At a memorial concert given in 1945 for the violinist and composer Joseph Achron (1886-1943), none other than Arnold Schönberg stated that Achron was 'one of the most underrated composers of his time'. That made no difference to Schönberg; he was convinced that the originality and the thorough way in which Achron processed his musical ideas would ensure that his music would always sound. Schönberg's
… praise could not prevent things from turning out differently; Achron's music has hardly been able to become widely known and whether this CD by violinist Miriam Kramer and pianist Simon Over will change anything in that regard is the question. Yet when listening to the works recorded here, it becomes clear that Schönberg's judgment is not entirely unfounded. The most extensive work on this CD is the "Sonate op.29", of which the first two parts are particularly impressive. Both last almost fifteen minutes and are cast in a late romantic idiom, which Achron uses tastefully, so that it does not sound too overloaded. Remarkably enough, the last two parts together only last 10 minutes and they have a somewhat more modern, somewhat neo-classicistic look, giving the "Sonate" as a whole a somewhat hybrid impression. Achron's wealth of ideas is most clearly displayed in the "Children's suite", a colorful collection of eight miniatures. Some other character pieces don't quite reach this level, but in particular the "Hebrew melody op.33" and the "Hebrew lullaby op.35" clearly elevate themselves above average. (Because the explanatory notes in the booklet do not correspond at all with the list of pieces on the back of the CD, the question is which pieces are actually included here.) Even though Schönberg's praise seems somewhat exaggerated afterwards: in many ways very attractive music. (JvG) _more