Richard Strauss: Piano Quartet, Cello Sonata, Capriccio (String Sextet)

Featuring

Josef Klusoň
Michal Kaňka
Miguel Borges Coelho
Pavel Hůla
Petr Holman
Vladimír Fortin

Vlastimil Holek
Pražák Quartet
Richard Strauss

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Composer Biography

Richard Strauss, born less than ten years after Schumann's death, lived through two devastating world wars, making him a contemporary of both Brahms and Stockhausen.

Performer Biography

Michal Kaňka, the cellist on this recording, has pursued a dual career as a soloist and chamber musician, performing with the Pražák Quartet in major venues worldwide.

Composition History

Richard Strauss composed his Piano Quartet in C minor, Op.13, for a competition organized by the Berliner Tonkünstlerverein, winning First Prize in 1885.

Performer Biography

The Pražák Quartet, one of today's leading international chamber music ensembles, was established in 1972 while its members were students at the Prague Conservatory.

Notable Performances

The premiere of Richard Strauss's Piano Quartet in C minor, Op.13, took place on December 6, 1885, in Meiningen, with the composer himself playing the piano.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Richard Strauss's early works (1880-85) paid tribute to the Classical-Romantic tradition of Mendelssohn, Schumann, and Brahms, focusing on 'pure' or abstract music, unlike his later preoccupations.