Fantasy for Viola & Piano

Featuring

Konstantin Sellheim
Katharina Sellheim
Duo Sellheim
Rebecca Clarke
Robert Schumann
Paul Hindemith

Did you know?

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Composer Biography

Rebecca Clarke, one of the composers on this album, was an excellent violist and one of the first women to be appointed to a professional orchestra.

Composer Biography

Paul Hindemith, another composer on this album, was not only a composer but also an enthusiastic violist in a renowned string quartet and proficient on most orchestral instruments.

Critical Reception

When Rebecca Clarke's Viola Sonata tied for first prize with Ernest Bloch's work in a 1919 competition, some speculated that 'Rebecca Clarke' was a pseudonym for Bloch.

Album & Artwork

The album title, 'Fantasie für Viola und Klavier' (Fantasy for Viola and Piano), expresses a basic intellectual attitude rather than a musical genre.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Paul Hindemith considered his 1919 compositions, including the 'Fantasiesonate' on this album, to be 'the most pure, most natural, and not in the least 'artificial' music,' aiming to free his works from traditional forms.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Robert Schumann, a composer featured on this album, used the title 'Fantasy Pieces' multiple times to express the Romantic idea that creative expression comes from an artist's unbounded imagination.

Performer Biography

Konstantin Sellheim, the violist on this album, is a member of the Munich Philharmonic and has taught master courses internationally, with his students joining major orchestras like the Berlin Philharmonic.