Australian born, Israeli by nationality, clarinettist Ron Chen-Zion has been a member of the premier Danish chamber group Esbjerg Ensemble since 1991. Chen-Zion is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and was appointed principal clarinettist of the State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra in 1990. The following season he moved to Europe to join Esbjerg Ensemble and since then Ron Chen-Zion has been one of the most sought after soloists throughout Europe. For his debut CD as soloist Ron Chen-Zion chose the complete clarinet works by Max Reger, not very often recorded repertoire, accompanied by his regular duo partner, pianist Roglit Ishay from Israel.

Cellist Troels Svane chose Max Reger’s complete cello works for his debut CD as soloist. Troels Svane is now 31 years old and landed the principal cellist’s position at the Copenhagen Philharmonic at the age of 19. After four years with the Philharmonic he became soloist and has since performed as a recitalist and chamber musician throughout Europe, South and North America. As the member of the Copenhagen Trio he has recorded 20 CDs for Kontrapunkt label.

Works For Solo Violin Op.91 &

Suites For Cello

MUSIC INSPIRED BY H?LDERLIN -

REGER: PIANO MUSIC FOR FOUR HA

The two major organ works on these discs (his longest for organ) show Max Reger at the height of his powers; not only do they sustain a structural coherence over an impressive span, but they show an almost inexhaustible proliferation of invention. As well as the large-scale Variations and Fugue on an Original Theme and the Introduction, Passacaglia and Fugue in E minor, this 2 CD Set includes a collection shorter preludes and fugues - the Five Easy Preludes and Fugues and two transcriptions of preludes and fugues by JS Bach from the Well-Tempered Clavier.

HAYDN: SONATA FOR PIANO NO 50

This is not an historical recording. Yet mysteriously the music is performed in an interpretation which is historically authentic down to the last detail. The key to this mystery is: The original performer was present at the recent recording session, but not physically: The music is heard on a modern Steinway. Never has music stored in the Welte-Mignon system sounded so "right" or so good. Thanks to TACET's much-praised recording technique, and because the Welte-Mignon memory system and sound production mechanism have now been newly adjusted for the first time by the leading expert in the field - and are thus able to meet TACET's requirements. (Welte-Mignon was invented in 1904.) the Welte-Mignon mystery can now speak to US without distortion.

Classical Music

The violinist Franziska Pietsch and her Trio Lirico present their debut album on audite. In between the poles of preserving tradition and striving towards fin de siècle modernism, Max Reger composed three works between 1904 and 1914/15 featuring a particular sense of clarity which the composer associated with Mozart. Even at their premieres, the two String Trios and the late Piano Quartet each caused a sensation, not least as their compositional complexity, for which Reger was (in)famous, mostly runs underneath the surface, creating an easier listening experience. These tuneful and harmonically rich works which, at times, enter into direct dialogue with works of the past, are rarely heard, even though they represent important cornerstones of their respective genres. The Trio Lirico was founded in 2014 and soon established itself on the concert scene. The ensemble's varied repertoire ranges from classicism through to contemporary music. The three performers are brought together by their passion for chamber music; in addition, all three also enjoy solo careers. It is this soloistic influence within a chamber music formation that constitutes the trademark of the ensemble: the chamber music dialogue is conducted with soloistic passion without neglecting the ensemble's homogeneity. The result is a unique combination of enthusiastic and spirited music-making and attractive suspense. The Munich-based pianist Detlev Eisinger joins the ensemble for the Piano Quartet.

Classical Music

Classical Music

Organist David Goode continues his series of recordings of the organ works of Max Reger on Signum with a new recording of his Fantasias and Fugues, recorded on the organ of Bath Abbey. The album includes his Fantasia and Fugue on BACH and the ‘Symphonic’ Fantasia and Fugue. David Goode is organist at Eton College, and is also much in demand as a teacher. In recent years he has composed a number of organ and choral works, and has received critical acclaim for his recordings.

Reger, M.: Organ Works, Vol. 3

REGER Sonatas for Unaccompanied Violin, op. 91: No. 1 in a; No. 2 in D; No. 3 in B?; No. 4 in b; No. 5 in e; No. 6 in G; No. 7 in a • Ulrike-Anima Mathé (vn) • DORIAN 90915 (2 CDs: 115:44)


Having just reviewed a recording of Reger’s suites for solo viola with Tabea Zimmermann for the previous issue, I was pleased to receive this sumptuously reconstituted set from Dorian of the composer’s complete op. 91 sonatas for solo violin. Max Reger, it seems, is beginning to attract more mainstream attention and more of an audience than has heretofore been the case.


Reger’s seven sonatas for solo violin are important additions to the repertoire, and choice in recorded versions is extremely limited. Therefore, I do not wish to be too critical of this retread, which was originally (and still is) available as two separate discs. But I must get one thing out of the way right off the bat. Once upon a time, Dorian was roundly criticized for recordings with such excessive reverberation that they sounded like they’d been made in an echo chamber. The company apparently took the criticism to heart, for their releases that followed were significantly less echoey. Unfortunately, these not-new recordings, made in the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy, New York, in 1992 and 1994, come from a period during which Dorian’s engineers were pursuing their sinful ways. I’ve heard quite a few more recent recordings that emanate from this venue, so I can vouch for the fact that it’s a hall with superb acoustics that sound nothing like this. The impression one receives the instant Ulrike-Anima Mathé’s bow touches the strings is of a vast, cavernous space that makes her violin sound three times normal size and dimensionally distorted.


That being said, judgment of Mathé’s playing should not be based on what her makeup artists did to pump it up on steroids. She articulates Reger’s difficult double-stopping and string crossings cleanly and with exceptional incisiveness. Her left-hand work is equally deft, capable of delivering pitch-perfect intonation and invigorating velocity. And though it’s hard to judge her tone quality due to the souped-up sound, I suspect that it would be quite pleasing to hear in a normal setting.


Reger-phobia is unwarranted. Anyone who has ever read anything about Reger or had any exposure to his music knows that he was obsessive-compulsive when it came to writing fugues, and that he had a “thing” about Bach. That fixation, however, led to the creation of some fascinating and intellectually stimulating music. If you enjoy listening to Bach’s sonatas and partitas for unaccompanied violin, you are virtually guaranteed to enjoy Reger’s sonatas, for they are Bach revisited and reheard through 1905 ears.


The technical difficulties posed by Reger’s sonatas are similar to those posed by Bach’s works for unaccompanied violin. To produce the harmony and the effect of multiple voices engaged in contrapuntal interplay, it is necessary to notate miles of double- and triple-stops and awkward string crossings, something that is neither easy nor natural to play on an instrument better suited to producing a single-voiced melody. Thus, works of this type require a technical whiz of virtuoso caliber, but they are not virtuosic display pieces in the same way that Paganini’s, Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst’s, or Eugène Ysaÿe’s somewhat later works for solo violin are. Reger’s sonatas, however, are no more boring, academic exercises than are Bach’s sonatas and partitas. The initial appeal may be intellectual, but gradually the music grows on you and blossoms into something entirely satisfying on an emotional level.


At the time these recordings were made, Mathé showed every promise of being a rising star. I’m not quite sure what has happened to her since. I reviewed a cpo CD of Friedrich Kiel’s piano quartets in Fanfare 31:5 in which she played violin; but other than that, on record at least, it doesn’t appear that she’s been very active, which is too bad, because her playing here is exceptionally good. And, as mentioned above, recordings of Reger’s op. 91 complete are few and far between. The only other current listing I find is on Troubadisc with violinist Renate Eggebrecht-Kupsa. Her account of the sonatas may be very fine (she has way more recordings listed than does Mathé), but I haven’t heard it.


Reger’s sonatas need not appeal exclusively to listeners who have a special interest in music for solo violin. So, provisionally recommended, as long as you can adjust to the recorded sound. Otherwise, you might wish to explore Eggebrecht-Kupsa’s version, although it’s pricey. I suspect, though I don’t know for sure since it was not yet listed at the time of writing, that the Dorian set, being a repackaging job, may be sold as a twofer.


FANFARE: Jerry Dubins

“Everything that is included is substantial… the hugely impressive Symphonic Prologue to a Tragedy is dark, brooding and intricately wrought. It's invaluable to have these works available in such lucid, well-played and committed performances.” – The Guardian (UK)

REGER Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Mozart, op. 132. Symphonic Prolog to a Tragedy, op. 108. Piano Concerto 1. Suite in Olden Style, op. 93. Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Beethoven, op. 86. A Ballet Suite, op. 130. Four Tone Poems after Arnold Böcklin, op. 128 • Leif Segerstam, cond; 1 Love Derwinger (pn); Norrköping SO • BIS 9047 (3 CDs: 203:54)

This new compilation of Leif Segerstam’s Reger recordings, originally issued on three separate CDs in the 1990s, makes an outstanding introduction to the work of a composer still largely known by many classical lovers for his organ music and one song, Maria Wiegenlied. When I reviewed the 2-CD Guild set of historic Reger recordings ( Fanfare 37:6), I said how much I liked the works presented there. I can say much the same thing of this set, despite Segerstam’s penchant for slower tempos, simply because as a composer himself he approaches each work from a structural standpoint and brings out many subtleties.

Surprisingly, only two works are duplicated in the two sets, the Mozart Variations and the Ballet Suite . The Guild collection also included the Lustpielouvertüre, Serenade in G, Romantic Suite, and Eine vaterländische Ouverture. Possibly one may also want to hear Reger’s Violin Concerto, Sinfonietta, and the Variations on a Theme of Hiller, but otherwise, between these two sets, you have the bulk of Reger’s orchestral oeuvre . Early on in life, Reger became infatuated with both Bach and Wagner, and from these twin fonts of Teutonic culture he created remarkably interesting structures in music. And, surprisingly, his music is not only interesting but also fun to listen to, a point I made in regards to the Guild set.

Of the music new to me via this release, I was particularly impressed with the Symphonic Prelude to a Tragedy (which one might describe as a more modern, and more tragic, incarnation of Brahms’s Tragic Overture ), the piano concerto, and the Beethoven Variations and Fugue. My sole complaint of the recordings, and this probably has more to do with the engineering than with Segerstam, is that in quiet passages the music sometimes fades out of earshot. Unless you are listening with your ears very close to the speakers or, on headphones, with the volume turned up high, you will miss some of those softer passages. Other than that, however, I was very pleased overall with Segerstam’s readings. As usual with this conductor, transparency of texture is paramount, often revealing details that go unnoticed in others’ readings, and his subtle plasticity of phrasing keeps the music fluid and moving forward. Thus in a work like the Mozart Variations, one may prefer the more straightforward conducting of Eduard van Beinum in the Guild set, but one will find much more to hear in the Segerstam performance.

I was not particularly impressed by the Suite in Olden Style, which just toodled along and sounded nice but not much else. The Variations on a Theme of Beethoven is based on the last of the op. 119 Bagatelles. He originally wrote it for two pianos, but when preparing the orchestral score he eliminated four of the 12 variations and, according to the notes, changed both the playing order and the arrangement of keys. When he finished this score in August 1915, he had less than a year to live. In this case, I felt that Segerstam’s performance was a bit too airy for my taste, making the music sound less energetic that it might have, but the Ballet Suite came off pretty well. Segerstam’s problem, like the famous criticism of Bruno Walter, is that “when he comes to something beautiful, he melts.”

The liner notes suggest that the reason Reger’s Piano Concerto has failed to gain a place in the standard repertoire is that it is technically demanding but does not allow the soloist to “show off.” I would also suggest that the dark, brooding quality of the music is another reason. Most people like their piano concertos to sound cheerful or dramatic or, if somewhat brooding, then brooding in a Romantic Russian (read: Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninoff) sort of way, neither of which Reger gives us. This is a very complex piece, too, continually evolving yet knitting together its various sections within each movement with consummate mastery. (I would particularly commend this concerto to many modern American composers who write “clever” music that does not develop properly.) Derwinger is a committed interpreter, throwing himself into this complex score with emotional fervor, and Segerstam, too, is particularly dramatic here.

What makes this packaging even more attractive is that BIS is selling the 3-CD box at a special price. I found it listed for $32.75 at Presto Classical and $38.49 at ArkivMusic, an excellent bargain considering BIS’s normal price tag for single discs, which run around $21.

FANFARE: Lynn René Bayley

Max Reger's special position within organ repertoire places him for many as the greatest composer for the instrument since J. S. Bach. Drawing on Lutheran tradition, his Fantasia and Fugue, Op. 29 is in the spirit of Bach, though with a characteristic harmonic language which also infuses the varying complexity in the Monologues, Op. 63. The Sonata No. 1, Op. 33 reflects a connection with Liszt, concluding in an impressive Passacaglia. Award winning German organist Christian Barthen performs on an instrument from Reger's period, the 1911 Steinmeyer Organ in Mannheim which is one of the biggest in Germany.

REGER Symphonic Fantasia and Fugue, op. 57, “Inferno.” Pieces for Organ, op. 145 • Edgar Krapp (org) • NAXOS 8.557891 (69:09)


The Symphonic Fantasia and Fugue opens with a violent fury, building to a quick climax, punctuated by chords and keyboard runs before diminishing into a calm meditation—all within the first minute. Throughout this 10-minute Fantasia, the music swells and diminishes, from climax to serenity. Edgar Krapp brings this off superbly. Max Reger considered his op. 57 the most difficult music he ever wrote, but Krapp never breaks a sweat. He has mastered this music and knows every nuance. He lets all the stops out in the Passau Cathedral in Eisenbarth, Germany, making no apologies for the intensity or force of the music. At times he seems carried away in a kind of divine madness, reveling in every decibel. The effect is exciting and dramatic. But the Fugue has a different character, and is not as successful, hampered by Reger’s penchant for thick writing. In the Fantasia (and throughout most of this recording), the sound captured by the Naxos engineers is vivid, clear, and even spectacular. But the Fugue is a little muddled. Yet every climax is captured superbly; Reger—and Krapp—emerge in triumph as if through the clouds. This is a mighty work that deserves to be heard more often.


Reger wrote his seven organ pieces in 1915–16, in the midst of World War I. These pieces are dedicated to key moments in the liturgical year; yet the war clearly lingered in Reger’s mind as he wrote. One senses sadness during the first piece, which was dedicated to those who died in battle. The second piece is a psalm of thanks, titled, “What God does, that is well done.” Dedicated to the German people, this too has dark moments and builds to a treatment of the familiar hymn, Praise to the Lord the Almighty . As this title indicates, there is a sense of recognition of God’s sovereignty at a time of war. But even in moments of triumph, there is a haunting touch of uncertainty. This is great music.


The piece focuses on Christmas, and Reger incorporates familiar choruses, including Silent Night . This, too, has a dark hue; everything is not quite so “calm and bright.” The fourth part focuses on the passion of Christ. The fifth celebrates his resurrection with a form much more like a chorale. The sixth celebrates the Holy Ghost. Fleet keyboard runs are woven into a strong, declaratory conclusion. The seventh is a victory celebration, highlighted by Reger’s adaptation of the hymn, Now thank we all our God (with Deutschland, Deutschland über alles ringing in the pedals). Some may feel that this uncomfortably mixes politics with music, but this did not bother me, and I found it to be stirring music, and highly enjoyable.


This is Volume 7 in the Naxos collection of the organ music of Reger, and the first that features Krapp. All of the recordings in this series that I have heard have been outstanding. This one is too. Highly recommended.


FANFARE: John E. Roos

Richter Archives, Vol. 16: Poulenc & Reger

Ondine is pleased to announce the first release with Austrian violinist Benjamin Schmid with a performance of Reger’s Violin Concerto and the Chaconne for Solo Violin. This release invites to listen to a captivating performance of Reger’s Violin Concerto, a hugely charming big romantic work with broad sentimental gestures.

Classical Music

REGER Piano Concerto. BACH-BUSONI Keyboard Concerto in d, BWV 1052 • Michael Korstick (pn); Ulf Schirmer, cond; Munich RO • cpo 777 373 (63:12)


So many factors go into the making of a successful recording! One would think that great artists, committed to the music, would be primary. The classic recording of Reger’s Piano Concerto is by Rudolf Serkin, a committed Regerite if ever there was one, accompanied by no less than the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy, on a Columbia stereo LP, later a CBS Masterworks Portrait CD. When that recording proved underwhelming, one’s natural reaction was to give up on the music, and later performances supported that decision. Korstick, Schirmer, and Munich do not suggest comparable levels of quality—or at least of fame; yet right from the opening bars the music grabs our attention, holds it, and satisfies on every count.


So, what happened? First off, spectacular recorded sound brings Reger’s Concerto to life as never before. One’s auditory senses, and that means more than just hearing, immediately leap to attention. I envision ears standing up, hairs on the back of the neck rising, like our dog when a deer appears in the yard. Of course, sheer sound is not enough, and the artists whom I so unthinkingly dissed perform at a high level. The orchestral introduction sings with a white-hot passion not previously realized, and the piano’s entrance bursts upon us like a thunderclap. In Fanfare 32:3, Peter Burwasser admired Korstick’s “muscular virtuosity” in Beethoven sonatas, but decried his “lack of grace.” That sounds like a prescription for Reger’s mighty finger buster, and Korstick delivers big time, maintaining golden tone with no apparent strain, which Serkin—one of my favorite artists—was not able to do. But this Concerto is not all bluff and bluster; it has its tender moments, even in the pugnacious opening Allegro moderato (the moderato is an indication of tempo, not of character). Korstick is reasonably convincing in the brief, calm second theme and its reoccurrences. Although Reger’s notorious harmonic progressions keep this music from sounding like Brahms, that master’s impetuous First Concerto is an obvious influence on this movement.


Korstick is less at home with the second movement, Largo con gran espressione; a few passages become just a series of separate notes, rather than one continuous line. But that happens with Serkin, too, suggesting that we should blame the composer. When the inevitable climaxes arrive, Korstick is back in his element, pouring out cascades of tone. Serkin finds an elfin humor in the Allegretto con spirito finale, which Korstick and Schirmer—at a much slower tempo—miss. They seem to be revisiting the spirit of the opening movement, whereas Serkin is exploring another of Reger’s many facets. If the quality of recorded sound were anywhere near equal, one might prefer Serkin/Ormandy in this movement; but it is not, so it may be best to fall into step with the cpo team and wallow in Korstick’s potent pianism. All of this is not enough to bring Reger’s Concerto up to the level of Brahms, or even Rachmaninoff, but it does turn it into a fascinating, absorbing work.


This Bach-Busoni Concerto is the score that the otherwise incomparable Dinu Lipatti (and many other pianist of his era) played, heard in a 1947 live-performance recording with the Concertgebouw under van Beinum ( Fanfare 24:5, p. 277). Busoni’s concept was the exact opposite of today’s period practice: he added color, fistfuls of extra notes, and much ornamentation to the keyboard part (think Horowitz playing Mussorgsky), and he cut freely, particularly in the finale. Korstick’s interest in the Busoni version comes from his studies at Juilliard, where he met Edward Weiss, a Busoni pupil who played the Concerto under Busoni’s baton. The structure and the familiar themes may be Bach, but this is Busoni we are hearing; given Korstick’s qualities (the good and the bad) that may be just as well. Comparison with Lipatti is difficult: that recording was an amateur one, so distorted that one barely notices that he and van Beinum somehow restored Busoni’s cuts. Lipatti plays with more consistent tempos and a semblance of taste—his Adagio is deeply moving—but he is still far from Bach.


This disc is urgently recommended to Reger fanciers. Others will not care, and probably will not be convinced if they do try it.


FANFARE: James H. North

Apart from the opera and the symphony, Max Reger made substantial contributions to almost every musical genre, and within chamber music his compositions for violin and piano formed the largest complex. These works are technically and musically demanding and, for one reason or another are rarely ever heard in the concert hall.