Bruno Walter
was one of the giants of 20th century conducting, but his early aspirations included composition; he wrote two symphonies and various other works in addition to the two chamber pieces heard on this release by the
Aron Quartett
. One of these, the
String Quartet in D major
, here receives its recorded premiere, its first movement having been discovered in a Vienna library. It is distinctive in style, enough to make one wish
Walter
had continued to compose, although its broadly tonal, warmhearted style shows why he didn't do so in
Schoenberg
's Vienna. One might think, given
's close artistic partnership with
Mahler
, that his music would sound more similar to
's, but, except in the slightly spooky "Gehemnis" movement of the
Piano Quintet in F sharp major
, there is little affinity. However,
's music does not sound much like that of
Brahms
, either; it is episodic rather than densely worked out. In both pieces, there is chromaticism, but it is applied as a temporary darkening rather than as a structural element; the most "modern" movement is the opening "Mit grosser Energie" of the
Piano Quintet
. The
is not particularly well recorded here; the recordings come from separate venues in Vienna (the quartet) and the city of Varallo in Italy, but both are murky and tenuously balanced. Nevertheless, aficionados of the Viennese scene will be glad to have this music from one of its most prominent figures. ~ James Manheim