Reger / Prelle / Gunther - Sonatas for Violin & Piano [CD]

The choice of sonatas for this album is by no means random, because both are landmarks in Reger's oeuvre. Sonata No. 4, written in 1903, brought Reger his breakthrough thanks to performances by the Belgian violinist Henri Marteau (always with Reger at the piano). From then on, alongside Richard Strauss, he was considered the ultimate exponent of modern music, either celebrated or feared, but always with recognition of his undoubted craftsmanship. The word "wild rain" is a fine characterization for the works of these years. Quite different is Reger's last contribution to this genre. Sonata No. 9, written a good year before his death, was particularly close to his heart. He himself spoke of a "completely new style", and in fact the work stands out against some earlier compositions in it's tendency towards motivic economy, combined with intensive work on details. The harmonic, motivic, tonally excessive expression, which had earned him the reputation of the "wild Reger", is canceled here. - Johannes Prelle, trained with Max Rostal, was active in various German orchestras from 1964 on. From 1980 to 1996 he was the primarius of the Leonardo Quartet, which was particularly devoted to 20th century music. From 1986 to 2002 he headed a college class for violin and chamber music at the Wuppertal department of the Cologne University of Music.