Composer: Hans Gál
Performer: Alfia Nakipbekova, Jakob Fichert
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Toccata
Catalogue: TOCC0043
Release: 2012
Size: 242 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Cello Sonata, Op. 109a
01. I. Allegro comodo
02. II. Quasi menuetto lento
03. III. Vivace
Cello Suite, Op. 109b
04. Introduzione e Fughetta
05. Alla marcia
06. Cavatina
07. Rondino
Cello Sonata, Op. 89
08. I. Moderato ma agitato
09. II. Poco vivace
10. III. Adagio – Allegro energico
Hans Gál (1890–1987) was born in one of the suburbs of Vienna and was one of the most successful composers in Austria and Germany when Hitler came to power.
The Jewish Gál was forced to flee to Britain with his family in 1938, whereupon a meeting with Donald Tovey brought him to Edinburgh, where he became a much-loved figure in his adoptive town.
These three works demonstrate that he never lost his Viennese fondness for melody: his music is predominantly lyrical, within a contrapuntal framework, appealing to head and heart alike.
The Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 89, was composed in 1953 and the two works for solo cello in 1982, the Suite and Sonata, when he was 92, almost the last music he wrote.
These recordings take their place in the ongoing rediscovery of Gál’s music on CD.