Schelb: Chamber Music, Vol. 2
) | Label: TOCCATA CLASSICS Catalog: TOCC0548 Format: COMPACT DISC Soucy, Jean-Éric; Moretti, Isabelle; Cock-Vassiliou, Nicolas; Knaak, Alexander; Zhdanov, Denis; Réty, Stéphane; Ishay, RoglitThe Karlsruhe-based Josef Schelb (1894–1977) is one of the better-kept secrets of twentieth-century German music. His output was substantial: he lost most of his early music in a bombing raid in 1942, but – as if to make up for lost time – wrote some 150 more works after that. In the four chamber works recorded here Schelb’s contrapuntal mastery is given a bucolic twist under the influence of French Impressionism, the two traditions combining to invest these pieces with a freewheeling energy and downright sense of fun. Of the first volume of Schelb’s Chamber Music, MusicWeb International wrote: ‘All the performances here are well-recorded, stylish and alert. I enjoyed the music very much, and look forward, with eager anticipation, to the next volume. This constitutes an auspicious start to what promises to be compelling orchestral cycle.’  Price: $29.98 |