Composer: Robert Fürstenthal
Performer: Ian Buckle, Richard Casey, Philippa Hyde, Emma Roberts, Rory Carver, Felix Kemp, Borealis
Orchestra: Skipton Camerata
Conductor: Stephen Muir
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Toccata
Catalogue: TOCC 0648
Release: 2022
Size: 1.4 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Piano Sonata in F major, Op. 54
01. I. Grave. Allegro con spirito
02. II. Allegro assai
03. III. Adagio
04. IV. Vivace
Der Sonnengesang des Heiligen Franz von Assisi, Op. 29
05. I. Altissimu onnipotente
06. II. Tucte le tue creature
07. III. Sora luna – Bruder Mond
08. IV. Frate ventu
09. V. Sor aqua
10. VIa. Frate focu
11. VIb. Intermezzo
12. VII. Matre terra
13. VIII. Quilli ke perdonano
14. IX. Morte corporale
15. X. Laudate e benedicte
16. Sonata for Piano Four Hands, Op. 58
Like many Austrian Jews, Robert Fürstenthal (1920–2016) fled to the USA after the German invasion of his country in 1938. Music then became his link to his homeland: ‘When I compose, I am back in Vienna’. As an amateur composer, Fürstenthal preferred to work on a small scale, and his output of songs and chamber music is considerable. But he also wrote two sizable works for chamber choir, the first of which, in this series of two albums, is book-ended by piano sonatas – all three works revealing that the tradition of Schubert and Brahms was alive in the California sun.