Koessler: Trio Suite / Piano Quintet in F Major / Moor: Cello Sonata No. 2, Op. 55

Album review

With the exception of listeners who seem afflicted with an addiction for giga-obscure repertoire, such items as Hungaraton's Hans Koessler, Emanuel Moór: Chamber Works would normally register only as an automatic "pass-me-by" choice when found in the bins of classical music retail outlets. If your taste runs to Romantic chamber music, however, you should not overlook this one. The key piece here is the remarkable Sonata No. 2 for cello & piano, Op. 55, by Emanuel Moór, written in 1900 for cellist Anatoli Brandukov, the dedicatee of Rachmaninov's Cello Sonata and Glazunov's Chant du ménéstral. Not only did Brandukov play it, but Pablo Casals often programmed this sonata early in the twentieth century, usually with his favored accompanist of that day, Alfred Cortot. Moór was one of the most respected Hungarian composers in Europe during that time, but his compositional output has been obscured by his work as an inventor. The Bechstein-Moor piano, for which he is best remembered, was a two-manual instrument; he also helped design the Neo-Bechstein, an instrument fitted with microphone pickups that served as the first electric piano. Nonetheless, if the Sonata No. 2 for cello & piano, Op. 55, is any indication of Moór's gifts, then he was in the front rank among European composers in his day; it is natural in feeling, richly melodic, and seamlessly fluid in its progression of ideas. Moór's Sonata No. 2 is superficially similar to the cello and piano version of César Franck's Sonata in A minor; however, it is uniquely well suited to the cello as an instrument and very skillfully made for it. The harmonic language is tonal, and the style is unwaveringly Romantic except for a few very brief passages where Moór allows a bit of impressionist color to deepen the expressiveness of the music. Moór's Sonata No. 2 isn't just an interesting and thought-provoking relic of a time now gone; it's a great piece that speaks eloquently from its own era, yet retains a sense of timelessness that is a hallmark only true masterworks attain. Hans Koessler was a longtime professor at the Music Academy of Budapest, now the Franz Liszt Academy. He was reputedly a music teacher of greatness; among his students, Koessler could boast Emmerich Kálmán, Leó Weiner, Ernst von Dohnányi, Zoltán Kodály, and Béla Bartók. Koessler's Trio-Suite for violin, viola, and piano and his Quintet in F for two violins, viola, cello, and piano are accomplished, if not terribly compelling, pieces. While both works make use of strong themes and demonstrate a good grasp of formal schemes, they are a bit formal and stiff, although Koessler does permit a certain amount of harmonic flexibility in the manner of Richard Strauss. No matter what one may think of Hungaroton, the label has always made very good sounding chamber music recordings, and this is no exception. The performances are generally outstanding, but cellist Péter Szabó and in particular pianist Zsuzsa Kollár make an exceptionally strong showing.
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