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Dear all,
On Sunday 7th of October, we will be performing Robert Fuchs' second sonata for violin and piano in the Belgium town of Temse.
It is a very sunny, rhythmically joyful work, in which Fuchs has great fun with all kinds of polyphonic effects and echoes. Second movement, especially towards the end looks (and sounds!) a lot like Brahms on the page. Third movement is a rondo, quite "gemütlich" in style. All in all, we are having great fun in preparing the concert, and hope we can pass on our enthousiasm to the public. Also on the program : Beethoven's 8th sonata and Ravel sonata in G.
More details on
https://www.cultuurcentrumtemse.be/event/fedra-coppens-en-peter-verelst/
sincerely
peter

hi everyone
Nicodé's second cello sonata in G major has been recorded in the '90s by Belgian pianist Jozef de Beenhouwer and Dutch cellist Marien Van Staalen, on the Phaedra label. Interesting work, very lyrical and well written for both instruments. The CD also includes the world premiere recording of August de Boeck's cello sonata (discovered by the pianist on the recording).

Hi everyone,
next week, march 10th, I will be performing the piano trio opus 14 by Georgi Catoire (1861-1926) in a concert also featuring the first of Johann Nepomuk Hummel's piano trio's and the Fantasiestucke opus 88 by Robert Schumann. I have studied like a maniac on this very difficult but incredible piece of music, and wish this music would be more known (and performed !). The piece is in three movements, the first opening with a broad and dark theme, giving way to a dreamy second subject. As in many of Catoire's chamber pieces, the use of sonata form is quite complex, but the handling of the architecture of the piece is second to none. the second mouvement, "allegretto fantastico" is in a A-B-A-B' form, where the B part takes the place of an (absent) slow mouvement. The finale has an enormous forward drive, and ends in a cataclysmic outburst before - typically for Catoire's modesty- he ends with four pianissimo notes in the piano.
I have time and again tried to explain what makes his music so appealing, but I end up in describing Catoire's excellence in every possible aspect of composition: beautiful elegiac and memorable melodies, very interesting harmonies and colors, nice orchestration between the instruments, complex but lively rhythmic patterns, and incredible command of structure and architecture.   
I really look forward to share this beautiful music with as many people as possible. The concert is held in my own living room by Fedra Coppens on violin and Lucie Stepanova on cello, two incredible musicians whom I am happy to call my friends.
Sadly this incredible piece of music has only known few commercial recordings, one in the '40s by Leonid Kogan, Mstislav Rostropovitch and Alexander Goldenweiser, and one by "room music" on the hyperion label. Room for some more I dare say !

Maybe just outside the scope of this Romantic music-oriented website, but nonetheless a very valuable recording is a new recording on the Dutch label "Cobra records" featuring Lucie Stepanova on cello and Ksenia Kouzmenko on piano, "whispering leafs". On this highly enjoyable disc they perform Janacek's "pohadka", Martinu's second cello sonata, a transcription of the second (" a blown-away leaf") of Janacek's 10 pieces "on an overgrown path" in a transcription by Sadlo, and the very impressive variations on the 17th-century chorale "O Haupt vol Blut und Wunden" for cello and piano by the Czech composer and pianist Josef Palenicek. This last work is written in 1942 in response to war crimes committed in Czechoslovakia, comparable in intensity and beauty to Messiaen's "Quatuor pour la fin du temps". Both musicians display an fastidious command of their instrument and easily rise to the challenges placed on them both, making this disc a real gem. The cellist, Lucie Stepanova, tells in the excellent booklet about her childhood memories of the composer Palenicek, sharing a bowl of soup with him as a 4-year old toddler, and meeting him again as a teenager, being a cello pupil of his eldest son Jan. Palenicek is nowadays mostly remembered as an excellent pianist (beuatiful recordings of Janacek's music are to be found on youtube), but this world premiere recording sheds a new light on his artistry. Lucie clearly has this music "in her blood" so to speak, and in the more famous (and more recorded) music by Martinu and Janacek can be placed among the best available recordings.
More details on the dutch website https://www.voordekunst.nl/projecten/6112-cd-whispering-leaves-1?#het-verhaal where both artists have a fundraising to sponsor the costs for making this disc...
Highly recommended !

agreed, they are difficult (I speak from experience), but that shouldn't keep professional quartets, piano trios,... from playing these works! They rehearse together all the time! And the earlier works, such as the trio or first violin sonata are rhythmically more straigthforward then the later works, so I find that still no excuse ! But I guess it will still be up to those few brave explorers to play these works in concert...

I fail to understand why his chamber music works (7 in total plus the short elegy) remain so underrecorded, because they are truly epic and beautiful works. The string quintet (with 2 cello's) is an extraordinary work, which has only be recorded once (the Amsterdam chamber music society, who have also recorded the string quartet, second violin sonata and piano quartet). Problem may lie with the availability of the score, especially in the strings-only works, for the only commercially available scores (edition silvertrust) only provide parts, and no full score, which in this hugely complex music sets a difficult task for the performers. But no such problems (or excuses) in the works with piano! I surely hope to see more recordings of his chamber music becoming available. The piano trio is another gem, and the Hyperion recording doesn't do the piece full justice I feel. I perform the trio in march 2018 and hope to record it afterwards (negotiations pending!), so I will keep you informed if anything happens. Admitted, his music asks for a lot of work, it is very virtuosic, with complex rhythmic patterns, but the rewards are glorious. People love the short elegy, which is a nice and short alternative for his larger works, and which I have used to great acclaim in concert or as an encore many times.

The wonderful Russian-born, Germany-based pianist Anna Zassimova, who has already done so much for the works of Georgi Catoire, has recorded more piano works from this composer, along with the sonata reminiscenza opus 38nr1 by Nikolai Medtner and Scriabin's third sonata. The recording will include 3 pieces from opus 6 that Hamelin didn't record on his album of Catoire piano music. I believe Anna has also included the wonderful 4 préludes opus 17. The disc has been recorded, but is not yet available. Anna must be applauded for her work on this fenomenal composer: she recorded a splendid disc with the two violin sonatas and elegy together with Laurent Breuninger (a must-have if you ask me), the first-ever recording of some Catoire lieder, and a selection of piano works opus 12 and two world premiere recordings from opus 34) on her début cd "vergessene weisen". She has also recorded the piano trio with Boris Tsoukkerman on violin (cellist unknown to me), but this recording is also not yet out on the market. And last but not least, she has written a 400-pages long biography of him, sadly no longer available... more info on www.annazassimova.com
I am a big fan of Catoire's music. An earlier entry on this forum quickly diverted from the main topic and ended up in a discussion how to finance recordings of unsung music, but left a lot to be said about Catoire's (chamber) music. Therefore I hope this entry will (re)awaken interest in this composer, since he is very dear to me. Anyone else interested in his music?
cheers,
peter

On saturday 8th of july I will be performing the second violin sonata by Joaquin Turina, the so-called "sonate espagnole", together with the violin sonata of the Catalan cellist, composer and pupil-friend of Pablo Casals, Gaspar Cassadò. I believe that especially the Cassado is very unsung, although there is one video of it on youtube. It is a sunny, quite Spanish-flavoured piece in 3 movements, approximately 16minutes in duration, well written for the violin but horribly written for piano :-) But we are having a lot of fun with it. I bought the last copy of the score that universal edition had in stock, but got a reduction because the score had laid there on the shelf for so long that the colors on the front page were already faded... imagine how big the demand is for such a piece, maybe one score sold every ten years? Has anyone ever heard the piece? live or on broadcast?
the concert is in the small Dutch village of Tholen at 15h30, and entry is free. Apart from these two Spanish works we also perform Grieg's first violin sonata. All details in the link below
http://keldermansconcerten.nl/programma-20162017/?ai1ec_page_offset=0&ai1ec_active_event=1198
Hope to see you there !
pedrito

I only happen to know the violin sonata, and coincidently even ran through it with a violinist friend a couple of weeks ago. A first glance at the score immediately shows the resemblance to Schumann's first violin sonata opis 105, the piano figure in the opening bars very closely mimicking the writing in Schumann's work. There is of course no shame in taking Schumann as an example (2nd movement of Brahms' second sonata is also clearly influenced by the second movement of this same sonata). Overall I find it an enjoyable piece, not very original perhaps, but fun to play, and certainly very idiomatic for both instruments, and well within the limits capable amateurs should be able to reach.
p

This reminds me of Medtner's piano quintet, which shows influences from his teacher Taneyev. Both use extensive counterpoint, and both have this hymn-like passages. Both are beautiful works... Zassimova's Taneyev recording is indeed beautiful, as are the piano quartet and piano trio on the same double CD.

I would like to recommend the three following pieces:
- Alexei Stanchinsky: 2nd sonata: a brilliant sonata in two movements, reversing the normal toccata-fugue into a fugue followed by an incredible toccata, much in the style of Prokofieff 7th sonata, but preceding it by some 20-30years ! The recording by Daniel Blumenthal is no way near the astonishing version by Nikolai Fefilov, which is as stunning as one would wish. I have never heard Thomas Adès' version...
- Ballade "en forme de suite" opus 3a, by the Belgian composer Marinus de Jong: a big full-blooded romantic masterpiece, a bit Lisztian, very well written for the piano, as De Jong was a brilliant pianist himself. Only once recorded by Jozef De Beenhouwer on the belgian label phaedra. Well worth investigating, but the score might be hard to find (please contact me if interested).
- the 5 piano pieces opus 10 by Georgi Catoire, one of my favourite composers. Hamelin (who else) is the only recording to my knowledge
enjoy !
p

thank you, seems I'll have to try them all :-)
always handy to have some input from someone who knows these works intimitely, it's sometimes hard to get a proper impression of a piece, even when sightreading it through....
greetings!
peter

I know the excellent Dutch "Van Baerle Trio" included one of Onslow's trios in their concert program last season, but alas have not been able to hear it.
Any suggestion which violin sonata would be your favourite? I find scores of 6 sonatas on IMSLP, but only fragments on youtube, so hard to pick a favourite without playing through the whole bunch (for which time fails me).
greetings
peter

The Mortelmans disc has a very nice painting on its cover "Fishing boats at dusk", painted by the composer's brother Frans Mortelmans, presented to his brother at the premiere of his opera in the "Royal Flemish opera" in Antwerpen in 1920.

"Daybreak and Sunrise" from the opera "Kinderen van de Zee" (Children of the Sea") by the Belgian composer Lodewijk Mortelmans (1868-1952)
Mortelmans, (who incidentally lived in the same village as I do now, there is a street named after him 500 meters from my house) was called  "the prince of the Flemish art song" by his colleague Paul Gilson. He is mostly remembered for his songs and smaller miniatures. He composed one opera, "Children of the Sea", which proved to be fiasco after its premiere in 1920. The music itself was highly acclaimed, but there was a lot of negative criticism about the dramatic development and the way the dramatic scenes were constructed. Mortelmans forbid the work ever being staged again, but distilled a suite from the manuscript. The opening scene of this suite evokes the hidden danger and restlessness of the sea in contrast to the peace and safety of life on the land.
Mortelmans is little known, although Hyperion released a recording of his "Homerische symfonie". The "Daybreak and Sunrise" has been recorded by the Flemish choir and Radio orchestra, conducted by Zsolt Hamar. CD is available on the Belgian, very adventurous label Phaedra CD (www.phaedracd.com), a label which deserve all credit for its promotion of unsung Flemish and Belgian repertoire, mainly from the Romantic period. Its founder is one of those rare admirable persons who devote their lives, efforts, time (and often their own money!) into the promotion of the music they believe in...   Their catalogue counts numerous treasures of unsung repertoire.