THE ELSIE OWEN STRING QUARTET: Elsie Owen (violin); Jean Le Fevre (violin); Dorothy Lee (viola); Hildegard Arnold (violoncello)
JUDY SKINNER (soprano)
THE CHAMBER MUSIC WORLD knows at least eight chamber works by Dohnanyi, who is considered by many musicians to be one of the most interesting of modern chamber music composers. He is a consummate craftsman, contrapuntalist, and a complete master of the sonata form ; and, for that matter, has been since his student days. His music is said to have been influenced by Brahms, but it is more correct to conclude that in form rather than in matter Brahms was his mentor.
The Quartet in A was composed in 1908. It has certain peculiarities; for example, the second movement is a scherzo built up from a set of variations. The slow movement is somewhat sombre in tone, but the Finale has decided humour, a quality which is a marked feature of much of Dohnanyi's most delightful music.