Capriccio was a self-indulgence for the ageing Richard Strauss, a long consideration of the relative merit of words and music, a subject composers had pondered since Monteverdi.
Critical Reception
Bruckner's String Quintet had over twenty public performances during his lifetime, but it remains a curiosity in his output and is unfamiliar to audiences due to its scoring and unspectacular part-writing.
Composition History
The violinist Joseph Hellmesberger, who commissioned Bruckner's String Quintet, was 'not impressed' with the original Scherzo and refused to play the work, calling it too difficult.
Performer Biography
The Raphael Ensemble has an outstanding reputation for its unique sound quality and high performance standards, performing in major European concert halls and receiving exceptional reviews.
Composition History
Richard Strauss's Capriccio, his last stage work, has no action or plot, and is described as a 'conversation piece for music in one act'.
Composition History
Anton Bruckner's String Quintet was begun in December 1878, when he was fifty-four, shortly after revisions to his Fourth and Fifth Symphonies.
Composition History
Bruckner, being compliant and anxious to please, wrote an Intermezzo to replace the original Scherzo in his String Quintet after Hellmesberger's rejection.
