Hoffmann E.T.A.: Chamber Works

E. T. A. Hoffmann is rightly regarded as one of the great writers of German Romanticism and not as one of the great composers of the era. Nevertheless, the trained lawyer and later Prussian chamber court councillor repeatedly tried to earn his living as a composer and conductor, as he considered music to be the most romantic and therefore the highest of all arts. And he proved that he understood the craft of composing in over 70 compositions of almost all genres. It has long been a concern of mine (not least as a Germanist) to make his musical work audible again, at least in excerpts. This month, therefore, Hoffmann's chamber music: the early harp quintet from the Warsaw period, the large piano trio from 1809 and the six Duettini italiani for soprano, tenor and piano. The harp quintet captivates with its distinctive tonal charm, while the piano trio - no doubt motivated by his acquaintance with Beethoven's Ghost Trio - is one of Hoffmann's most ambitious compositions ever. Finally, the duets have even found their way into his literary work, as he attributes this composition to the conductor Kreisler in his Lebens-Ansichten des Katers Murr. The Beethoven Trio Ravensburg, the Parisii Quartet with Isabelle Moretti and Dorothee Mields, Jan Kobow and Wolfgang Brunner are our illustrious performers.