Alexander Wollheim & Klavierduo Müller-König

Programme:
Robert Fuchs: Cello Sonata in E-flat minor, op. 83
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Suite No. 2 for 2 pianos, op. 17
Henryk Wieniawski: Scherzo-Tarantella, op. 16
Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata for Piano and Cello in F major, op. 5 No. 1
Maurice Ravel: "La Valse" for 2 pianos

Performers:
Alexander Wollheim (cello)
Iwan König (piano)
Julia Marie Müller (piano)

Beethoven's Cello Sonata No. 1 dates from 1796, written during his early years in Vienna. It was among the first works to treat cello and piano as genuine equals - a pivotal moment for the genre. About a century later, the Viennese composer and teacher Robert Fuchs wrote his Cello Sonata in E-flat minor. Fuchs is rarely performed today, yet in his time he was a central figure in Viennese musical life and a highly regarded professor at the conservatory. His students included Gustav Mahler, Jean Sibelius, Hugo Wolf, Alexander von Zemlinsky, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

Wieniawski's Scherzo-Tarantella crackles with technical brilliance and passionate drive. Rachmaninoff's Suite No. 2 for two pianos offers a rich contrast, its four movements moving between muscular rhythms and broad lyrical passages. Ravel's "La Valse" for two pianos is a powerful tribute to the Viennese waltz, capturing both its splendour and its dissolution in equal measure.

Julia Marie Müller and Iwan König are well known to audiences here and consistently praised by critics for their intense, gripping ensemble playing. Cellist Alexander Wollheim has been a regular presence at the Musikalischer Sommer for many years. Last year's closing concert brought him standing ovations and glowing reviews for his performance of Weinberg's Concertino - admired not only for his virtuosity but for an artistic maturity remarkable in someone born in 2000.