Burgmuller

In the lineup of promising music geniuses whose lives were cut short, Norbert Burgmüller (1810-1836) is an imposing figure. During his lifetime, he made an impression on Mendelssohn and found an ardent champion in Schumann, who proclaimed "After Franz Schubert's early death, no other death could cause more grief than that of Burgmüller." He studied composition with Louis Spohr, who left a mark on the four string quartets. Three of them were completed while Burgmüller was still a student, but nothing in them suggests juvenilia. These are serious works steeped in a post-Beethoven outlook. While drawing upon Spohr's classicism and 'quatuor brillant' style, they look forward to early Romanticism and have lyrical qualities akin to Schubert.

In the lineup of promising music geniuses whose lives were cut short, Norbert Burgmüller (1810-1836) is an imposing figure. During his lifetime, he made an impression on Mendelssohn and found an ardent champion in Schumann, who proclaimed "After Franz Schubert's early death, no other death could cause more grief than that of Burgmüller." He studied composition with Louis Spohr, who left a mark on the four string quartets. Three of them were completed while Burgmüller was still a student, but nothing in them suggests juvenilia. These are serious and beautiful works steeped in a post-Beethoven outlook. All of them are in minor keys, and while drawing upon Spohr, they look forward to early Romanticism and have lyrical qualities akin to Schubert.

This is the first recording of Norbert Burgmüller’s symphonic legacy. This little-known composer studied with Spohr and Hauptmann and his compositions were endorsed by Schumann and Brahms.

Jan Vogler's new album was recorded in a small studio in New York. He teamed with the fantastic Finnish guitarist Ismo Eskelinen for this recording. ''Songbook'' presents partly pieces originally written for cello and guitar such as 3 Nocturnes by Friedrich Burgmüller (1806-1874) and the first movement of the Sonata for Guitar and Cello by Brazilian composer Radames Gnattali (1906-1988). ''Songbook'' also features several famous works in arrangements for guitar and cello: Cantabile by Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840), the Gymnopedie No. 1 by Erik Satie (1866-1925), the Suite Popular Espanola by Manuel de Falla (1876-1946) as well as the famous Aria from Bachianas Brasileiras by the most famous South American composer Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959).

1810 saw the births not only of Frédéric Chopin and Robert Schumann, but also of Norbert Burgmüller and Ludwig Schuncke. All four composers knew and valued each other as artists and as friends. While in later life Schumann and Chopin would go on to achiev e world fame with their works, Norbert Burgmüller and Ludwig Schuncke died young, leaving behind only a small body of works hardly known today. This recording brings together early works by Chopin and Schumann with selected virtuosic pieces by Burgmüller a nd Schuncke. All the works represent an energetic expression of these four geniuses, still youthful and seeking orientation, yet already manifestly inspired due to their precociousness.

Who knows how Norbert Burgmüller’s compositional talent may have developed had he not died at 26? Perhaps it’s not fair that his Op. 1 Piano Concerto is sandwiched between two concerted works by his exact contemporary, Robert Schumann. Though the Op. 92 and Op. 134 are not quite prime Schumann, their idiosyncratic beauties ooze genius. Burgmüller’s assured fluency operates within more conventional parameters, with the spirit of Weber and Hummel never far from the writing table.

1994 Live Concert features the Cello & Guitar Duo of Michael Kevin Jones and Agustín Maruri on HD Remastered.