Then we get passing hints of RM and finally MS to close the octet sadly, which in retrospect befits Hungary's loss of Transylvania to Romania shortly after WWI.
This begins with the piano slowly playing the opening of the German National Anthem set to the main tune from the second movement of Franz Joseph Haydn's (1732-1809) Emperor String Quartet (Op. The melancholy songlike fifth ends in a subdued passage that bridges via a double bass pedal point into a final epilogue.
Hungarian influences pervade the thrilling Tzigane fourth, which alludes to the Rákóczi March (RM) of around 1730 (see 15 April 2009). Initially played by the clarinet, the cello then introduces a jovial bouncy first variation, flute a flighty second, and piano a waltzlike third. A mellifluous folkish tune worthy of Schubert (1797-1828) is the main subject (MS). Twice as long as any of the other movements, this is of Austrian persuasion with Magyar moments. Then the whole ensemble returns, and the mood brightens with the concluding "Thema mit Variationen” ("Theme and Variations"). There's a gravitas recalling the darker passages in Franz Liszt's (1811-1886) Hungarian Rhapsodies (1846-86) and the "March funèbre" (“Funeral March”) from Chopin's (1810-1849) second piano sonata (1837-9). "Ungarische Trauermusik' ("Hungarian Funeral Music") is atypically only for solo piano. Then we journey westward for "Wienerischer Ländler" ("Viennese Ländler'), which is a charming musical impression characterizing the waltz capital of the world. The next "Czardas" is an animated, alternately fast and slow change of pace with lovely Eastern melodies and catchy rhythms bringing to mind local folk festivals. This paints a picture of a slow moving caravan crossing the vast deserted Hungarian grassland plains, somewhat along the lines of Borodin's (1833-1887) In the Steppes of Central Asia (1880). Somewhat of a Magyar musical travelogue, it's in five movements with the first entitled "Zug durch die Puszta" ("Procession Through the Puszta"). Incidentally this performance is based on the original manuscript. The unusual scoring for piano, three violins, flute, clarinet, cello and double bass brings to mind a Hungarian Gypsy band with the piano replacing the traditional cimbalom. The composer tells us it's dedicated to "the land of his childhood," which was Transylvania, then belonging to Hungary. This is particularly true of the first, which is an octet written just before the outbreak of World War I (WWI, 1914-18). While he generally falls into the German romantic category, his mixed sociological background would seem to explain the colorful Eastern European folk influences present in some of his works. These are the only recordings of them currently available on disc. But Bausznern was also a prolific composer who wrote in every genre including chamber music, three selections of which are presented on this new MD&G hybrid, CD(2)/SACD(2/5.1), release.
This was borne out by his becoming a highly regarded German conductor and educator who appointed such greats as Franz Schreker (1878-1934), Arnold Schoenberg (1874-1951) and Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) to teaching positions. He then went on to study music back in Berlin (1882-6) with Friederich Kiel (1821-1885, see 27 February 2008) and Robert Schumann's (1810-1856, see 28 April 2007) brother-in-law, Woldemar Bargiel ( 1828-1897), who considered him his most gifted pupil. Born in Berlin, Waldemar von Bausznern (also Baussnern or Baußnern, 1866-1931) grew up in an area that was Hungarian-ruled, but is now part of Rumania.
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