String Quartet Recital: Aviv Quartet

The novelty of Franz Anton Hoffmeister' double bass quartets lies in his substitution of that husky-voiced instrument for the first violin in a regular string quartet line-up.

Franz Anton Hoffmeister occupied an important place in Viennese musical and cultural life. He was much respected as a publisher—his firm published works by Mozart and Haydn, and he was friendly with Beethoven—but also as a composer. He wrote at least eight operas, a substantial number of symphonies, and a large amount of music for the flute, a popular instrument amongst the wealthy amateurs of the time. He also wrote expressively and rewardingly for the piano, which had a similarly wide audience. This is the second of three volumes of the first complete recording of Hoffmeister’s piano sonatas.

SOMM Recordings is delighted to announce the label debuts of two exciting young Slovenian soloists – flautist Boris Bizjak and violinist Lana Trotovšek – and 2015 Wigmore Hall String Quartet Competition winners, the Piatti Quartet. They come together for revelatory performances of six pieces for flute, violin and string quartet elements by Frank Anton Hoffmeister, all receiving their first recordings. Now overshadowed by his illustrious contemporaries, Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven (music by all whom, including the Diabelli Variations, he published), Hoffmeister was himself a prolific composer in every form. Although the flute is often placed centre-stage in these six works, all demonstrate Hoffmeister’s eloquently proportioned, life-enhancing and integrated feeling for chamber music. The two most substantial works here are a taut, dramatically urgent Quartet for flute, violin, viola and cello in C minor, and an E-flat major Quintet for flute, violin, two violas and cello of Mozartian mien and mood. With echoes of Gluck, Mozart and Haydn, two Trios for flute, violin and cello (in B-flat major and D major) and a Duetto in G major for flute and violin offer superbly expressive examples of Hoffmeister’s music at its most effusive and engagingly virtuosic. Hailed in his native Slovenia for his “musicality [and] captivating performance”, London-based Boris Bizjak has won several international flute competitions and is in growing demand around the world. Lana Trotovšek, praised by The Washington Post for her “clean, refined tone with musical sense of phrasing and impeccable intonation”, is also a Professor at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance. The Piatti Quartet – Nathaniel Anderson-Frank and Michael Trainor (violins), Tetsuumi Nagata (viola), Jessie Ann Richardson (cello) – have gained growing recognition for their “ferociously fine form” (BBC Music) and playing of “absolute authority and conviction” (Gramophone).

Hoffmeister's oeuvre is quite an extensive catalogue with a remarkable number of works for flute. Several flute concertos and numerous chamber line-ups in which the flute predominates, are at the forefront. Since the flute was very popular at the time, not only the composer but also the publisher in Hoffmeister prospered. The quality of his music was high, and Hoffmeister became one of the best-known composers of his time. With nine operas, all performed scenically in the prominent Viennese theatres, he did better than many others. Schubert, for instance, could never attend a performance of one of his own operas during his lifetime. The rediscovery of the six clarinet quartets' first edition by Eddy Vanoosthuyse brought the three temporarily lost quartets back into their initial series of six quartets how Franz Anton Hoffmeister put them together. Also the foreseen release of both volumes scores with three quartets each as it had been edited by Ignace Pleyel is epoch making and it is certainly an important contribution for the completion of Hoffmeister's work list to perform. Therefore, this complete recording of all six clarinet quartets is highly unique. Making recordings with top musicians is no mean feat in times of Corona, but Eddy Vanoosthuyse did not have to go on any complicated journey: the six quartets were recorded in the Chamber Music Hall of the Concertgebouw in Bruges. For the Zemlinsky Quartet, which tours the world without any worry whatsoever in normal times, the situation was decidedly different. Checks, repeated tests in Prague and Brussels, and the utmost caution one very trip were mandatory. In spite of these setbacks, however, the five musicians were gung-ho, and presented themselves in optimal form at their stands.

Andreas Blau and his orchestral colleagues of the Berliner Philharmoniker are to be admired for discovering the treasure that is Anton Hoffmeister's Flute Quartets, and they play them superbly well, while placing Hoffmeister's output in close proximity to Mozart and Haydn, and in the vicinity of early Beethoven. The solo parts are evidently tailor-made for the flute, and their virtuoso passages seem modeled on cadenzas from Mozart piano concertos. Their musical sensitivity, evident enjoyment and great orchestral experience ensure the recordings do not just document the artistry of so-called minor masters, but are a valuable addition to our view of the brilliant epoch of Viennese classicism.

After their very successful album with duos by Franz Alexander Possinger (Musicaphon M56996), Katja Gruttner and Christian Goosses now turn their attention to another master of the Viennese scene, Franz Anton Hoffmeister. He is one of the most productive of Viennese composers; the diversity of his oeuvre reads like a kaleidoscope of musical genres known at the time. He wrote sacred works as well as the German-language magic operas that were so popular at the time. In addition, there is talk of no fewer than 70 symphonies (44 of which are confirmed), 15 string quartets and an incredible 34 string quintets - more than the output of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven combined!

These exuberant and technically demanding 18th-century concertos for two horns are performed by JoAnn Falletta and the Buffalo Philharmonic with soloists Jacek Muzyk and Daniel Kerdelewicz, the orchestra's Principal and Associate Principal Horns respectively. The Hoffmeister concerto is a world premiere recording.

Nine operas, around 70 symphonies, nearly four dozen string quartets alongside other works of chamber music, and a substantial number of concertos as well as vocal compositions, both sacred and secular: there's no doubt Franz Anton Hoffmeister, as a publisher, knew exactly what connoisseurs and lovers of music enjoyed playing. He was also never short on musical ideas of his own when it came to meeting the tastes of the late 18th century. Two years older than Mozart, Hoffmeister is widely regarded as one of the "most remarkable, skilled, and prolific composers of sophisticated, artful entertainment music" - a reputation clearly demonstrated in this production. It blends elegant and soulful hunting themes, virtuosic passages for two accomplished horn players, and smooth, pleasing orchestral sounds into classical delights.