The loss of one sense, it is said, makes the others keener. What the concert pianist, organist and composer Josef Labor lost in terms of vision when smallpox left him blind at the age of three must have been compensated for by gains in aural acuity. Although generally speaking a Brahmsian (and a friend of the composer), Labor wrote in an original style that was informed by his knowledge of and love for early music. As a piano teacher, he taught Arnold Schoenberg, Alma Schindler and Paul Wittgenstein. The connection to the Wittgenstein family explains his many works for piano left hand, including the two clarinet trios on this programme (the clarinet was Ludwig Wittgenstein’s instrument) which are coupled with his quintet for clarinet, strings and piano, and the quintet for wind instruments and piano.
Works:
•Labor: Clarinet Trio in E minor
• Labor: Clarinet Trio in G minor
• Labor: Piano Quintet, Op. 3
• Labor: Quintet in D major for clarinet, violin, viola, cello, and piano, Op. 11