Presents
Robert Kahn
Piano Trio No.1 in E Major, Op.19
"Robert Kahn’s Piano Trio No.1 in E Major, Op.19 appeared in 1893. One can hear the influence of Mendelssohn because the highly poetic music drips with gorgeous melodies, especially in the opening Allegro. It is hard to imagine more attractive and appealing melodies than what finds herein. The middle movement, Andante, is a sweet Album Book (Albumblatt) and can be likened to a lovers’ duet. In the middle section we find dramatic turbulence and unrest. The finale, with its fire and rhythmic drive, fits the movement’s marking, Allegro con fuoco. I warmly recommend this trio for concert performance and also to amateur players," ---Wilhelm Altmann writing in his Handbook for Piano Trio Players.
Robert Kahn (1865-1951) was born in Mannheim of a well-to-do banking family. He began his studies at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. There, he got to know and became friends with Joseph Joachim who was the director. It was through both Joachim and his own family that he had a chance to get to know Brahms, who was so impressed with Kahn that he offered to give him composition lessons. However, Kahn was too overawed to accept. Nevertheless, Brahms did help Kahn informally, and while Kahn's work does, to some extent, show the influence of Brahms, he is an eclectic and independent composer whose music has its own originality. After finishing his studies in Berlin, Kahn, on Brahms' suggestion, went to Munich to study with Joseph Rheinberger. After completing his own studies, he worked for a while as a free lance composer before obtaining a position at the Hochschule in Berlin where he eventually became a professor of piano and composition.
Long out of print, we are pleased to be able to reintroduce this very fine and appealing piano trio.
Parts: $29.95
