Max Reger: Sonatas for Viola and Piano Josef Kluson & Sachiko Kayahara

• Max Reger (1873 - 1916): Sonata for Piano and Viola in A-Flat Major, Op. 49 No. 1:
• 1 Reger: Sonata for Piano and Viola in A-Flat Major, Op. 49 No. 1: I. Allegro affanato 07:09
• 2 Reger: Sonata for Piano and Viola in A-Flat Major, Op. 49 No. 1: II. Vivace - Sostenuto - Tempo primo (Vivace) 03:51
• 3 Reger: Sonata for Piano and Viola in A-Flat Major, Op. 49 No. 1: III. Larghetto (Ma non troppo, un poco con moto) 03:17
• 4 Reger: Sonata for Piano and Viola in A-Flat Major, Op. 49 No. 1: IV. Prestissimo assai 04:54
• Sonata for Piano and Viola in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 49 No. 2:
• 5 Reger: Sonata for Piano and Viola in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 49 No. 2: I. Allegro dolente 07:30
• 6 Reger: Sonata for Piano and Viola in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 49 No. 2: II. Vivacissimo - Sostenuto - Vivacissimo 02:35
• 7 Reger: Sonata for Piano and Viola in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 49 No. 2: III. Larghetto (Ma non troppo, un poco con moto) 03:48
• 8 Reger: Sonata for Piano and Viola in F-Sharp Minor, Op. 49 No. 2: IV. Allegro affabile (Con moto) 04:24
• Sonata for Piano and Viola in B-Flat Major, Op. 107:
• 9 Reger: Sonata for Piano and Viola in B-Flat Major, Op. 107: I. Moderato 10:38
• 10 Reger: Sonata for Piano and Viola in B-Flat Major, Op. 107: II. Vivace - Adagio - Vivace 05:17
• 11 Reger: Sonata for Piano and Viola in B-Flat Major, Op. 107: III. Adagio 05:07
• 12 Reger: Sonata for Piano and Viola in B-Flat Major, Op. 107: IV. Allegretto con grazia (Vivace) 07:16
• Total Runtime 01:05:46

Info for Max Reger: Sonatas for Viola and Piano

In 1894, Max Reger heard the Clarinet Sonatas of Brahms; immediately seduced by these works, he decided to follow in their footsteps and also started writing his sonatas. The result is a series of thoughtful and thought-provoking pieces.

The first two Sonatas Op. 49 date from 1900 and are remarkable works, simultaneously straddling the 19th and 20th centuries, both romantic and very progressive. While sonata form is clearly evident in the first two sonatas, greater formal clarity emerges in Sonata Op. 107 written 9 years later. More melodious and accessible, lightness, cordiality, even simplicity enliven this score. It was logical that violist Josef Klusoň and pianist Sachiko Kayahara lean on these pages of Max Reger in their series devoted to the Viola Through the Ages.

Because in the tradition of Brahms or Shostakovich, Reger has also laid down a transcription of his sonatas, this time for viola and piano. More than 100 years after his death, the German composer’s musical legacy is historically undisputed, even if his programming in concert halls remains rare. At the head of an incredibly rich catalog, including all genres except opera, Reger, who died at 43, had only 20 productive years to demonstrate that he was a key composer of this pivotal period that was the turn of the 20th century.

Josef Klusoň, viola
Sachiko Kayahara, piano

Josef Kluson
was born in Vysoke Myto. He took up the viola studies at the Music Academy of this town. He continued it at the Prague Academy of Performing Arts, in the class of Josef Kusek, a member of the Vlach Quartet. During his studies, he received numerous prizes, both in the viola section and in the chamber music section.

Together with Josef Prazak and Vaclav Remes, he founded the Prazak Quartet in 1972, which was to become one of the most famous quartets in the world.

At the same time, he continued his career as a soloist, and kept giving master classes, most recently in Germany at the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, in France at the Festival Pablo Casals, or still in Vienna at the International Summer Academy.

Together with the Prazak Quartet he has recorded over 40 CDs; he can often be heard as a soloist on the radio as well as on numerous Harmonia Mundi CDs. (On this label he has recorded the complete sonatas for viola and piano by Max Reger, B. Martinu and J. Brahms).

Booklet for Max Reger: Sonatas for Viola and Piano