Joachim Raff - Works for Violin & Piano Vol. 2 (Ingolf Turban; Jascha Nemtsov)

Information

Composer: Joachim Raff

• Violin Sonata No. 2 in A major, Op. 78
• Six Morceaux, Op. 85
• Duo on motifs from Wagner's 'Lohengrin'. Op. 63 No. 3

Ingolf Turban, violin

Jascha Nemtsov, piano

Date: 2001

Label: CPO

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Review

Raff was an in-between composer. Although born a Swiss, he is considered a German, whereas in terms of style, he might be described as a Classical-Romantic. He was strongly influenced by the music of Mendelssohn and Liszt, the former recommended the publication of early piano pieces. Liszt also acted for Raff in a practical manner, for, as a musical patron, he arranged posts for him first in Cologne and Stuttgart, and then summoned him to Weimar to serve as his assistant-cum-secretary for six years from 1850. From 1877 he was Director of the Hoch Conservatoire in Frankfurt, where he composed and taught (MacDowell being among his pupils). His output was considerable with over two hundred published works, among them eleven symphonies, vast amounts of piano music, and a considerable number of chamber works. Much of the weakness in his music lies at the very heart of this schizophrenic attempt to fuse such dissimilar styles, and it tends to fall between two stools, simply sinking into eclecticism. But it is all tuneful and skilfully crafted.

The music on this second record in the series of Raff’s works for violin and piano is characteristic of his post-Weimar period, when he was beginning to establish a certain independence from Liszt. The substantial sonata (at 38 minutes) contains a good deal of lyrically shaped musical ideas in its first two movements, a moderately paced scherzo underlines its dance-like character, but it’s the finale which fails to sustain interest and runs out of steam. The six pieces are nicely varied, beginning with a swashbuckling march, followed by a charming pastoral and gently pretty (and ultimately Raff’s most familiar work) cavatina, a swift scherzino, a moving canzona and an infectious Tarantella to conclude. As one might expect, it is the famous Bridal Chorus which dominates the paraphrase on Wagner’s Lohengrin, which Liszt premiered while Raff was in Weimar and the composer in exile at Triebschen, (the other two works which make up Op.63 draw upon Flying Dutchman and Tannhäuser).

If any of Raff’s music gets heard, it’s generally a couple of symphonies (Im Walde and Lenore, Nos. 3 and 5 respectively). Here the duo of Turban and Nemtsov continue with CPO’s complete series of music for violin and piano (five volumes are planned, Volume 1 CPO 999 767-2 has the first sonata plus fillers, which include the paraphrase of music from Tannhäuser), with manifest enthusiasm (‘warmth and animation’ demanded in the sonata’s first movement) for the task in hand. Their performances eloquently argue the case for a revival in the fortunes of Raff’s music, both artists having the poetic imagination (successfully steering away from any hint of sentimentality) and the technical prowess to meet the task in hand.

— Christopher Fifield

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Joachim Raff (27 May 1822 —  24 or 25 June 1882) was a German composer and teacher who was greatly celebrated in his lifetime but nearly forgotten by the late 20th century. Initially a self-taught musician, he was influenced by Mendelssohn and Schumann before aligning with Liszt and Wagner's "New German School". He served as Liszt's assistant in Weimar and later taught piano in Wiesbaden. From 1877, he directed the Hoch Conservatory in Frankfurt. A prolific composer, Raff wrote 11 symphonies, concertos, operas, choral, chamber and piano music. Many of these works are now commercially recorded.

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Ingolf Turban (born 17 March 1964) is a German violinist. His teachers include Gerhart Hetzel, Jens Ellermann and Dorothy DeLay. In 1985, he became first concertmaster of the Munich Philharmonic under Sergiu Celibidache. In 1988, he left the orchestra and began a successful soloist career. In 1995, he became a professors at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart, and, since 2006, at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. Turban plays the great violin literature "from Bach to Berg", but also many rarely or never before heard works of all styles. As of 2020, he has released over 40 CDs.

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Jascha Nemtsov (born 1963 in Magadan, Siberia) is a pianist and musicologist. He studied at the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory and has lived in Germany since 1992. He has performed internationally and recorded over 40 CDs, many featuring works by persecuted composers. His notable achievements include a German Record Critics' Award (2007) and the OPUS KLASSIK (2018). His recent CD Ukrainian Préludes was nominated for the 2025 International Classical Music Awards. Nemtsov earned a doctorate in 2004 and now holds a professorship in Jewish music history at the Liszt University in Weimar.

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