RECORDING OF THE MONTH     CHOPIN Waltzes and Impromptus Vladimir Feltsman £11 post free World-wide VIVALDI The four seasons London Mozart Players/Juritz £12 post free World-wide BEETHOVEN Symphonies 4 and 5 LSO/Yondani Butt £12 post free World-wide

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Franz KROMMER (1759-1831) Oboe Quintets and Quartets Oboe Quintet* in C, VII:12 (i) Allegro Moderato [8:17] Adagio [6:53] Menuetto and trio: Allegretto [3:48] Allegro [5:26] Oboe Quartet in F, IX:22 (i) Allegro [4:49] (ii) Menuetto and trio [3:29] (iii) Rondo [3:39] Oboe Quartet in C, IX:21 (i) Allegro aperto [5:46] (ii) Adagio [4:50] (iii) Rondo [3:15] Oboe Quintet* in E flat, VII:13 (i) Allegro Moderato [8:33] Andante moderato [5:50] Menuetto and trio: Allegretto [4:07] Andante poco allegretto [5:56] Sarah Francis (oboe), Tagore String Trio (Frances Mason, Brian Schiele, James Halsey), with Jonathan Barritt* (viola) Rec. St. Michael’s Church, Highgate, London in August 2004 DDD REGIS RRC1201 [75:29]

The two oboe quintets on this disc are billed as world première recordings. They were published in 1812 but both were written considerably earlier and initially appeared as flute quintets. In those days, the reputation of the Moravian composer and violinist František Kramář (aka, in Germanised form, as Franz Krommer) vied with Haydn, particularly as a composer of string quartets, of which he wrote about eighty. He also wrote symphonies of which thirteen have survived. Having moved around central Europe quite frequently, Krommer eventually made it as a court composer in Vienna. Two hundred years on and it is almost exclusively his wind music that has stood the test of time, at least in terms of recordings. There is no doubt that this music deserves to although one is left wondering what happened to the rest of his output. Krommer’s fertile imagination is certainly well-demonstrated on this disc in forms that broke no conventions of the time. The oboe parts are consistently grateful and the strings all get their chance to shine. The quintets are considerably bigger concepts than the quartets – in four movements rather than three and about twice the length. It is notable that the additional instrument for these works is a viola rather violin (i.e. this is not for oboe and standard string quartet). The quartets are light in vein with touches of humour. They seemed to have been lost but were rediscovered in a Moravian castle in the 1950s and first published in 1959. The F major quartet has a central minuet rather than a slow movement and is a particular delight. Sarah Francis is a long-established British oboist with an extensive discography. Her playing here is mellifluous and quite wonderful in every way. The Tagore String Trio was established in 1996 and their playing is also excellent, with obvious rapport between all the players. The recorded sound is bright and well-balanced, and this issue is as well-documented as some full-price releases. Although Regis seems to specialise in budget re-issues, this is a new recording issued at their normal price. This music is well worth getting to know and fine musicianship is on offer - quite a bargain. Patrick C Waller   Advertising Rates Visitor stats MusicWeb International has over 40,000 Classical CD reviews on offer Discs received Having a problem Donating? Gerard Hoffnung Concerts & The Bricklayer Story   New Releases New Releases   MusicWeb sells the Polish catalogue CDAccord £10.50 post free W-W MusicWeb sells the Arcodiva catalogue £12.00 post free W-W £11.75 post-free world- wide MusicWeb can now offer you discs from the following catalogues: Prices include postage [Acte Préalable £13.50] [Arcodiva £12.00] [Avie from £6.25] [British Music Society £12.00] [CDACCORD from £13.50 ] [ClassicO £12.50] [Hallé from £11] [Heritage £10] [Hortus £14.99 ] [Lyrita ONLY £11.75 ] [Nimbus Special prices] [Northern Flowers £13.50] [REDCLIFFE £11 ] [Sheva £11] [Tactus £11.50 ] [Talent from £12.00 ] [Toccata Classics £10.50 ] Musicweb Special Offers Monthly Best Buys     Google Ads - for information about privacy matters, click here.  Amazon Musicweb International is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

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