Kalkbrenner: Sextet Septet Piano Fantasy

Kalkbrenner, Friedrich, Linos Ensemble

CPO 777850

Whether Alexander Fesca, Friedrich Ernst Fesca, Julius Röntgen, Louise Farrenc, or Carl Reinecke, the playing of the members of the Linos Ensemble has always been »truly Apollonian – relaxed, lively, and guided exclusively by musical criteria. Even on repeated listening the recordings exude unclouded joy« (klassik-heute. com). And now the ensemble is offering new fine discoveries and rewarding additions to the repertoire: works by Friedrich Kalkbrenner, who was once regarded as »a master of all musical trades« and was one of the most gifted pianists of his time. The student laid the foundation for his brilliant career at the Paris Conservatory and later in Vienna, where he also studied composition with Albrechtsberger beginning in 1803. He enjoyed support from Haydn and also made personal contact with Beethoven. In 1806 he returned to Paris. From the Seine he was drawn to the Thames, where he continued his career as a pianist and a successful teacher. The piano of course plays a leading role in his sextet and septet, and both chamber works in large part offer an enormous wealth of tone colors and manifold opportunities for register shifts. They are complemented by his fantasy for piano on the Scottish song »We're A' Noddin« (1823), in which he expresses his romantic enthusiasm for Scotland.

CD x 1

CPO

9/29/14

761203785025

ICMA 'Nominee' (2015)