1. Variations in F major on a Beloved French Song ''La Sentinelle'', op.105 No.1
2. Fantasy in E flat major ''The Dream'', op.49
3. Variations in C major on a Favourite Scotch Air ''The Old Highland Laddie'', op.105 No.2
4. Fantasy in A flat major on Schiller's Poem ''Resignation'', op.109
5. Variations in A minor on a Cossack Song, op.40 No.1
6. Introduction and Rondo in E flat major à la Zingaresco, op.184

Michael Tsalka – piano

Rec.: The Schubert Club, St. Paul, Minnesota, USA; 1-2.VIII.2014.

A celebrated student of Beethoven, virtuoso pianist Ferdinand Ries established an innovative technical approach to the interpretation of the fortepiano. The decade he spent in London (1813–24) was his most successful. The majority of the variation sets, fantasies and rondos on this recording were composed then. The emergence of the new square pianos created a hunger for domestic music-making and Ries responded with catchy variations on popular themes and technically challenging fantasias that gave full rein to his musical imagination. They add another dimension to the appreciation of the man Robert Schumann praised for his ‘remarkable originality’. --- naxos.com

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Quintet op. 74 in B minor (1815)                            20'38
for Violin, Viola, Violoncello, Double Bass, and Piano
(1) Grave - Allegro con brio                           9'26
(2) Larghetto                                          4'58
(3) Rondo: Allegro                                     6'14

Grand Sextuor op. 100 in C major (1817)                  23'16
for 2 Violins, Viola, Violoncello, Double Bass, and Piano
(4) Allegro con brio                                  10'19
(5) Andante - Air irlandois Andante                    6'11
   (The lost Rose of Summer)
(6) Adagio - Allegro                                   6'46

Sextet op.142 in G minor (1814)                              20'19
for Harp, Piano, Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, and Double Bass
(7) Allegro non troppo                                 9'09 
(8) Adagio con moto                                    4'41
(9) Rondo: Allegretto                                  6'29

Ensemble Concertant Frankfurt:
   Peter Agoston, 1st Violin
   Klaus Schwamm, 2nd Violin
   Fred Günther, Viola
   Sabine Krams, Violoncello
   Timm-Johannes Trappe, Double Bass

Fritz Walther, Piano
Charlotte Cassedanne-Yoran, Harp
Uli Mehlhardt, Clarinet
Christian Lampert, Horn
Wolfgang Buttler, Bassoon

After a string of failed attempts to establish himself as a pianist and composer in the capitals of Europe, Ferdinand Ries was brought to London in 1813 by the same impresario who had imported Haydn 20 years earlier, Johann Peter Salomon. All three works were written during this time in England while Ries enjoyed the favor of the upper classes and looked for a wife. Presumably, he composed these works for himself on piano with the other parts to be played by wealthy amateurs. The pedestrian string writing in the first two works substantiates the premise that they were composed for London's dilettantes.

The Quintet in B Minor, Op.74 has the same unusual instrumentation as Schubert's 'Trout' Quintet, which was published 4 years later, a piano backed by a violin, viola, cello and double bass. With its walking bass line, elastic rhythmic shifts and kaleidoscopic harmonic changes, the first movement `Grave' sounds quite contemporary, like something from a piano jazz bar. A sweetly sounding violin opens the following `Larghetto' before the piano assumes center stage once more. Hushed pizzicato strings provide a delicate backdrop for the sprightly piano in one memorable section of the concluding `Rondo'.

Ries' exploration of unusual instrumentation combinations continues in the Grand Sextet in C Major, Op.100. A piano join the string quintet lineup used by George Onslow among, a double bass uniting with a string quartet. Despite being the only work on the recording that is not in a minor key, the Grand Sextet has a somber mood, slipping into A Minor after only 2 measures of the opening 'Allegro'. Heroic, bravura piano passages alternate with softer, elegiac interludes to showcase the range of the assured, confidant playing of Fritz Walter. After a solemn 2nd movement, the playfulness of the final `Adagio' is a welcome contrast.

While the high opus number of the Sextet in G Minor, Op.142 may lead to the conclusion that it was written late in Reis' life, the opposite is actually true. He simply couldn't find a publisher willing to take a chance on a work composed for harp, piano, clarinet, bassoon, horn and double bass. Finally published in 1826, 12 years after being written, it is the high point of the CD, contemplative, melancholic and quite beautiful.

The ethereal opening of the harp signals that this is a very different composition. In the two other works, the melodic weightlifting was the sole domain of the piano. Not so here. First the harp, then the clarinet, then the keyboard and horn, and eventually even the bassoon all take turns with graceful, singing lines in the opening `Allegro non troppo'. Flowing, overlapping melodic phrases dominate the pensive second movement `Adagio con moto' before giving way to a brisk `Rondo'. Once more, the piano leads the ensemble, but this time steps aside to allow other instruments to shine, particularly Uli Mehlhardt on clarinet and Christian Lampert on horn.

The CPO recording is up to the usual high standards, effectively balancing spaciousness with immediacy. Of particular note are the elasticity and fluid tempos employed by the Ensemble Concertant Frankfurt, which permits Ries' music to sparkle like the jewels that they are. --- bejart7092, amazon.com

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CD1
1	Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in D minor, WoO 35/1: Allegro			
2	Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in D minor, WoO 35/1: Adagio con moto		
3	Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in D minor, WoO 35/1: Scherzo, Vivace		
4	Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in D minor, WoO 35/1: Finale, Allegro molto			
5	Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in G major, WoO 35/2: Andante			
6	Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in G major, WoO 35/2: Adagio con moto, cantabile
7	Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in G major, WoO 35/2: Allegro vivace		
8	Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in A minor, WoO 35/3: Allegro non troppo			
9	Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in A minor, WoO 35/3: Largo			
10	Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in A minor, WoO 35/3: Menuetto, Moderato	
11	Quartet for flute, violin, viola & cello in A minor, WoO 35/3: Rondo grazioso, Allegretto

CD2
1	Flute Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 145/1: Allegro con brio			
2	Flute Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 145/1: Larghetto cantabile			
3	Flute Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 145/1: Scherzo, Allegro vivace		
4	Flute Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 145/1: Allegro all'espagnola		
	
5	Flute Quartet No. 2 in E minor, Op. 145/2: Allegro moderato			
6	Flute Quartet No. 2 in E minor, Op. 145/2: Andante			
7	Flute Quartet No. 2 in E minor, Op. 145/2: Menuetto molto moderato			
8	Flute Quartet No. 2 in E minor, Op. 145/2: Rondo, Allegro moderato	
		
9	Flute Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 145/3: Allegro			
10	Flute Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 145/3: Scherzo, Vivace			
11	Flute Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 145/3: Adagio			
12	Flute Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 145/3: Allegro

Oxalys:
Toon Fret – flute
Shirly Laub – violin
Elisabeth Smalt – viola
Martijn Vink - cello

Despite Beethoven's own comment that Ries "imitated me much too much," the music of Beethoven's secretary Ferdinand Ries has been revived as part of the general rediscovery of the music of the early 19th century. Ries wrote a lot of music, and he made a living mostly as a traveling piano virtuoso. A two-disc set of flute quartets might not seem the best way into his music, but this release by the Belgian chamber group Oxalys actually makes an unusually strong case for Ries. The noteworthy pieces are the Three Flute Quartets, WoO 35, on Disc 1. It's not clear when or why these pieces were composed (they probably date from the 1820s), or why they would have gone unpublished, but the likely reason on the latter count is that they're serious works, genuinely symphonic in scope, and a buyer in search of pleasant chamber music for the flute wouldn't have known what to make of them. Consider the weighty Scherzo of the Flute Quartet in D minor, WoO 35/1 (CD 1, track 3), and the spacious finale with its very Beethovenian move from D minor to D major. More than most of the other Ries works that have surfaced thus far, these quartets evince understanding rather than imitation of Beethoven, and there's a level of tension that ought to favor groups who program this music for themselves. The Op. 145 quartets on Disc 2 are less daring but never less than well crafted; the slow movement (Ries had a real knack for long melodic lines that hold together) and plaintive minuet of the second quartet are especially notable. Oxalys, using modern instruments with a lovely wooden flute, delivers sensitive and enthusiastic performances throughout. Nothing is added by graphics featuring a horse strolling through an art museum, but for those interested in Beethoven's world this is a choice release. ---James Manheim, Rovi

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1	Clarinet Trio, Op. 28: I. Allegro 	8:34
2	Clarinet Trio, Op. 28: II. Scherzo: Allegro vivace 	4:58
3	Clarinet Trio, Op. 28: III. Adagio 	4:17	
4	Clarinet Trio, Op. 28: IV. Rondo: Allegro ma non troppo 	6:04
5	Clarinet Sonata, Op. 29: I. Adagio - Allegro 	11:51
6	Clarinet Sonata, Op. 29: II. Adagio con moto 	4:58		
7	Clarinet Sonata, Op. 29: III. Adagio - Allegro non troppo 	8:07
8	Clarinet Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 169: I. Allegro moderato 	9:08
9	Clarinet Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 169: II. Adagio con moto 	4:54
10	Clarinet Sonata in E-Flat Major, Op. 169: III. Rondo: Allegro 	6:17

Dieter Klöcker – clarinet
Thomas Duis – piano
Armin Fromm - cello

There has been a general increase in the number of releases covering the music of Beethoven's contemporaries, and Ferdinand Ries has emerged as a strong candidate for rediscovery. Ries was a student of Beethoven and of Beethoven's teacher Albrechtsberger, and his association with Beethoven was long and close. The clarinet works featured here show him in an advantageous light. The clarinet virtuoso was a figure dating back a generation before Ries, resulting in a couple of the late Mozart masterpieces. But clarinet music was something still relatively new; the Clarinet Sonata, Op. 29, included here is thought to be only the second extant sonata for clarinet and piano, preceded by one from Vanhal.

All three of these chamber clarinet works were written between about 1808 and 1814; the high opus number of the Clarinet Sonata, Op. 169, was the result of much later publication. So all date from the height of Beethoven's fame. But it is to Ries' credit that he absorbs many aspects of Beethoven's language without sounding, in general, much like Beethoven at all. His handling of large-scale harmonic schemes that go far afield from the home key is assured and economical, and the Scherzo movement of the Clarinet Trio, Op. 28, reflects Beethoven's gruff approach to the scherzo movement. But the presence of this movement already sets the work apart from Beethoven, whose clarinet pieces were of a less ambitious cast. The painting of warm, genial tones onto a background of varied harmonies makes one think of the clarinet chamber music of Brahms; even if the parallel breaks down when one listens more closely, this disc illuminates some of the roots of Romantic chamber music. Ries likewise communicates unusual moods effectively: the Op. 169 sonata (originally written for flute but arranged for clarinet by Ries himself) was written after the composer's honeymoon and has a serene, playful streak quite unlike the humor of Beethoven's lighter pieces. Mushy sound from CPO is a problem here, but anyone interested in Beethoven and his world will find this disc worthwhile. ---James Manheim, Rovi

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