Cello Sonata Opus 2 No.2

SKU: BR.PB-5708-07

ISBN 9790004216453. 6.5 x 9 inches.

When his musical triad op. 192 was created in the winter of 1873/74, Raff was one of Germany's most successful composers and the central artistic authority in the Hessian spa, royal residence and imperial city of Wiesbaden. With op. 192, Raff cultivated his reputation as an erudite composer who was a master of contrapuntal forms. By the time the string quartets were composed, he had already established himself as one of the most prolific and versatile suite composers of the 19th century, as is evident here in the various suite conceptions: Opus 192 No. 1 (in C minor), as Suite in the ancient style, has with Baroque labels stylized dance movements follow one another. Die schone Mullerin [The Fair Maid of the Mill] op. 192 No. 2 (in D major), on the other hand, interprets the suite as a sequence of chapters in a musical narrative and thus becomes probably the first tone poem in string quartet scoring. In the third quartet (in C major), of which Raff the artist was proudest, other genre designations mix in among the dance movements, and with its free succession of different movement types, not usual for a sonata, it preserves structural openness. In collaboration with the Joachim-Raff-Archiv Lachen (CH)

Some eighteen years elapsed between Raff's first counted String Quartet op. 77 and his Quartets Nos. 6-8 op. 192, combined as one work. As such, Raff parted with the weighty single opus in quartet composition - without, however, sacrificing musical quality.

SKU: FG.042-08402-1

ISBN 979-0-042-08402-1.

This quartet forms part of a major opus whose different works make use of the same tone row matrix characterised by the harmonic interval of a third. Contrasting with the aggressive, expansive piano sonata which also belongs to the opus, its nostalgic tone is a mark of respect for the traditional ethos of string music. Erkki Salmenhaara compared the work to a prism: As the composer turns it, one and the same shaft of light gives birth over and again to new patterns and combinations of colours.

SKU: IM.3939

Taken from the composer's 12 violin sonatas, this soulful, four-movement work is now available for two cellos.