Max von Schillings (1868-1933) was inspired to become a composer after hearing one of the first performances of Parsifal when he was 14 years old. He went on to achieve modest success as an opera composer, yet these two chamber works form the bookends of his career. Schillings’ String Quartet (1887) fits comfortably within its epoch. Though he was a professed follower of Wagner, his work here displays precious little of his idol’s blazing originality. The Quartet is strictly constructed along classical lines, its slow first-movement introduction leading to a finely spun main theme. The scherzo lives in the world of Franz Schubert, but little else about the work is especially memorable. Not that this is particularly bad–it just consigns the piece to a place among the many other unmemorable 19th century string quartets, some by major composers.
Schillings composed the String Quintet in 1917, after his last opera and well after Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht and Berg’s Op. 3 String Quartet, both path-breaking chamber works. Schillings’ quintet doesn’t go near this territory, and to be fair neither did Zemlinsky, Korngold, and other German composers of the time. But at least you can tell they’re in the 20th century! The first movement is a skillful transmission of Dvorák, and the remaining movements do benefit from some harmonic inventiveness. But as a whole the piece is pleasing rather than intriguing or compelling (the elegiac slow movement makes a nice effect). The members of the Wiener Streichquintett play with unerring skill and devotion, clearly signaling their belief in the importance of this music. CPO’s sound is somewhat bass shy but clear. Unless you’re already one of Max’s fans, save your shillings.
