Kiel: Complete Piano Quartets

Triendl, Oliver;
Mathé, Ulrike-Anima;
Schlichtig, Hariolf;
Jankovic, Xenia

CPO 777076

Born in Bad Laasphe-Puderbach in 1821, Kiel was one of the most highly regarded composers of his time as well as one of the most outstanding composers of the generation between Schumann and Brahms. Important milestones of his career were the music conservatory in Berlin, where he taught a composition class and was elected one of the conservatory's five-strong directorship in 1882 (along with Joseph Joachim, Ernst Rudorff, Adolf Schulze and Philipp Spitta), and the Academy of Arts, where he was appointed to teach a masterclass in composition. However, he was also an enthusiastic pianist, which is why Kiel's chamber compositions also include 27 works with piano. The three piano quartets (1867 / 68) presented here are exceptionally significant, as they portray the typical, outstanding characteristics of his chamber music style: ingenious counterpoint, polyphonic movements full of purity and clarity, sonorous and covering a wide range; here the third quartet is particularly convincing, with its intimacy, dance-like character, poise and serenity.

CD

Muzyka klasyczna

CPO

30-01-2008

761203707621