Arc Ensemble – Robert Müller-Hartmann: Chamber Works (2023) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Robert Muller-Hartmann was born in Hamburg, in 1884, the son of the piano teacher and clarinettist Josef Muller and his wife, Jenny. He studied in Berlin for four years, but then returned to Hamburg where he pursued a successful career combining teaching, composing, and writing. His works were widely performed by conductors such as Karl Muck, Carl Schuricht, Richard Strauss, Otto Klemperer, and Fritz Busch, and regularly played on German Radio. With the advent of National Socialism, in 1933, Muller-Hartmann was forced to resign from his teaching posts at the University and Conservatory. He continued to teach at Hamburg’s Jewish girls’ school, and was an active contributor to the Judischer Kulturbund (Jewish Cultural Federation). In the mid 1930s, Eugenia and Jacob (Yanya) Hornstein, Hamburg friends of the Muller-Hartmanns, moved to the town of Dorking, some twenty-five miles south of London, and in 1937 the Muller-Hartmanns followed them. The thirteen years Robert spent in England saw the country scarred by the losses, destruction, and privations of war. There was very little time or opportunity for him to secure a place in his adoptive country’s musical life, and despite his considerable success in Germany during the 1920s and ’30s, his reputation had failed to cross the English Channel. A general antipathy to the inclusion of German musical exiles and his modest, rather retiring personality ensured that he would soon be forgotten.

Tracklist:
1-01. Arc Ensemble – Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 5: I. Mäßig schnell. Sehr zögernd beginnen (06:33)
1-02. Arc Ensemble – Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 5: II. Ruhevoll (aber nicht schleppen) (06:11)
1-03. Arc Ensemble – Sonata for Violin and Piano, Op. 5: III. Sehr schnell – Gesangvoll, fließend (06:40)
1-04. Arc Ensemble – Two Pieces for Cello and Piano: I. Meditation (03:37)
1-05. Arc Ensemble – Two Pieces for Cello and Piano: II. Elegy (02:48)
1-06. Arc Ensemble – Sonata for Two Violins, Op. 22: I. Schnell – Weniger schnell (doch flüssig) (03:34)
1-07. Arc Ensemble – Sonata for Two Violins, Op. 22: II. Kanon. Ruhig bewegt (02:44)
1-08. Arc Ensemble – Sonata for Two Violins, Op. 22: III. Scherzo. Sehr lebhaft – Mäßig bewegt – Da capo (03:25)
1-09. Arc Ensemble – Sonata for Two Violins, Op. 22: IV. Schnell, mit Anmut (03:07)
1-10. Arc Ensemble – Three Intermezzi and Scherzo for Piano, Op. 22: Intermezzo I. Etwas bewegt (02:30)
1-11. Arc Ensemble – Three Intermezzi and Scherzo for Piano, Op. 22: Intermezzo II. Zart, fließend (01:16)
1-12. Arc Ensemble – Three Intermezzi and Scherzo for Piano, Op. 22: Intermezzo III. Etwas bewegt (02:43)
1-13. Arc Ensemble – Three Intermezzi and Scherzo for Piano, Op. 22: Scherzo. Sehr lebhaft (03:35)
1-14. Arc Ensemble – String Quartet No. 2, Op. 38: I. Andante tranquillo (07:16)
1-15. Arc Ensemble – String Quartet No. 2, Op. 38: II. Vivace e scherzando (04:18)
1-16. Arc Ensemble – String Quartet No. 2, Op. 38: III. Adagio (02:59)
1-17. Arc Ensemble – String Quartet No. 2, Op. 38: IV. Allegro molto (05:51)