CD Review | ARC Ensemble, The Chamber Works of Frederick Block

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ARC Ensemble: Erika Raum and Marie Bérard, violins; Steven Dann, viola; Thomas Wiebe, cello; Joaquin Valdepeñas clarinet; Kevin Ahfat, piano

Chandos, 2024

The Chamber Works of Frederick Block is ARC Ensemble’s latest album of music by forgotten and silenced artists. Jewish-Viennese composer Frederick Block’s career was shattered by the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938. A traditionalist with a distaste for Schoenberg, Block’s music is thoroughly rooted in the Romantic tradition. Yet these pieces are in no way pastiches of a bygone era; they are constructed in a highly intricate and original musical language. ARC Ensemble has not only uncovered these forgotten manuscripts of a war-torn century but, through a masterful performance, has imbued them with new life.

Block has a unique ability to combine a variety of tonal and near-tonal idioms in a refreshing way. While Artistic Director Simon Wynberg points to Mahler, Strauss and Korngold as Block’s greatest influences, I also heard notes of Shostakovich and even Debussy in these pieces. The string quartet is orchestrated with ornately interweaving melodic lines, which gives it a rather impressionistic texture. Yet the pieces still possess a recognizably late-Romantic harmonic palette.

What is perhaps most striking about Block’s music is the strength of his slow movements. While the largos and adagios of Mahler and Shostakovich can sometimes feel like nap-breaks in the middle of a work, Block’s slow movements always have a forward motion. The swift harmonic changes in the adagio of Block’s Piano Trio No. 2 imbue the piece with energy and drive; the descending chromatic lines in the middle of the movement effectively release the accrued dramatic tension.

While the listener is highly engaged by the interplay of recognizable idioms, Block’s music does not require one to strain too hard. This music is not as intellectual as Schoenberg’s serialism or ambitious as Wagner’s operas. While masterfully crafted, Block’s compositions seem simply intended to captivate and delight. In the accompanying booklet, Wynberg quotes influential critic Helmut Fiechtner who described Block as a “composer who didn’t belong to any school or movement, who didn’t want to prove anything by his composing … but who, with indefatigable industry, finished work after work unconcerned about criticism, success, unfortunately not even about performances.”

Thankfully, ARC Ensemble has uncovered Block’s music and given it the exquisite performance it deserves.

This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en: Francais (French)