Hans Koessler - Symphony in B minor; Violin Concerto (Fedor Rudin; Rudolf Piehlmayer)

Information

Composer: Hans Koessler

• Passacaglia Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor
• Symphony in B minor

Fedor Rudin, violin

Nürnberger Symphoniker

Rudolf Piehlmayer, conductor

Date: 2025

Label: CPO

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Hans Koessler (1853–1926) is a composer whose reputation largely rests on his influential teaching career in Budapest, where he mentored notable Hungarian musicians including Bartók, Kodály, and Dohnányi, earning him the noble title “von.” While some students criticized his strict pedagogical approach, Koessler’s own compositions reveal his artistic depth. His B minor Symphony demonstrates remarkable creative power, poetic sensitivity, and tonal mastery, while his violin concerto stands out for its formal originality, notably unfolding its expressiveness through a commanding passacaglia structure. These works attest to Koessler’s significant, though often overlooked, contribution to late-Romantic composition.

Rudolf Piehlmayer, born in 1961 in Straubing, is a distinguished clarinettist and conductor. Trained at the Munich University of Music, he served as principal clarinettist with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra before studying conducting under Prof. Hermann Michael. His career includes positions as solo répétiteur, first conductor, and general music director at European theaters, and since 2011 he has worked internationally as a freelance conductor. He has collaborated with ensembles such as the Gewandhaus Orchestra, Nuremberg Symphony, and orchestras in Oslo, Tokyo, and France. Piehlmayer’s broad repertoire spans classical to contemporary works, with a focus on Italian music and innovative performance formats, and he also serves in the Bundeswehr’s military music service.

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