the orchestration of several of Liszt's works. From 1878 he was the first Director of, and a teacher at, the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt, where he employed Clara Schumann and a number of other eminent musicians as teachers. His pupils there included Edward MacDowell and Alexander Ritter. Raff was very prolific, and by the end of his life was one of the best known German composers, though his work is largely forgotten today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joachim_Raff

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Ensemble Villa Musica was founded in 1990 when a group of principal players from several of Germany's major orchestras assembled for master classes in Mainz under the state-sponsored Villa Musica foundation. The players decided to form the group with no limitations in repertory, but with a focus on neglected masterworks of the past. There have been at least 20 members of the group over the years, include several famous names such as Rainer Kussmaul and Thomas Brandis. The Ensemble has garnered much praise for its spirited performances in varied repertory since its founding.

http://www.allmusic.com/artist/ensemble-villa-musica-mn0000164339/biography

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