Folke Nauta, Lars Wouters van den Oudenweijer, Prisma String Trio - Left Hand Legacy Vol. 1-2 (2023-2024)

Tracklist

CD1
01. Variations on an Original Theme for Piano Left Hand, Clarinet, Violin, Viola and Violoncello
02. Sonata No. 3 in E Major: I. Allegro ma non troppo quasI. allegretto
03. Sonata No. 3 in E Major: II. QuasI. andantino e grazioso
04. Sonata No. 3 in E Major: III. Allegro ma non troppo: attacca
05. Sonata No. 3 in E Major: IV. Allegro con spirito
06. Quartet in A Major: I. Vivace ma non troppo
07. Quartet in A Major: II. Presto e leggiero
08. Quartet in A Major: III. Adagio, dolce ed espressivo
09. Quartet in A Major: IV. Molto vivace

CD2
01. Quintet in A Major: I. Allegro moderato
02. Quintet in A Major: II. Intermezzo. Lento
03. Quintet in A Major: III. Scherzo. Molto vivace
04. Quintet in A Major: IV. Adagio
05. Quintet in A Major: V. Finale. Variations on a Theme by Josef Labor

For far too long Paul Wittgenstein's library was inaccessible to the world. Not before 2001 a pile of chamber music surfaced, specially composed for the pianist who commissioned Maurice Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand. These chamber music works have hardly ever been played since Wittgenstein premiered them in the 1920s and 30s.

On Left Hand Legacy five top-of-the-bill chamber musicians from The Netherlands join forces to pay tribute to this hidden treasure. They are determined to tell audiences all around the globe about this utterly special one-armed man Wittgenstein, in music and words, on stage and on CD.

The Dutch pianist Folke Nauta had to continue his career as a one-handed pianist, after focal dystonia affected his right hand. Wittgenstein was his model and this trove of chamber music was his salvation. There was just one complicating factor: Wittgenstein's library had become dispersed throughout the world. Nauta tracked down the original manuscripts in Austrian and English archives, still containing Wittgenstein's furiously scribbled annotations. The quintet formation of piano, clarinet and string trio is a consistent feature of Wittgenstein's chamber music legacy. So Nauta approached the clarinetist Lars Wouters van den Oudenweijer and Prisma String Trio. Together they launched the Wittgenstein Project, with the aim of bringing the music back to life and telling Wittgenstein's extraordinary tale of misery, struggle and artistic triumph.

In the chamber music setting the one-handed piano is treated like a different instrument; full and rich whilst retaining a transparent sound. All four composers were famous in their time, composed in a late romantic idiom, and therefore became somewhat overshadowed by their modernist colleagues. It says enough, that this album features two world premiere recordings; Ernst Walker's Variations on an Original Theme and Josef Labor's Sonata no.3 in E major.


01. Quintet in B-Flat Major: I. Andante tranquillo
02. Quintet in B-Flat Major: II. Lento
03. Quintet in B-Flat Major: III. Allegro ma non trtoppo
04. Trio No. 2 in G Minor für klarinette, viola und klavier: I. Allegro ma non troppo
05. Trio No. 2 in G Minor für klarinette, viola und klavier: II. Quasi allegretto e grazioso
06. Trio No. 2 in G Minor für klarinette, viola und klavier: III. Adagio na non troppo
07. Trio No. 2 in G Minor für klarinette, viola und klavier: IV. Allegro

The album Left Hand Legacy Volume 2 is the latest part of the Wittgenstein Project, which aims to bring the treasures of Wittgenstein's library to the concert stage. For far too long Paul Wittgenstein's library was inaccessible to the world. Not before 2001 a pile of chamber music surfaced, specially composed for the pianist who commissioned Maurice Ravel's Concerto for the Left Hand. These chamber music works have hardly ever been played since Wittgenstein premiered them in the 1920s and 30s.

The Dutch pianist Folke Nauta had to continue his career as a one- handed pianist, after focal dystonia affected his right hand. Paul Wittgenstein was his model and this trove of chamber music was his salvation. There was just one complicating factor: Wittgenstein's library had become dispersed throughout the world. Nauta tracked down the original manuscripts in Austrian and English archives, still containing Wittgenstein's furiously scribbled annotations. The quintet formation of piano, clarinet and string trio is a consistent feature of Wittgenstein's chamber music legacy. So Nauta approached the clarinetist Lars Wouters van den Oudenweijer and Prisma String Trio. Together these five top-of-the-bill chamber musicians from the Netherlands joined forces and launched the Wittgenstein Project, with the aim of bringing the music back to life and telling Wittgenstein's extraordinary tale of misery, struggle and artistic triumph.

The album Left Hand Legacy Vol.1 (COBRA Records February, 2023) showcases the diverse vocabulary of Wittgenstein's circle of composer friends Franz Schmidt, Josef Labor, Hans Gal and Ernest Walker. This album Left Hand Legacy Vol.2 plumbs the emotional depths, with Franz Schmidt's brooding Quintet in B flat major and the sublime combination of clarinet, viola and piano left hand in Josef Labor's Trio in G minor.

Tragically and unexpectedly, the second album is destined to be the last one to feature Folke Nauta, who passed away suddenly in de summer of 2023. This personal tragedy signifies a great loss for the music world. This album features the very last recordings Folke Nauta ever made.

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [flac] Vol 1

DOWNLOAD ALBUM [flac] Vol 2