Sunday, April 17, 2016

Paul Juon - Complete String Quartets - Sarastro Quartett (2016)

Paul JUON (1872-1940)
Performer : Sarastro Quartett
Label : CPO
Release : April 2016
BUY IT HERE - Amazon

Born in the middle of Romantic era, Paul Juon hold several string quartets that are mystery to us ever before. Recently, the rise of his chamber musics (some piano quartets) enable CPO label to put the string quartets into recording. So, here we are with the new never heard before Romantic string quartets of Paul Juon. Paul was born in Moscow, his parent are Swiss. Paul return to Switzerland in 1934. His four string quartets in these double CD had been described as influenced by Russian music. Here the CD notes:

The missing link between Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky"" - This is how a contemporary critic once termed the late romantic composer Paul Juon, who was born to Swiss parents in Moscow, graduated from the conservatory with flying colors, and then went to Berlin in 1894 to study with Clara Schumann's half brother Woldemar Bargiel. In 1907 the very discriminating Joseph Joachim appointed him to a full professorship at the Berlin college of Music. Juon penned orchestral compositions and piano and vocal music, but chamber music was his domain. Following the release of his Piano Quartets and his Quintet and Sextet, likewise with piano music, it is now time to present his String Quartets. Once again all the essential traits of Juon's compositional style are brought together with the finest craftsmanship: his predilection for irregular rhythms and rhythmic-metrical peculiarities, bold harmonies, and an unmistakable Russian folk tone in the melodic sphere. Since Juon anticipated developments for which Stravinsky, Blacher, and Messiaen later became famous, we might wellconsider including him among the important rhythmic innovators. In his chamber music Pual Juon is in a class all by himself. 


Paul Juon: Complete String Quartets  BUY IT HERE - Amazon

String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 5 (post-1896) [42:00]
I. Allegro moderato
II. Adagio sostenuto
III. Molto presto
IV. Intermezzo. Allegro
V. Finale. Vivacissimo

String Quartet No. 2 in B minor, Op. 11 (1896) [27:45]
I. Allegro risoluto
II. Andante tranquillo
III. Scherzo. Presto
IV. Finale. Allegro con giusto

String Quartet No. 3 in E minor, Op. 29 (1904) [32:44]
I. Allegro molto
II. Lento assai ma poco rubato
III. Moderato
IV. Lento assai - Vivace non troppo

String Quartet No. 4, Op. 67 (1920) [28:21]
I. Allegro
II. Andante tranquillo
III. Allegro
IV. Allegro non troppo

Sarastro Quartett
Ralph Orendain & Roman Conrad, Violin
Hanna Werner-Helfenstein, Viola
Lehel Donath, Cello


No comments:

Post a Comment