The Thomas Christian Ensemble is led by Thomas Christian, founder of the 'Wiener Streichquintett' (Viennese String Quintet), which has toured extensively and recorded many CDs.
Historical Context
Due to Hitler's policies from 1933, Weigl's works were blacklisted, preventing performances in the German market, and he was forced to flee Austria for the United States in 1938.
Composer Biography
Weigl considered the two years he worked under Gustav Mahler as a rehearsal pianist and musical assistant to be the most instructive of his life.
Composition History
In 1910, Weigl's Third String Quartet was awarded Vienna's prestigious Beethoven Prize, and he signed a ten-year contract with Universal Edition, a publisher that also had Gustav Mahler and Arnold Schoenberg.
Composition History
The two string quartets on this album, Weigl's Seventh and Eighth, were neither commissioned nor performed during his lifetime.
Composer Biography
Karl Weigl, the composer, was born in Vienna in 1881 into an assimilated Jewish family and began private music instruction with Alexander Zemlinsky at age fifteen.
Composer Biography
Weigl studied at the Imperial Conservatory in Vienna and also earned a doctorate from Vienna's University under Guido Adler, a friend of Gustav Mahler.
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