Heinrich Hofmann (1842-1902)
Complete Piano Chamber Music
Oliver Triendl (piano), Nina Karmon (violin), Stefan Fehlandt (viola), Wen-Sinn Yang (cello), Georg Arzberger (clarinet)
rec. 2022, Hans Rosbaud Studio, Baden-Baden, Germany
Hänssler Classic HC22014 [2 CDs: 127]
Of all the more-or-less forgotten composers that pianist Oliver Triendl has rescued from obscurity, Heinrich Hofmann must be one of the least known. His Wikipedia page runs to just five lines, one of those lines taken up by a list of his teachers. Perhaps surprisingly, there are two other recordings dedicated to his music, one with chamber music for winds and strings (MDG 9481808), the other with his single symphony and other orchestral works on Sterling (CDS10972 – review). He was born in Thuringia, and spent much of his life in Berlin, where his few successes occurred, most notably the Parisian-style Cartouche and the symphony. However, by the end of his life, performances had faded away.
Listening to the eight works here, one gets the sense of a competent composer without a distinctive voice, capable of writing melodies that please in the moment, but do not linger in the memory. His major influence was clearly Robert Schumann, whose fingerprints are very much in evidence in the Piano Trio and Quartet. Each is in excess of twenty-five minutes, and as I have said in other reviews, the combination of no-more-than-competent composer and extended composition is rarely a good one. That proves to be the case here: inspiration flags well before the final bars. The best of the pieces here is the Violin Sonata, something of a surprise, as it is not a combination that usually appeals greatly to me. The slow movement is particularly striking, beginning with a funeral march (at least to me), but becoming more wistful and less gloomy part-way through. The Serenade for cello and piano has five short movements, attractive in a salon style.
Three of the eight works are arrangements, but only one is by Hofmann himself. One might therefore question their inclusion here, given the title of the disc, but they were at least done during his lifetime. Of them, the Andante stands out, perhaps because of the one-off appearance of a wind instrument, but also for its stately melodies. Here again though, Hofmann’s writing isn’t strong enough to maintain interest for the almost nine minutes.
One of my colleagues has described Oliver Triendl as “indefatigable” for his unflagging championing of unsung repertoire. His discography numbers more than one hundred recordings, the great majority being composers whose presence in the catalogue is very limited. The effort that he puts into learning new work after new work, and making them sound fresh is quite extraordinary. When a concert soloist learns a Brahms piano concerto or Mendelssohn violin concerto, he/she knows that the preparation will not go to waste as there will be numerous chances to perform the piece. For Triendl, learning the eight works for this recording may be the only time he ever plays them. His colleagues on this recording match his dedication. The recording quality is good and the booklet notes do as much as can be expected with such little information available on the composer.
One has to congratulate the Hänssler Classic label for its enterprise (Sir Humphrey might have said courage) in releasing this, as the market for it must be limited, especially at full price for two CDs. You won’t hear anything here that really grabs you and makes you want to return again and again, but you will find some attractive music scattered throughout. One for the hardcore hunter of the unsung, I think.
David Barker
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Contents
Piano Quartet in D minor, op. 80 (1880)
Violin Sonata in F minor, op. 67 (1883)
Romance for cello and piano, op. 48 (1880)
Piano Trio in A major, op. 18 (1874)
Adagio in F major for violin and piano, op. 31a (arr. Johannes Lauterbach from Cello Concerto) (1877)
Steppenbilder, op. 39 (arr. Franz Ries for violin and piano)
Serenade for cello and piano, op. 63 (1882)
Andante for clarinet and piano (arr. by composer from Konzertstück for Flute) (1899)
