Ignaz PLEYEL
Octet in C major
Trio op. 10 No 2 in D major
Trio concertant in E flat
major
Consortium Classicum
Directed by Dieter Klocker
CPO 999 743-2 [56.26]
Volume 2 of 'The Heritage of European
Music'
Crotchet
For most music lovers the name Ignaz Pleyel will probably mean just one thing
- piano manufacturer. Yet during his lifetime (1757 - 1831) Pleyel was equally
well known as a composer. Indeed Mozart wrote to his father 'if you are not
yet acquainted with Pleyel's new quartets - it's worth the effort. They are
very well written and very pleasant. Perhaps one day Pleyel will be able
to fill the place of our dear Haydn'. Initially a rival of Haydn's, Pleyel
made his peace with the older composer and for several years they enjoyed
a close and fruitful relationship as master and pupil.
On this reissued recording (originally made for EMI Electrola in 1974) it
is clear that Haydn was a considerable influence on Pleyel, particularly
in the witty Trio concertant for 2 clarinets and bassoon, which receives
a superb performance here from Dieter Klocker, Waldemar Wandel and Karl Otto
Hartmann. It fizzes with life from first bar to last.
Not all of the music, however, is on this level and, surprisingly, when Klocker
puts down his clarinet and directs the Octet (for 2 violins, viola, 'cello,
oboe, 2 horns and double bass) the temperature is considerably reduced. The
work itself is perhaps somewhat at fault - high on charm but low on original
or striking themes. One suspects that the recording sessions began with this
work, as the first movement takes a while to warm up with occasional lapses
of intonation. By the end of the movement the players have settled down and
the slight backward balance of the 'cello has been corrected by the sound
engineer. From then on this a good performance with a particularly fine
contribution from oboist Gernot Schmalfuss, who creates the typical fruity
central European oboe sound of the three post war decades, now largely
superseded.
Of course these are not period instrument performances. It is easy today
to believe that the dominance of original instrument groups in recordings
of chamber music of this period also reflects a similarly recent expansion
into the byways and side alleys of composition. But a glance at the list
of composers featured in this collection from Klocker's Consortium Classicum
(to be spread over 25 CDs) shows clearly that Dieter Klocker was expanding
repertoire choice for chamber music lovers in an extraordinary way throughout
the seventies and early eighties. Collectors of this series (of which I am
sure there will be many) have the delights of Lessel, Bochsa, von Osterreich,
Rissiger, Eberl, von Neukomm, Hansel, Huttenbenner, Jansa, von Leidesdorf
and von Lichnowski yet to come!
The finest music on this CD is the Trio Op.10 for violin, viola and 'cello
which in places comes close to Haydn in quality. The booklet notes remain
silent as to why there are just two movements (Allegro and Rondo) but they
make for a satisfying whole with real melodic interest to be found in the
first movement. Fine analogue recording, well transferred to the silver disc.
Reviewer
Simon Foster
Performance
Sound
