Richard Stöhr (1874-1967)
Orchestral Music Volume One – Music for String Orchestra
Concerto in the Old Style for Strings, Piano and Percussion Op.68 (1937)
Suite No.2 in A minor for String Orchestra Op.120 (1947)
Agnieszka Kopacka (piano)
Sinfonia Varsovia/Ian Hiobsonrec. 2021, Warsaw, Poland
Toccata Classics TOCC0468 [69]

Toccata Classics have been steadily issuing Richard Stöhr’s chamber and orchestral works, but this is my first acquaintance with his music. He was of Jewish stock, born in Vienna where his father was a university medical professor. His maternal uncle had been the chief choral conductor of Parsifal at its original Bayreuth production; a close acquaintance of Franz Liszt, he directed performances of Liszt’s work, including the Dante Symphony.

Stöhr was the product of a solid middle-class Austrian family, but the Anschluss in 1938 played havoc with his life. By then he was a successful teacher and a respected composer, but he was included in a list put out by the new government: “The expelled persons have lost the right to further activity in any field within the jurisdiction of the Reich Chamber of Music.” At least he and his family were spared the worst excesses of Nazi antisemitism: everyone but his wife, who was not Jewish, managed to flee to the USA. Stöhr led a life of under-employment, and suffered money shortage until his death.

The “lighter” of the works on this disc is the five-movementSuite for String Orchestra He composed it on the reunion with his wife (She could not gain entry to the USA as a refugee, so they were separated for nine years.) The work, neoclassical in vein, has strongly joyous melodic element, most notable in the deeply expressive Adagio con Espressivo third movement. A rhythmic drive is present elsewhere, sometimes in the Andante maestoso first movement. While the work deserves a place in the canon of European works for strings, it was never published and may never have been performed. The excellent recording, and precision and weight of the Sinfonia Varsovia’s string section, do this work proud.

Undoubtedly significant is the very impressive neoclassical Concerto in the Old Style for Strings, Piano and Percussion. It makes an immediate impression with the strongly memorable main theme of the first movement, played with a rhythmic snap that reminds me of some of Bohuslav Martinů’s compositions.

The second movement is a Quasi Sarabande und Scherzo Andante religioso. It opens with the piano accompanying the orchestra in another memorable theme. Stöhr remarked that he was proud of the melody, and referred to it as “my sweet Menuett”. It slowly rises to a climax, then the piano becomes prominent, and the solo violin takes the lead until the scherzo. Here the work becomes rather busy for all concerned, fading to the Andante, where the opening theme is played very slowly to lovely effect. The movement ends with the strings and tolling glockenspiel fading out.

Next, we have Burleske und Aria. For the Aria, the composer pulls another fine melodic idea out of his compositional hat. It is lovely when played by the solo violin with piano occasionally supplemented by the glockenspiel.

The last movement shows us more of Stöhr’s rhythmic flair, and brings the work to a rousing finale, with the piano prominent and virtuosic.

This is a most welcome release. Toccata are to be complimented for bringing the composer’s work to public notice, yet another in their efforts in the recording studio. Ian Hobson, who has also featured in Toccata’s Martinů series, is also to be thanked for his work with the Sinfonia Varsovia, vividly recorded here. The presentation is excellent – a standard CD case with a 24-page booklet in English. It has full performer details and a very thorough essay on Stöhr’s life and music. As far I can see, there is no biography of Stöhr, so the booklet is valuable.

Jim Westhead

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