This release by the
ARC Ensemble
appeared in the
Chandos
label's Music in Exile series in 2023. This isn't exactly appropriate, for all the music here by the German Jewish composer
Robert Müller-Hartmann
was composed before 1938 when the composer fled Germany for England. Although he had had a good deal of success in Germany during the Weimar Republic and even stuck it out for a while there teaching in Jewish schools, he was never treated well in England (although
Ralph Vaughan Williams
appreciated his talent) and was even interned for a time. The excellent notes by
artistic director
Simon Wynberg
tell the whole sorry tale, but the key point here is that he was totally forgotten, and all the works here are world premieres. They are well worth rediscovery. The opening
Violin Sonata, Op. 5
, is an early work from 1923 dedicated to
Artur Schnabel
. Hear the melodic lilt in the first movement, suggesting Viennese popular music, although
Müller-Hartmann
was from Hamburg. Perhaps the strongest work is the spare, four-movement
Sonata for two violins, Op. 32
, which one might easily take for
Hindemith
if asked to guess. The
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 38
, is an emotionally rich, rather intense work. Nothing at all is dull or academic here, and the varied forces all benefit from obviously well-prepared performances by members of the
. Clear sound from Toronto's Koerner Hall is another plus on a recording by a composer who survived the horrors of the age. ~ James Manheim