Austrian radio Oe1 broadcast the first movement of Egon Kornauth's 1917 Piano Quartet recently.
It was first broadcast in a program called "Moderne Stunden" in 1952 alongside music by Hindemith and Schönberg.
This is such a charming piece that I thought I'd share it. The main subject is very memorable.
To make matters worse, the composer works heavily with it so you will end up with a nasty earworm.
What makes it so memorable?
It's more of a motto than a theme I think, the note values become gradually smaller which gives it a forward thrust.
See Downloads board:
http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,7760.msg81223.html#new (http://www.unsungcomposers.com/forum/index.php/topic,7760.msg81223.html#new)
Thank you so much for this! Kornauth's String Quartets are absolutely gorgeous too - does anyone know if there are any recordings of them?
Is his Kleine Abendmusik a string quartet? One of our members has mentioned (elsewhere) having played in a performance of it...
Kleine Abendmusik for 2 violins, viola and cello, Op. 14 (1915)
(Little evening music) which is indeed scored for string quartet.
and there's also:
Kleine Hausmusik
(Little Chamber Music; Petite composition facile) for 2 violins, viola and cello, Op. 41a (1939); also for piano, Op. 41b
There is a lot of chamber music and two named string quartets, one published (opus 26) and one not.
The sense of 'Kleine Hausmusik' is music to be played in the home, i.e. in a domestic setting.