STRAUSS R. (1864-1949) PIANO QUARTET Op.13, CELLO SONATA Op.6, CAPRICCIO / Pražák Quartet

1.-4. Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949) - Piano Quartet in C minor, Op.13 (1884-85) 38:13

5.-7. Richard Strauss - Sonata for Cello and Piano in F, Op.6 (1882-83)

8. Richard Strauss - Capriccio, Introduction for String Sextet in F (1940)

Michal Kaňka cello, Miguel Borges Coelho piano

Pražák Quartet: Pavel Hůla, Vlastimil Holek (8) violins, Josef Klusoň viola, Michal Kaňka cello

Zemlinsky Quartet members Petr Holman viola, Vladimír Fortin cello (8)

Scores from the dawn and inestimable maturity of a master of the orchestra and German opera, from Salome to Rosenkavalier. In his youth (1881-86), he left chamber music worthy of a young prodigy and, in 1940, bequeathed a final page of magic and deadly charm : the Sextet-overture to Capriccio. Their juxtaposition illustrates the art of a post-romantic composer initially listening to Beethovern, Schumann, Brahms before becoming the untiring bard of feminity, agressive with Salome, then of infinite subtlety in the 'conversations in music' of his last operas.

(Praga Digitals)