Bartók: Piano Quintet in C Major; Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin & Piano Hansjacob Staemmler, Sophia Jaffé, Johanna Staemmler, Liisa Randalu, Peter-Philipp Staemmler

• Béla Bartók (1881 - 1945): Piano Quintet in C Major, Sz. 23:
• 1 Bartók: Piano Quintet in C Major, Sz. 23: I. Andante 12:11
• 2 Bartók: Piano Quintet in C Major, Sz. 23: II. Vivace (Scherzando) 09:11
• 3 Bartók: Piano Quintet in C Major, Sz. 23: III. Adagio – 12:18
• 4 Bartók: Piano Quintet in C Major, Sz. 23: IV. Poco a poco più vivace 08:18
• Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin & Piano, Sz. 111:
• 5 Bartók: Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin & Piano, Sz. 111: I. Verbunkos. Moderato, ben ritmato 05:13
• 6 Bartók: Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin & Piano, Sz. 111: II. Pihenö. Lento 04:08
• 7 Bartók: Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin & Piano, Sz. 111: III. Sebes. Allegro vivace 07:04
• Total Runtime 58:23

Info for Bartók: Piano Quintet in C Major; Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin & Piano

In 1943, two years before his death, Béla Bartók held a lecture at Harvard University. In that talk, with the title “Revolution and Evolution in Art”, he defined revolution as “destruction of all that existed before and a beginning anew, a start from nothing.” On the other hand, he described evolution as “gradual change”. Revolution as total destruction, according to Bartók, is “impossible”, and at any rate “undesirable”. As examples for what he deemed undesirable in music, he cited the dogmatic introduction of quarter-tones, the complete avoidance of repetition, and the existence of certain works scored for percussion alone. On the other hand, Bartók had good arguments to place Schoenberg’s and Stravinsky’s music on the side of evolution. The same arguments would also have applied to his own works, which he did not refer to in his lecture.

It is more difficult to adopt a position on these matters if we replace the terms “revolution” and “evolution” with “progress” and “tradition.” Especially in the 1920s, Bartók wrote works that were among the most advanced music of their time. Later on, he wrote works that were more moderate, even in a traditional tone. Strict theorists and practitioners of new music regarded them as a step backwards. However, Bartók’s idea of musical evolution was more flexible than the concepts of his critics from the progressive camp. It allowed for retrospection and side steps, dispensing with the illusion of linear, progressive development.

Of one thing we can be sure: the broad stylistic range of the works featured on this album shows that Béla Bartók’s music was destined to survive and thrive (if we insist on adopting the language of evolutionary theory).

Liisa Randalu, viola
Hansjacob Staemmler, piano
Sophia Jaffé, violin
Johanna Staemmler, violin, viola
Peter-Philipp Staemmler, cello
Kilian Herold, clarinet

Sophia Jaffé
has been known as a brilliant violinist and accomplished musician in the classical music world for many years and has delighted both the press and audiences at home and abroad with her playing and musicality. Her powerful tone and her gripping yet sensitive interpretation, coupled with her warm-hearted personality, characterize her special charisma.

Born into a family of musicians in Berlin, she performed for the first time in the chamber music hall of the Berlin Philharmonie at the age of seven. Her path from child prodigy to grounded professional violinist was accompanied by prizes at important competitions:

She won prizes at the Leopold Mozart Competition Augsburg 2003, the Concours de Genève 2004, the German Music Competition and the Concours Reine Elisabeth Brussels in 2005.


As a soloist she performs with renowned orchestras such as the RSB and DSO Berlin, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Chamber Orchestras Stuttgart, Munich, Heilbronn, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Bruckner Symphony Orchestra Linz, the Hallé Symphony Orchestra Manchester, the Symphony Orchestra Basel, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Prague & the Radio Symphony Orchestra Prague as well as the National Symphony Orchestra Brussels.She has performed with conductors such as Marek Janowski, Walter Weller, Zdenek Macal, Sir Mark Elder, Dennis Russell Davies, Michael Sanderling, Jakub Hrusa, Thomas Guggeis at the Berlin Philharmonie, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Herkulessaal & Prinzregententheater Munich, Cologne Philharmonie, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Cadogan Hall London, Bridgewater Hall Manchester, Vienna Konzerthaus, Grosses Festspielhaus Salzburg and numerous other concert halls.

Sophia Jaffé has performed at numerous international festivals: Ludwigsburg, Rheingau, Merano, Concentus Moravie/Czech Republic, Passau Music Weeks, Leipzig Bach Festival, Moritzburg, Delft, Reims and many more.Her wide-ranging repertoire with orchestra includes literature from the 17th century to contemporary works. In addition to interpreting the standard repertoire with the violin concertos by Beethoven, Mozart, Brahms, Dvorak and Nielsen, her inquiring mind is constantly on the lookout for new discoveries. For example, she played the world premiere of the violin concerto "Words of the cross" (2010) by Slavomir Horinka and performed the late romantic violin concerto (1909) by Erich Jaques Wolff, a composer who was ostracized during the Third Reich.

In 2014, she released an album with the contemporary violin concerto by John Casken with the Hallé Symphony Orchestra Manchester, conducted by Markus Stenz, as part of a portrait CD of the composer. She also recorded Emil N. von Reznicek's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra with the RSB Berlin under the direction of Marcus Bosch in cooperation with Deutschlandradio Kultur. She also performs concertos by Mozart's contemporaries such as Mysliveček and Rosetti. She is particularly fond of the violin concertos by Alban Berg and Benjamin Britten. 


As a passionate chamber musician, Sophia Jaffé continues to develop interesting concert programs in various formations. Her critically acclaimed debut CD with her long-standing chamber music partner Björn Lehmann was released in 2009 with works by Suk, Bach, Ysaye and Beethoven, and a CD with Brahms sonatas and the Romances by Clara Schumann will be released in summer 2023. Both CDs are published by the GENUIN label. Sophia Jaffé has been a professor at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts since 2011. Violinists from many nations study in her class. Her students are successful at competitions and have been offered permanent positions in orchestras such as the Munich and Stuttgart Philharmonics, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, concertmaster and principal positions with the Nuremberg State Orchestra, Karlsruhe State Orchestra, Collegium Musicum Winterthur, Darmstadt State Theater, Chicago Lyrical Orchestra.

Sophia Jaffé received her musical training first from her parents, then from Prof. Herman Krebbers in Amsterdam and Prof. Stephan Picard at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin.

Upcoming projects in 2024 include several sonata recitals with the pianists Björn Lehmann, Severin von Eckardstein, Hansjacob Staemmler and the Japanese pianist Nami Ejiri. Sophia Jaffé also gives masterclasses and concerts at the Pärnu Festival in Estonia, the Allegro Vivo Festival in Austria, the International Mendelssohn Festival in Hamburg and the Westport Chamber Music Festival Ireland.

Hansjacob Staemmler
received his earliest musical education from Prof. Linde Grossmann, and later studied with Prof. Georg Sava at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin; he also attended master classes with artists such as Daniel Barenboim and Menahem Pressler. Hansjacob Staemmler has received awards at competitions such as the International Bremen Piano Competition and the Hanns-Eisler Prize Berlin. In 2005 the German Music Council awarded him a scholarship and selected him to perform in its nationwide series of Young Artists’ Concerts. Hansjacob Staemmler pursues a highly active career as a pianist including performances at such well-known concert venues as Berlin's Philharmonie, Vienna’s Musikverein, the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, Nuremberg's Meistersingerhalle and at festivals and concerts and recitals all across Europe and in the United States. Hansjacob Staemmler has been a member of the faculty at the Freiburg Musikhochschule since 2009.

Booklet for Bartók: Piano Quintet in C Major; Contrasts for Clarinet, Violin & Piano