Roentgen: Works for Violin & Piano Vol. 1

Breidenbach, Ernst, Schickedanz, Christoph

CPO 777768

Julius Röntgen's compositions for violin and piano are an absolute must in our extensive, successful, and steadily growing edition of his works. These compositions number among the oldest pieces known to have been composed by him and reflect the musical atmosphere in his family's home. His father Engelbert was the second concertmaster of the Gewandhaus Orchestra, and his mother Pauline Klengel, a gifted pianist, gave him piano lessons. Even before his fifth birthday Röntgen could play the piano almost perfectly. Grandfather Klengel gave his grandson instruction on the violin. Röntgen's earliest compositions are from 1864, and by 1871 he had already composed forty works of this genre, including three sonatas for violin and piano. Many of these pieces breathe the traditional spirit of German romanticism. Influences from Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Robert and Clara Schumann are very much in evidence. These compositions rich in content show us Röntgen in one of his most authentic roles: as a »Leipzig man« in the sense of the nineteenth century. In many movements Röntgen also seems to draw on Norwegian folk music, which he had heard ten years before with Edvard Grieg during their hikes together through the Norwegian countryside. Vol. 1 is skillfully interpreted by Christoph Schickedanz and Ernst Breidenbach.

CD x 1

CPO

1/13/16

761203776825